Joyce Jackson -- Love Nesting in Maine.

Joyce Jackson & Patrick Mealey fell in love with each other, Maine and their new/old house all within a relatively short period of time. One might think that it was all meant to happen.

These two artistic souls left the trendy Hamptons behind to forge major new beginnings in beautiful Maine. Now they’re very busy renovating and feathering their lovely nest.

Their busy company fineartistmade (sic) would love to feather yours as well.

Are you from here or away?
I grew up in the beach town of Shoreham, New York on the North Shore of Long Island, just west of the Hamptons. Patrick was born and raised in Minneapolis.

Are you returning or relocating?
In the winter of 2001, we moved our business and our life to Perry, Maine from Sag Harbor, New York.

How and why Maine?
Patrick and I met on Main Street, in the historic whaling village of Sag Harbor, in June of 1997. It was the first hour, of my first day on a new job at the Sag Harbor Picture Gallery. Our mutual interest in art brought us together.

Two years to the day we met, we married and then headed up the coast for a honeymoon that would culminate in Baxter State Park. Long story short; we fell in love with ‘Down East’ along the way and decided to make Perry our permanent address 2 1/2 years later.

How did you find your house?
On the internet.

Why did you buy it?
The vanishing landscape in the Hamptons had us longing for ‘real country’ and we both had this idea of living in a home with some history. It’s a good feeling to take a tattered old place and restore its dignity.

When I saw the thumbnail photo of our house on a real estate webpage - it was love at first sight.

High ceilings, rooms for our respective studios, the potential for a workshop in the former attached woodshed and eight bucolic acres on a lake also helped.

Here is a link to the history of their house. (If you’re interested in history, read Joyce's blog.)

What are your plans for it?
We’re well along in our restoration efforts and have gathered a tremendous amount of history. There are just a few more rooms to go. Plans are in the works for the addition of a screened in porch out back.

My new perennial garden on the edge of our farm’s heirloom apple orchard, surrounded by an old stone foundation, has become a favorite summer destination.

When did you start your business?
In the mid-eighties, Patrick moved to the East End of Long Island from Minneapolis after completing an MFA program at the University of Minnesota. There was a thriving art community in the Hamptons and many of the aging New York School painters were still living and working in the area.

What started as a simple house painting business to make ends meet while he worked on his art, evolved as his carpentry skills developed. While working on many antique homes he became familiar and schooled in the nuts and bolts of old buildings.

Following an early interest in photography, I pursued a degree in photojournalism from Syracuse University with a minor in art history. During my university experience I studied and traveled for a year in Europe.

After graduation I criss-crossed the United States several times, working in the photography field, on both coasts; spending time in San Francisco and New York City. After a stint at a SoHo fine art photo gallery, I found my way to Sag Harbor. It was not long after Patrick and I met that we became a team.

How has Maine been for your business?
While we still do painting and carpentry, we now specialize in kitchens and baths custom built to fit seamlessly into antique or new homes. We recently created a furniture line, Tradition of the New that we promote online to reach out to a larger Maine and beyond.

A recent kitchen renovation will be featured in the April issue of Down East magazine.

Any good house/client stories?
The first job we worked on together was a tiny kitchen renovation in the Sag Harbor home of mystery writer and friend, Harriet La Barre. She often writes under the pen name, Dicey Deere. Harriet was an associate editor for twenty years for Cosmopolitan Magazine, making her one of the original Cosmo Girls.

Her home, a simple New England cape built about 1790, was once the residence of a whaling captain, Captain Henry Green. Green played a notable role in the1839 Amistad incident depicted in the1997 Steven Spielberg movie.

A recent story I wrote about on my blog, was a kitchen renovation, in an Eastport cape, where we discovered that one of the early owners of our client’s home was George Burnham. He left his signature on a beam.

A little internet digging revealed a largely forgotten local fact; Burnham was the founding father of the American sardine industry. Though he never got this business off the ground in Eastport, he would have more success with another in Portland.

He teamed up with Charles Morrill in 1867, to form a canning business known as Burnham & Morrill. One of the company’s products is still on grocery shelves today - B&M baked beans.

What's the part of your job that you like most?
Working together.

Any comments on Maine architecture?
We enjoy long rides and discovering the old homes along the way - from capes in the midst of sprawling farmsteads to stately Federals; red brick downtowns, cottages in fishing villages and cozy camps that dot the lakes.

A frequent stop is Columbia Falls and its crowning jewel, the 1818 Ruggles House with its fabulous “flying” staircase.

What is your favorite season here?
That’s hard to say; each has its own magic. Right now everything is gorgeously coated with snow, but we’re not winter sports people. When we’re not out and about or working on a project, we’re busy in our studios.

I would have to say the spring, summer and fall are my favorite seasons - witnessing the fields surrounding our house go through their cycle. It starts with what looks like a giant lawn which quickly gives way to a rising variety of grasses.

Lupines soon sprout, followed by an assortment of wildflowers like indian paintbrush, daisies and buttercups with a finale of goldenrod. After the goldfinches head back south, it’s time for September mowing.

Do you have any secret places you like to visit?
I don’t really want to let the secret out, but Reversing Falls in Pembroke would be at the top of the list. It’s off the beaten path. When there is no one else there, it feels like you’re in absolute wilderness; just you, the harbor seals, bald eagles and a mesmerizing torrent of water.

The power is impressive, but if you show up at the wrong time everything is quiet. The tide water rises up to 21 feet every 6 hours. We like to go on Saturdays, stopping at Cinqueterre Farm Bakery on the way, to nab a fresh delicious baguette or croissant for a picnic.

Favorite restaurants?
We had a small wedding party in a four star restaurant in Sag Harbor’s historic, American Hotel. The Pickled Herring, located in Eastport’s 1887 Masonic Lodge landmark, has a similar feeling. They have wonderful wood-fire grilled rustic pizza.

I often have the ‘Garden Side,’ topped with spinach and chevre cheese from the locally owned, Garden Side Dairy. Their artisanal cheeses like ‘Italian Lovers’ can be found in our fridge all summer.

Hikes?
The trails at Baxter State Park. I think it was ‘Grassy Pond Trail’ that had timber planks over rocky muddy stretches and handsome log bridges. I captured a great shot of a moose lifting his head out of the water with Katahdin in the background.

This summer I’d like to hike out to East Quoddy Lighthouse off Campobello Island - you have to make the trek when the tide is low since it’s only accessible an hour and a half before and one hour after, low tide.

Drives?
We like to explore Maine’s ‘fingers’ near and far. The drive from Route 1 to the quaint lobster village of Stonington is a must. It has it all - as you head through Surry, Blue Hill and Brooklin. The 1939 Deer Isle suspension bridge, spanning the Eggemoggin Reach - is in itself worth the trip.

Walks?
Dubbed ‘stub-toe’ path (because of many roots and rocks) by longtime campers and neighbors; it follows the lake around our neck of Boydens - through the pines, over a bridge, across several streams, following a great collection of turn of the century log and stick built cabins.

Views?
Several years ago we took a trip down the coast and decided to pay a pilgrimage to one of our favorite honeymoon stops - Mount Battie. It had just been raining and everything was soaked, so Patrick asked the Ranger whether the climb was still worth it.

When we got to the top of the stone tower we were greeted with not only magnificent views of Camden Harbor and the Penobscot Bay, but also a perfect double rainbow miraculously diving into the water on each end.

There were several other couples already there - no one spoke a word; we all stood in silence as the rainbow slowly disappeared.

Do you like lobster?
We do like lobster, but over the course of the summer we seem to have more crab. I make a pretty mean crab cake, though I get plenty of help from Betty’s Crabmeat in Pembroke. It doesn’t get any fresher - Betty’s husband catches them in the morning, so she can prepare them for pick-up by 10.

Blueberries?
That reminds me of another great drive - through Jonesboro’s blueberry barrens - dotted with glacial erratics. The best time to visit is in the fall when the barrens are blazing red.

We get fresh organic blueberries from a friend, Ellen Johnson, who owns Lamb Cove Farm in nearby Robbinston. Her pies are delicious. You can buy them and many other Maine made items at The Red Sleigh on Route 1 in Perry.

I like to make a batch of blueberry muffins for ourselves and our neighbors; then freeze the rest so we can have them again, when guests from ‘away’ come to visit.

Is there a special spot you two would like to spend a romantic weekend?
In our home, on our farm with our little kitty cat, Gabsy.

Thanks Joyce!