BRUNSWICK, Maine — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, celebrated the emergence of the traditional L.L. Bean hunting boot as a hot fashion item Thursday morning during a tour of the company’s manufacturing facility in Brunswick.
The visit wrapped up a busy 24 hours in southern Maine for the senator, who on Wednesday toured a Biddeford mill repurposed as a business incubator and a new fire station in Saco before attending a homecoming event in Brunswick for Marines who had been stationed in Afghanistan.
At the L.L. Bean plant, manufacturing manager Jack Samson told the senator he has hired about 135 new workers over the past year and is due to hire 15 more in the coming weeks, largely to keep up with demand for the classic boot which originated a century ago as functional footwear for outdoorsmen and now is becoming trendy in even the most urban environments. Nearly 450 are employed at the Brunswick facility, he said, with another 50 working at a sister facility in Lewiston.
“I’ve heard that Bean boots are a big hit on college campuses,” said Collins, herself decked out in L.L. Bean shoes, pants and coat. “Is it true you’re developing a pink Bean boot?”
John Oliver, the company’s vice president of public affairs, said L.L. Bean has seen a marked increase in requests by fashion magazines for samples and photos. But while the company produces coral, blue and yellow rubber moccasins, Samson said there’s no pink version of the iconic Bean hunting boot in the works just yet.
He said the hip way to wear the hunting boots is to roll them down and expose the soft inner lining.
On Wednesday morning, Collins visited Biddeford to learn more about public and private efforts to redevelop the historic North Dam and Pepperell mills as business incubator spaces, where she said about two dozen startups are working to gain traction.
She followed that with a tour of the new Saco Central Fire Station, then finished her day at Brunswick Landing — the former Brunswick Naval Air Station — where four busloads of Marines met up with family and friends for the first time after 10 months in Afghanistan.
Rumors of a pink boot, yes Sen. Collins and just may be coming from Maine voters.
After the 2012 vote there might be a market in maine.
SUSSSIN ! You are touring one of the most successful businesses in Maine and the only thing you ask is if they are going to have a pink boot ? I know you asked more questions than that , but i think BDN is trying to get us the readers all riled up by making the headlines appear that is all you asked ! Come on BDN give us the important details of susssssins visit .
Not that this is pertinent to this article at all…but WOW when did plaid pants make a come back???? Add the LL Bean boots into the picture and the late night talk shows would have a field day with this.
Oh, those are the worst-looking pants I ever saw.
What, when you buy pants like that I bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh? Oh, it looks good on you though.
That’s the Aroostook county in her.
Come on Collins,
Tour the Sweat Camps in China!
Tell everybody about the Suicide Nets at the Apple Computer Factories!
and how good that globalisation and competition is for America!
http://sgtreport.com/2012/02/globalization-apples-china-factory-foxconn-2hour-12-hour-days-and-suicide-nets/
Ah what a busy scchdule when congress is debating the conservative birth control in the health bill issue. Why isn’t our conservative , female representative in on that debate. Is she perhaps more liberal than we think or is she perhaps just out seeking votes ? Perhaps manufacturing in this country wouldn’t be where it is if she were doing her job.
She is probably looking for ‘Rainbow” colored boots
Why?
I know you all picked up on the above photo of LL Bean manager Jack Samson asking
Maine war criminal Susan Collins where the weapons of mass destruction are
that justified her vote to invade Iraq on behalf of Exxon Mobil.
You can see Susan the pol milking this branding infomercial for all its worth
telling Jack under her giggling breath not to worry she has the FBI and diebold in her corner for protection,eh?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/anonymous-hackers-claim-hit-on-ohio-fbi-partner-website-replace-homepage-with-rap-video/2012/02/24/gIQA615aXR_story.html
I suppose it ‘s more important to worry about little pink booties than it is to thank a major Maine employer for continuing to hire more Mainers even in these down times.
She makes and has plenty of money so she can afford to deck out in LL Bean stuff. I work full time and my health insurance and property taxes and gas prices takes most of my funds….awwwww
Too bad the boots she’s wearing are made overseas.
Only the Bean Boots and Maine Hunting Shoes are made in Maine.
She is getting married in Caribou later this year at the Gray Memorial United Methodist Church
Really! Don’t expect Lisa Savage and Code Pink to get invited to the wedding, eh?
She must have been there to collect a big campaign donation
Hey Collins I like your pink boots but how about those pink slips for those USPS workers? What you going to do about that????
Maybe she was looking for a wedding gift for Barney Frank
They definitely need to make pink ones.
Maybe she was looking for a birthday gift for Mike Michaud
She must be tipping to help the wreathers….. or whatever…..
I for one know Susan has dedicated her life to greasing the machine,
Friday, 24 February 2012
Let Your Life Be a Friction to Stop the Machine
http://collapsenet.com/free-resources/collapsenet-public-access/must-see-videos/item/6611-let-your-life-be-a-friction-to-stop-the-machine
What a fashion nightmare, the plaid pants and now pink boots. Yikes!
what about the postal worker susan?
you supported the law under bush requiring the u s postal service to fund their pension for decades and decades and decades going forward.
no business on the planet does any such thing.
now 183 people lose their jobs at the hampden facility and you act surprised.
it’s your fault and you are a 2 faced liar.
get married and get out. plenty of boots are coming your way