JACKSON, Maine — After years of moving around the country for work, Doreen and Jim Dickson finally were able to come home to Maine for good a few years ago.
The only problem? Doreen, 47, who grew up in Liberty, never wants to leave the rustic paradise she and her husband have built among the spruce trees of their 10-acre property in Jackson. But the jewelry maker and crafter has found a solution — she spends most of her time at home making beautiful things that she sells online through her successful Etsy store, Maid in the Woods.
That means her woodsy serenity is disturbed only by the small flock of curious chickens that peck at the door of her workshop when they want a treat.
“This is all I ever wanted,” Doreen Dickson said. “I don’t mind putting roots down.”
And the roots are running deep. The Dicksons found the Jackson property listed for sale about five years ago. A previous owner, Joe Carpenter, had constructed several small cabins in the woods, which were long on charm if short on amenities.
“We didn’t even get as far as the outhouse when I said, ‘Jim, can we make an offer?’” Doreen Dickson recalled.
Since then, they’ve made the parcel truly their own by finishing some of the simple buildings and adding a couple of new ones, including separate workshops for each of them. Jim Dickson, now 53, used to have a high-powered construction industry job that took him to countries like China, where he helped build complicated projects. Back then, he spent long days indoors wearing sterile cleanroom coveralls. These days, he’s more likely to be wearing comfortable blue jeans and working outside.
“The idea is to spend time doing what you like doing,” Jim Dickson said.
That rings true for Doreen Dickson, who said that she has always enjoyed hands-on work and describes herself as a “graduate of the University of YouTube,” because she’s learned so much from watching online tutorials. She began making her delicate, wire-wrapped jewelry for friends and family, and only started the online store on Etsy when an aunt cajoled her into doing so. That was in August 2012.
Since then, she has sold 2,026 pieces, with most of those orders coming in the last year and a half. Some are made to order and others are not. Her most popular piece is a tree of life necklace, although she sells a number of other handcrafted items, including pillows stuffed with buckwheat hulls, and she ships them to people as far away as Europe, China, India and Africa.
“It works out great,” she said, adding that she is tickled when her customers marvel at her quaint lifestyle. “It really is just how my life developed.”