Good Day Maine Interview

Back in June we had the proud honor of being one of five local businesses to win an Entreverge Award from Propel, an affiliate of the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce.

It was quite an accolade and we were honored to be in such good company. For more details on the award and the winners, have a look at Flyte New Media's blog about the win.

As part of the award we got to be interviewed by Erin Ovalle of Fox 23's Good Day Maine.

We drove out early this morning to the studio and the live interview went off without... well... maybe only a few hitches here and there at 8:10.

Here are some photos from behind the scenes, please view the full interview at myfoxmaine.com

And as always...

Wear Your Wolrd. Tell Your Story. What's yours?

CHART metalworks

Monday Chart Story: Janet Wyper, Beauchamp Point, Rockport HarborME

Here's a great story from Midcoast Maine. Janet customized a Rockport Harbor keychain featuring Beauchamp Point for her husband. I'll let Janet tell it in her own words:

My husband and I eloped on Valentine’s Day 25 years ago. I grew up in the Camden Rockport area and was living in Camden. My fiance was a sculptor working on his MFA in New York City. We had planned for him to drive up the night before and in the morning, ski down Beauchamp Point along the harbor to get married out on on "the ledges." But it rained all night, and melted a lot of the snow. In the morning we put on our mud boots and sloshed our way down the road with my neighbors who were our witnesses and my sister who as a notary public could marry us . We climbed over what snow was left on the muddy path and out to the ledge that hangs over Rockport Harbor. It was grey and windy and the sea spray dashed over the rocks. And it was perfect just as it was.

Wear your world. Tell your story. What is yours?

Monday Chart Story: Mac McKeever, Ferry Beach, ME

Here's real nice story from our friend at LL Bean, Mac Mckeever. Mac purchased a Ferry Beach Pendant for his wife to commemorate where he proposed. This is a bit romantic, fellas take notice, ladies enjoy.... I am going to leave this in Mac's words as I feel he tells the tale the best!

Wow...the piece is just gorgeous!

My wife and I have always been in love with the ocean (swimming, sailing, fly fishing, sunbathing, boating, etc.) and we love Ferry Beach...it's a beautiful location, relatively uncrowded (or it used to be) and the fishing is also very good. It kind of became one of our special places...swimming/bathing/fishing in the summer, x-country skiing in the winter, walks year-round, etc. Our dogs love it there too.

During the summer, they have these planes that drag banners advertising this and that flying up and down the beach from Saco to Scarborough. I arranged to have one of those planes drag a banner that proposed to my wife...it said "Jill will you marry me? I love you" and I brought the ring and some champagne to the beach. At the designated time, the plane flew by very close to us, I drew my wife's attention to it and she was blown away. I produced the ring (carefully, cleverly hidden in my fly box...a place I knew she'd never look) proposed and of course she said yes. The whole beach knew it was us and everyone clapped and cheered as I popped the champagne and poured...cool huh?

Thanks for everything...again, the Ferry Beach piece looks fantastic...she'll be thrilled...

We liked Mac's story so much, we made the photo of his piece the over of our new media kit, I hope you enjoyed it too.

Wear your world. Tell your story. What is yours?

CHART story

Today we celebrate a selection short but sweet CHART stories... Enjoy! We've got some great Valentine's Day stories coming soon, we'll post after Sunday, don't want to ruin the surprise!

We made a bronze zipper pull a while back for Amy, a mother of two. It features Glidden Point of New Castle, Maine. To some Glidden Point represents great oysters, to Amy it represents the piece of Maine to which she moved back from Massachusetts to raise her two kids.

For Marcel, a summer time Bangor resident, we made a St. John belt buckle where he winters.

Kahsi, a Portland resident, received a great medium silver pendant on leather cord of Castine to celebrate where she grew up. She liked it so much she gifted her sister a similar piece for Christmas!

For Kelly, a woman from Windham, she received a ring featuring a historic chart of Belize. Belize is where she was married.

Our friend Jen, a very talented South Portland photographer, you can view some of her work here, gifted a large silver pendant on sterling choker to of Scituate, Massachusetts to her aunt. It features the seaside cliffs as a memorial to where Jen's cousin is buried.

There are many stories to tell!

Wear Your World. Tell Your Story. What's Yours?

CHART story

Today's CHART story comes from a Portland, Maine yoga instructor who customized a pair of cuff links. This story reminds us that sometimes it's more about the memory than the place... Enjoy!

We made a pair of cuff links for a Portland yoga instructor featuring an "Unexploded Bomb Ordinance" sector of the chart. This alerts navigators of the possibility of unexploded bombs upon the ocean floor, never good to drop anchor in such areas! He remembered this from chart place mats his mother used to have when he was a child and always thought that part was cool. Well... that part definitely was cool and so are the cuff links we made to preserve the memory!

Commemorate a loved one's special memory for Valentine's. How about a shared romantic memory??!! Order yours today.

Wear your world, tell your story. What is yours?

Islands of Casco Bay: Clapboard, Stave & Cushing Islandss "Pastures"

Today we offer some history on Clapboard, the nearby Stave (any guess as to where they got their names), Bangs and Cushing Islands.

Trips to Clapboard Island were made by men from Richard Trelawney's fishing station on Richmond Island off of Cape Elizabeth. Workers would make small-boat excursions to Clapboard Island to cut timber and saw it into lumber. Guess what that used the lumber for?... That's right, clapboards. Providing an excellent example of Yankee ingenuity, the island quickly became know as Clapboard Island. Oddly enough, on nearby Stave Island, they cut barrel staves.

At one point Bangs Islands belonged to Joshua Bangs, you see where the name came from. In 1762 the island was purchased by Ezekiel Cushing for $2,300. $2,300 was an expensive price tag which remained higher than even some of the Casco Bay islands sold for in the 1960s! Upon purchasing the island, Ezekiel quickly renamed it Cushing Island.

Some time passed and Ezekiel sold the island back to Joshua Bangs. He renamed it Bangs Islands. Joshua's daughter inherited the island and married Jedediah Preble. Eventually, their son, the famous Commodore Edward Preble, father of the US Navy, inherited the island.

Commodore Preble then sold the island to Lemuel Cushing, a distant cousin of Ezekiel, and the name changed once again back to Cushing and has remained so since!

CHART metalwork's exhibit the "Islands of Casco Bay" is on display through the end of January at Hilltop Coffee Shop, 90 Congress St., Portland, ME. "Pastures" features a silver lapel pin featuring Clapboard Island, a silver tie tack featuring Cow Island, a bronze zipper pull featuring Basket Island and a silver zipper pull featuring Cushing Island. The jewelry can be purchased separately or as a collection with frame and story...

...or, you can always customize your own special piece.

Islands of Casco Bay: Pound of Tea Island & Great Chebeague "A Lone Tree""

Today we offer history on some points a bit more North in the bay, Pound of Tea Island, located at the mouth of the Harraseeket River, Freeport and Indian Pt. on Great Chebeague.

Pound of Tea

Now how do you come up with a name like Pound of Tea? Well, legend has it that's the price for the island. It's said the original settlers purchased the island from American Indians for a single pound of tea. The island is now inhabited by the King and Queen of Pound of Tea.

Indian Point, Great Chebeague

A single tree stands alone on the windswept barren point know as Indian Point. This is the fruit of the labor of a man know as Wentworth Ricker. In 1791 Ricker settled on Great Chebeague and planted a garden upon Indian Point. One day he noticed a tiny oak growing from his garden patch. He carefully tended to it and eventually it grew to be the landmark and seamark known today to all navigators in the bay.

CHART metalwork's exhibit the "Islands of Casco Bay" is on display through the end of January at Hilltop Coffee Shop, 90 Congress St., Portland, ME. "A Lone Tree" features an extra small silver pendant on sterling ball chain featuring Pound of Tea Island, a small silver pendant on sterling ball chain featuring Indian Point, an extra small bronze pendant on oxidized ball chain featuring Sturdivant Island and a small bronze pendant on oxidized ball chain featuring House Island. The jewelry can be purchased separately or as a collection with frame and story...

...or, you can always customize your own special piece.

Monday's CHART Story... a day late

We're a day late again, this time due to the long weekend, but this story is worth the wait...

We made a pair of silver cuff links as a very thoughtful gift for a man by the name of F. Lee Bailey... yes... the F. Lee Bailey.

One features Princes Point, Falmouth, ME where he spent some time as a child, the other the Massachusettes Cape residence where he grew up. They fit him like a glove, much nicer than the one made ever so famous in that certain trial.

He wore them yesterday and has already sold several pairs to a couple judges and colleagues. We're trying to work out a rep agreement but he's a very well skilled speaker and negotiator...

We're guilty of making great gifts for Valentine's Day, order yours today.

Wear your world, tell your story. What is yours?

Islands of Casco Bay: Peaks Island "Shore Dinners"

Today we offer a little more history on one of the more accessible Casco Bay Islands to Portland, Peaks Island.

Peaks has been enjoyed summer destination island for quite some time. Peaks was once a rendezvous point for Indians who went there for summer excursions and clambakes.

By 1850 William Jones had begun to turn Peaks Island into a tourist destination for day visitors from Portland. He turned his boarding house into a restaurant that served shore dinners. Guest enjoyed fresh lobsters, steamers and corn at Jones' Restaurant.

The arrival of the steam ferry to the area in the late 1800s brought a great tourist boom to Peaks. During this time Peaks boasted an extensive boardwalk, roller coasters, vaudeville acts, roller skating rinks and fireworks every evening.

The en vogue activity was to take the steam ferry from Portland to Peaks and take in a show. Ferry and show ticket cost all of twenty five cents.

Though today the boardwalk, roller coasters, roller skating rinks and daily fireworks no longer exists, elements of Jones' vision still do. Peaks still is a popular day trip destination from Portland.

These days every Sunday a great crowds coalesce upon Peaks to take in reggae at Jones' Landing, round trip ferry $4.10, buckets of beer $10. I've never seen a vaudeville act at Sunday reggae, but I sure have seen some interesting ones....

CHART metalwork's exhibit the "Islands of Casco Bay" is on display through the end of January at Hilltop Coffee Shop, 90 Congress St., Portland, ME. "Shore Dinners" features a medium silver pendant on sterling silver choker featuring Little John Island and a large silver pendant on choker featuring Peaks. The jewelry can be purchased separately or as a collection with frame and story...

...or, you can always customize your own special piece.