Maker’s Way
MAKER’S WAY is a curated discovery of incredible local makers and their products in the places they create. Hidden in your hometown are the people that are quietly doing what they do best: making world class, thoughtfully-designed products.
Every episode travels to destinations across New England, and each journey culminates in a unique, sometimes surprising, celebration. Our stories unfold through conversations with expert makers as they share their products in their own places and spaces. As we meet each maker, we learn about their products and bring them along to equip ourselves on each journey. Makers expertly curate suggestions on what to explore next in each MAKER’S WAY episode.
Presented By
UPCOMING FEATURED MAKERS
Maker’s Way: Accessibility airs April 13
Maker’s Way: Style airs April 20
Maker’s Way: Fire airs April 27
All Shows Air at 10AM on NECN!
Episode Six
Style
DIPPERMOUTH
SEWING & PRINTING
In Milo, Maine, Rose Normann crafts clothing that embodies a blend of rugged practicality and refined elegance. Each piece of Dippermouth’s small-batch clothing is designed, drafted, printed, cut, and sewn in-house, for women seeking functional and fashionable attire.
AKAKPO & CO.
Ebenezer Akakpo’s work is a testament to his belief in the power of design to bridge cultures and communities. In Portland and Westbrook, ME, Akakpo & Co’s approach merges traditional Ghanaian symbols with contemporary design across jewelry and apparel, shining a light on Ebenezer’s cultural heritage.
OFFICIALLY KNOTTED BOWTIES
Lionel Loveless, brings a unique twist to fashion in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. Self-taught and with a love for all things vintage, Lionel upcycles material into one-of-a-kind neckwear at Officially Knotted Bowties.
Episode Five
Accessibility
ASPEN GOLANN &
THE CHAIRMAKER’S TOOLBOX
Artist and furniture maker Aspen Gollan is crafting a culture of inclusivity in the field of green woodworking. Our first stop along maker’s way takes us to Rochester, New Hampshire and Woodbury, Vermont where we discover how the Chairmaker’s Toolbox is enhancing accessibility and equity in the world of chairmaking.
EMILY KALINA
Emily Kalina’s artistic journey has been deeply influenced by her experiences living with epilepsy. We journey to New Hampshire’s Seacoast to explore how embracing digital art and medical innovations has transformed both her life and her art.
PORT CITY PRETZELS
Suzanne Foley is building a radically inclusive business model at Port City Pretzel. Join us in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to learn how Suzanne’s commitment to an accessible hiring process is creating meaningful job opportunities for all individuals.
Episode Four
Ocean
RUGGED SEAS
Maine made and Ocean tough, Rugged Seas transforms recycled fisherman’s bibs into gear bags, backpacks, totes, and more, while fulfilling a social mission to support the people who fish our waters.
FISHED IMPRESSIONS
For over a decade, Joe Higgins has helped fishermen capture memories through his artistry as a fish printer. Today we travel to Rockyneck in Gloucester and to his gallery in Rockport, Massachusetts to learn how Joe brings his fresh fish prints to life.
JOHN LENTZ WOODEN BOATS
John Lentz expertly builds wooden boats, inspired by designs of a lobster boat built in the early 1900s. Join us in Topsham, Maine as we explore the craftsmanship of a premiere wooden boat steeped in tradition and innovation.
MAINE SEA SALT & MAINE OYSTER CO.
Ocean-based businesses are finding unique ways to collaborate along the coast of Maine. Our next stop along Maker’s Way is to Phippsburg to visit with two friends who are building communities together through their work at Maine Oyster Company and Maine Salt Farm.
Episode Three
Music
JONATHAN COOPER VIOLINS
For decades, Jonathan Cooper has masterfully created handmade violins, violas, and cellos for musicians across the world. Our journey’s first stop is to the second floor of the historic State Theater, in the heart of Portland, Maine.
BOURGEOIS GUITARS
Dana Bourgeois leads a group of expert artisans flawlessly crafting acoustic guitars. Join us in a former wool mill in Lewiston, Maine to explore the creation of guitars that offer a playing experience of a lifetime.
PORTSMOUTH MUSIC & ARTS CENTER
Our next stop along Maker’s Way takes us to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to visit a space that has built a thriving community dedicated to the arts. Portsmouth Music and Arts Center provides all people with the opportunity to achieve their full creative potential
NAMORY KEITA DRUMS
Namory Keita began drumming in the village of Sangbarala, Guinea at age 7. Today, Namory inspires communities in Southern Maine, and across the world with his mastery as a drummer, teacher, and drum builder.
Episode Two
Craft Pizza
NEW AMERICAN STONE MILLS & ELMORE MOUNTAIN BREAD
Our first stop on our path to craft pizza takes us to Lamoille (proun: Lamoyel) Valley, Vermont, to visit with one family that is helping herald a return to a time honored tradition of stone milling grain. Lessons learned during decades of superb baking at Elmore Mountain Bread has helped inspire a new business dedicated to handcrafting world class stone mills.
THE GOOD CRUST
Now that we’ve used our stone mill and have our flour on hand, we journey a few miles up the road to the village of Canaan, where a 100% fresh stone-milled pizza dough is tasting good and doing good for customers and communities alike.
MAINE WOOD HEAT
It is time to bake the pizza. Our next stop is at Maine Wood Heat, one of the nation’s leading woodfired oven builders. By custom fabricating each oven, and using the finest french made oven cores, Maine Wood Heat’s beautiful ovens are crafted to last while always attracting a crowd.
MAINE GRAINS
In a former victorian jailhouse now resides a gristmill that provides a valuable link between farms, bakeries, restaurants, and breweries. Maine Grains creates exceptional, locally sourced stone ground flour in support of the health and livelihood of the farmers and communities it serves.
CROOKED FACE CREAMERY
Our craft pizza is really coming together, but a pizza wouldn’t be a pizza without cheese. In the same former jailhouse that is home to the mill at Maine Grains, resides another award winning maker, Crooked Face Creamery.
FLIGHT DECK BREWING CO
Located in the former Small Arms Firing Range on the re-developed Brunswick Naval Air Station in Midcoast Maine is Flight Deck Brewing. The tasting room has become known not just for great tasting beers, but for their dedication to exceptional craft pizzas.
Episode One
A Day Hike
PETER LIMMER CUSTOM BOOTS
In the shadow of New England’s tallest peaks, nestled on a small road in Intervale, New Hampshire, we find the birthplace of perhaps the world’s most desired boot. Since 1919, Peter Limmer & Sons have been crafting some of finest footwear in the world. The Limmer Custom Boot tradition began in a small shop in Peterskirchen, Germany, before finding its home in 1950 in New England’s White Mountains. Across four generations of boot makers, the business has shod feet of the famous and not so famous across the world.
MollyMaps
A wise place to start any hike is with a map. From Maine to Madagascar, Molly Holmberg Brown captures the places that matter to us through beautiful, handcrafted maps.
NORTHERN SOLSTICE ALPACA FARM
Since 2006 Robin & Corry have been growing some of the finest quality alpaca fiberin the nation. Their breeding selection program involves a scientific analysis of each alpaca’s fiber to create the best possible end product. At Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm a focus on function, fashion, and sustainability creates the foundation for socks that foster happy feet while walking in the woods. Unity, Maine is appropriately named for this farm’s serene setting and its peaceful, passionate and profound love of Alpacas.
L.L. BEAN
No one knows outdoorswear like L.L. Bean. Maker’s Way is excited to learn from with Meghan Newton, a masterful garment designer. Drawing upon inspiration from her roots in North Conway, New Hampshire, Meghan blends her extensive background in fashion from Italy to create outerwear that helps people experience the restorative power of the outdoors. Her approach is sustainable and timeless, a reminder that L.L. Bean who has been making the most of every moment outside since 1912.
W.A. Bean & Sons
Our first stop along Maker’s Way.
For 160 years, W.A. Bean & Sons has been one of the nation’s finest butcher shops. Food & Wine agrees, having recently named W.A, Bean & Sons as one of the Best Butcher Shops and Meat Markets in America. Joins as in Bangor to tour the home and history of home of the red snapper hot dog!
Raye’s Mustard
Airing on Places & Spaces
Saturday, September 18 – 7:30PM
NBC News Center Maine
One hundred and twenty years ago the son of a sea captain founded a business in his family’s smokehouse to produce mustard for Maine’s burgeoning sardine industry. Three years later the young entrepreneur moved the mustard mill to the location that it would reside at for the next century. Though Maine’s sardine canneries are only a memory, the historic mustard stone mills remain, and welcome visitors to Raye’s Historic Old Stone Mill Museum. Join us along Maker’s Way as we visit with a wonderful family business now four generations strong.
Catch a sneak peak of our first two segments along
Maker’s Way
Maker’s Way Debut
Watch the Season Premiere
Places & Spaces
Season Four of Places and Spaces gets underway at our very own O’Maine Studios with a tour from Rory Strunk showcasing the many ways the studio supports businesses, events, and culinary demos. Maker’s Way debuts during the season premiere with a visit with the iconic W.A Bean & Sons in Bangor.
