One thing I like about social media is the inspiration I find there and how hashtags help spark new research for my seeker soul. How you can find and simply follow great artists, surfers on their surfing journey, farmers on their transformative saga, and more and more. Sometimes, we follow someone or subscribe to their newsletter because we experience a quick feeling of how they seem to be aligned with us. That's why we decided to share this with you and let you dive deeper into who we are. The backstory or the formation of the different parts that have come together to become Fresh Pickins. Another moment for us to be completely transparent with you and for you to feel us a little better.
Fresh Pickins is a family business since everything started between Dan's mind and Vicki's willingness to participate. A Mother and son duo that have been working together on Fresh Pickins for the last 14 years. It all started as a simple, sustainable flower farm and has kept growing like weeds to nourish our hearts and souls one bouquet or product at a time.
Naturally, Dan got the farmer tag on his shirt. His passion was for doing the groundwork on his family land in Limington. Vicki was always on board to formulate and fulfill the product side of the business while dealing with the open tap of ideas free-flowing from Dan. Luckily, she never really had to give him a clack behind the head, and they continue to get along quite well. They spent seven years over there on that rocky land. Far from their markets, lost in purity of more than 100 acres of beautiful wild forested land in Limington, Maine. The business mainly grew flowers, made some lip balms, mushroom extracts, a zinc oxide mineral sunscreen, and a great bug repellent, all while running a farmer's market or two a week to keep afloat.
About six years into the journey, Dan started to see the limitations of his Limington land, where he would have had to invest quite a bit in infrastructure for the business to grow, and the proximity to his markets in Portland was making travel times a real consideration.
Hanging by the coast most of the time to get a surf in when he could, that was what the farmer and retired pro-skier Dan was really dreaming about—a young farmer trying to make time to surf with his friends from Black Point Surf Shop. Dan was the young adult recipe for a guaranteed, always-smiling vibe! A bunch of years went by, with Dan spending most of his winter out west skiing and then, one summer…
I got in the picture, me, Dom, hi!
Because we all at Fresh Pickins chased our dreams and kept dreaming a little bigger, the "simple and good" Fresh Pickins Farm got to grow and evolve. A new land opportunity also presented itself and could not be overlooked. A niche, almost in the ocean, waiting for us wild kids to dip our toes into together in a way that would change the face of this small family business for good.
With my conceptual & design background, phase 2.0 of the FPF product and farm was born. Designing a new line of products within collections inspired by Maine and using my marketing background to target unique aesthetics and different audiences, the new concept of Fresh Pickins took shape. The essence; grow stuff you love for the community you love to help people live their lives to the fullest!
The first time I visited the location that FPF was going to move into, in Cape Elizabeth, I personally got really moved by it. Since I always loved old barns and their hidden secrets, the spirit of the place was strongly talking to me. So I moved to Maine from Canada to join full-time.
Way back, this land had nested an herb operation before us, and it was so interesting how the land was teaching us by slowly revealing herbs, their properties & secrets, all while we were coming up with organic recipes for products that would serve us.
But more on that later...
With love,
Dom
P.S. Here's a little taste of what it all looks like behind the curtain from when we were deep in planning mode gearing up for our first Common Ground Country Fair. We could not be more stoked to be a part of such an inspiring and incredible event.
