Uncommon Thread: Fresh Home Textiles from Maine
This article was originally published June 2021. It was last updated June 2023.
By June Donenfeld
Courtesy photos, unless otherwise noted
From modern heirloom quilts to striking floor coverings (and everything in between), these made-in-Maine home textiles vary widely in style and purpose. But their creators are all dedicated to the state’s long tradition of craftsmanship at the highest level—not to mention a commitment to sustainable materials and processes—with remarkable results.
PHOTO: SETH MOORE
HAGSTONE DESIGN
Emily Freeman works her felt-making magic at Hagstone Design in coastal Southern Maine, applying sustainable and environmentally sensitive techniques to create her unique pieces. She uses undyed fiber primarily sourced from New England farms and no machinery, relying on just soap, hot water and the friction created by hand rolling—to stunning effect.
Woodnote
In her Portland-based studio, printmaker and photographer Emma B. Garcelon of Woodnote screen- or block-prints all her fresh designs by hand—and hand-carves her own blocks, too. Her current work includes geometrics, florals and leaves, some avocado-dyed, others printed on unbleached organic cotton.
PHOTO: MICHAEL SPEAR
TETHERMADE
TetherMade’s tableware and baskets are crafted by hand of natural cotton rope on the Dovetail Family Farm in Steuben. Thoughtfully designed and highly functional (who doesn’t need a beautiful repository for the odds and ends of daily life?), they beautifully demonstrate that rustic elegance is not a contradiction in terms.
SWALLOWFIELD
Swallowfield is artist Jennifer Judd-McGee’s brick and mortar shop in Northeast Harbor, where she features the work of a wide array of ethical, largely women-owned businesses. Among the standout items are her own eye-catching, fast-drying Swedish dishcloths, which can be used for all kitchen and household cleaning.
HEARTH AND HARROW
Casey Everett of Hearth and Harrow screen-prints her wonderful, nature-inspired designs by hand onto organic cotton in a beautiful old red barn on the coast in Rockport. With almost four dozen different designs for her tea towels and napkins, in wonderful colors, you’ll be spoiled for choice.
AMPHITRITE STUDIO
In her coastal Amphitrite Studio in Newcastle, Katrina Kelley transforms cotton and linen fabric into elegant linens for the kitchen, table, bath and bedroom. And her colors? Subtly swoonworthy may sound like an oxymoron, but it’s not.
THE CULTIVATED THREAD
At The Cultivated Thread, organic farmer-turned-full-time weaver Hilary Crowell takes natural fibers and turns them into works of durable, functional, beautiful art—after planning, measuring, counting, threading, winding, weaving, washing, hemming and finishing each one to her exacting standards.
SMITH’S GENERAL
The natural beauty and intense seasons of the Maine coast inspire Dash Masland’s original designs for her modern heirloom quilts. Named after the original business that occupied the building for most of the 1900s, Smith’s General is an independent studio where Masland and her team design and produce all their quilts by hand.
SWANS ISLAND
The cuddly, mid-weight Acadia and Penobscot bed blankets, throws and baby blankets from Northport based Swans Island are organic and washable. They’re made of 30% US-certified organic cotton for the warp and 70% custom-spun, Swans Island wool yarn for the weft, hand-dyed at their own dye house in rich, variegated tones. Monogrammable and available in both solids and stripes, they’re perfect for snuggling up in on cool summer and fall nights.
THE MAINE BLANKET
Everything Nanne Kennedy creates for Seacolors Yarnery is made within five hours of her 120-acre Meadowcroft Farm at the top of the Damariscotta watershed. Some 200 happy sheep graze there, producing the soft wool for her limited-edition line of blankets and throws, The Maine Blanket, painstakingly made through a series of low-impact processes, from spinning in a century-old mill, to seawater hand-dyeing in solar vats, to weaving on antique power looms.
POCOMOONSHINE CRAFTS
David and Jean Herrick of Pocomoonshine Crafts spend many winter days at their looms in their Washington County lakefront home, where they weave their lovely 100% cotton towels and one-of-a-kind rag rugs out of combination of fabrics, including off the- bolt cotton, cozy flannel and other just right materials that come from washed, repurposed, cut clothing.
PHOTO: WYLDE PHOTOGRAPHY
ADDIE PEET DESIGN
At Addie Peet Design, the eponymous founder creates striking, durable, functional painted floorcloths out of natural canvas in a 30-step process that results in a perfect(ly beautiful) solution for high-traffic areas in the home. Peet’s been instrumental in bringing back this lost art—with a strikingly modern aesthetic. And spills, drips or footprints disappear with a pass or two of a damp cloth or mop.
LOOHOO
If you’ve never heard of wool dryer balls, prepare to have your life changed for the better. Cyndi Prince, founder and CEO of LooHoo, gets all her fiber from a historic wool mill less than 100 miles from headquarters in Camden, where she fashions it into durable, chemical-free balls that naturally soften clothes. Wool has a natural ability to absorb odors, so clothes are also left smelling fresh and clean, and LooHoos can reduce dryer time, too, so they’re kind to the planet and your wallet.
ANNE RIGGS DESIGNS
Anne Riggs Designs is a one-woman business located in Portland, where she creates her vibrant, reusable home “unpaper” towels, cloth napkins, bowl covers, drain mats and a LOT more. Riggs says, “I thought about all of the plastic and paper products designed to be used once and thrown away and set out to create products that are durable and attractive, in fabrics that fit a variety of home environments and appeal to everyone in the family.” She’s succeeded brilliantly.