FROM THE TREE TO UNDER THE TREE ~

MAINE-MADE FROM THE STATE’S RENEWABLE FOREST RESOURCE

Bethel, Maine…Ninety percent of Maine is woodland, making it the most forested in the nation.  Manufacturers in this western Maine community craft rocking chairs from white ash and yellow birch, Shaker-style furniture from maple, gift boxes from pine, and sachets and weather predictors from balsam fir. 

Timberlake and Company has been producing Shaker-style furniture in Bethel since 1974.  The company hand-crafts ladderback and paddleback rocking chairs, dressers, bookcases, stools, desks, tables and children’s furniture from maple and cherry.   Kitchenware items include cutting boards, a pizza board and trays made from walnut, cherry, maple and curly maple.  The wood products are sold at the Timberlake Home Store and on-line direct at www.stimberlake.com. 

Maine Artisans Wood Gallery is a group of distinguished artisans -- wood carvers, turners, furniture builders, and cabinet makers. Custom orders are their specialty, and are made from some of Maine's most beautiful native hardwoods like birdseye and curly maple. They are also the new home of Maine Chair Kit Company.  Their showroom is on Route 2 west of Rumford and also on-line at http://www.premiumspecialtyhardwoods.com.

Maine Line Products in Greenwood (locals still call it Locke Mills) crafts pine slat boxes to be filled with Maine-made foods and gifts.  Their taffy boxes come with an emblazoned moose, loon, bear, chickadee, lighthouse, or ship’s captain.  Maine Line Products sells the famous Woodsman’s Weatherstick, a weather prognosticator whittled from a balsam fir branch.  An Abnaki Indian invention, the weatherstick can foretell balmy or rainy weather.   The products are available at two retail outlets and on-line at www.mainelineproducts.com.

Maine Balsam Fir Products of West Paris offers over a 100 varieties of fragrant balsam fir pillows.  The balsam is collected, dried and stitched into pillows for use as air fresheners.  Folklore says they relieve headaches and are muscle relaxants when steeped in a hot bath.  The pillows are sold at the West Paris store and at gift stores throughout the nation.  A catalogue of products is available on line at www.mainebalsam.com.

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