Wreath-making rings in the holiday season

Maine's most fragrant industry is off to a good start despite the warmer than usual November weather. Orders for holiday wreaths, centerpieces and garlands made from fresh Maine balsam are holding steady with last year's numbers, reports Dugal Kell Jr. of Kelco Industries and Sunrise County Evergreen located in Milbridge.

Robert Dore of Dore's Evergreen says that sales are right in line with last year, and the weather has been good for tip growth. "But the tips are slow coming in," Dore says of the subcontractors he usually works with. Kell says that the company's tree farm in "way northern Maine" has produced good tips. "There's been snow there already," he adds. The cooler temperatures are important for wreath makers. The tree's sap needs to set before the tips are harvested, ensuring that the balsam needles stay fresh for a long period of time.

Retail markets stay strong

Wreath-makers in Washington County sell retail to customers all over the country. This is true for the large companies and the small businesses run by one or two family members. David Whitney of Whitney Wreath says that his Machias-based company has "almost doubled volume in one year." During a "really busy day, we ship up to 12 to 16 UPS trailers." Being sent around the country in those trailers, says Whitney, are "a very large number" of wreaths made by 800 temporary employees hired during the peak season. Whitney's company has 20 full-time, year-round employees with another 50 to 150 hired early in June to work through the holiday season. Whitney notes that there are still a few openings for centerpiece production in Baileyville and Crawford, and for wreath-making in Indian Township and Machias.

Kell says that his company employs 100 temporary workers for the holiday season and 60 year-round. Those employees create 70,000 wreaths in the very short period of time between tip harvesting and the holiday season. Dore Evergreen sells between 15,000 and 20,000 wreaths and subcontracts with 60 to 70 wreath-makers "all over the county" and about 31 tip collectors.

Over a four-week period, Charlotte-based Marilyn Morang makes about 300 wreaths for Whitney Wreath. "I've been making them for 45 years." She laughs. "I'm getting slower every year, but I've got a nice warm garage with a TV; it makes for a nice place to work with all the comforts of home."

Kathy and Herbert Bishop and their daughter Tammy produce 300 wreaths for Dore Evergreen and an additional 200 to 250 holiday wreaths and centerpieces for sale through their company, Boyden Lake Creative Products of Perry. They pick tips from their own land. Kathy Bishop says that the cold weather in October "helped to set the brush" and has made for good tips. They plan to expand the reach of their retail operation with a website for the 2010 holiday season. But for now they're busy with this season's retail demands. "The orders start this week, and Thanksgiving is a really busy time."

Canadian partnerships

Large wreath-makers used to sell primarily to the wholesale market, Kell explains. "We were shortchanging ourselves," with this business format, he says. Sunrise County Evergreen sells only to the retail market now. Imports from Canada "hadn't been a problem, but then from 1987 to 1992 they [Canada] had the exchange rate in their favor. The exchange rate is still in their favor, but not as much." Currently, he says, Canada as a competitor for the retail wreath market "is not much of a concern."

Whitney has nine different facilities that work on retail and wholesale wreath production, one of which is in Nova Scotia. He says, "I look at Canada in a collaborative fashion C they're neighbors. We have friends on Deer Island, St. Stephen, up around Woodstock, Quebec and Nova Scotia that we've partnered with since we've begun." Whitney's company has a "team of designers who create products for businesses such as L.L. Bean" and his own company, but much of the business is direct retail sales.

The current state of the economy hasn't dampened customer interest in wreaths, but Dore notes that some are downsizing the size of a wreath that they purchase.

Whitney has only good things to say about the season. "Sales are wonderful. Production, shipping, flow, quality of the workforce and the product" are combining for a terrific season, he says. "Everything is going fantastic." Morang sums up the current season by commenting, "So far so good."