Pam Douglas, founder of Pam’s Wreath, stands beside bundles of balsam outside her Harpswell home studio on Nov. 22. Laura Sitterly / The Times Record

Pam Douglas started making wreaths in the 1980s, and it’s still part of her patchwork of seasonal jobs. As she wire-wrapped handfuls of evergreen around metal rings at her home studio last month, she recalled her early days as a wreather.

“Back then, I ran off coffee and holiday spirit,” she said. “I still can’t believe how far we’ve come today.”

It started out in workshop filled with fragrant branches and bows — first in her grandparent’s old, somewhat-dilapidated barn (she would work through the night with a headlamp, snow freezing on her eyelashes), then in her parent’s basement and now in a home studio in Harpswell. The transitions, bumpy as they’ve been, were worth it to Douglas. 

Early on, she never considered the possibilities behind her grandmother Yovanna’s traditional Christmas wreaths, which she doled out as gifts to family and neighbors each year. When Douglas became pregnant with her oldest son, Sterling, she remembered asking her grandmother, “Why don’t you sell those?” 

Douglas took 10 wreaths to Cook’s Lobster House, where she worked for 28 years, and sold them for $10 each — a $100 profit that brought tears to Yovanna’s eyes. 

While Douglas never considered herself “crafty,” she was drawn by the allure of extra cash during the holidays. Under the moonlight, Yovanna laid a sheet on the kitchen floor, with Sterling, now born, in the playpen, and spent three hours teaching her granddaughter the process — bending coat hangers and using carp thread to secure bundles of fir needles. 

At the time, Douglas was renting a log cabin by the water. She would practice during the quiet hours from sunset to sunrise, relaxed by the crackle of the fireplace and the sound of the waves, accompanied by the steady movement of her hands, attuning to the trade. 

Maine’s official state animal inspired Pam’s Moose Head Wreath. Laura Sitterly / The Times Record

What began as a hobby translated into a part-time gig. Slowly but surely, corporate orders were secured, and everything snowballed. 

“One day, some customers told me they were moving to Russia and wanted to send 100 wreaths to their friends,” Pam said. “They asked if we could ship, and naively, I said, ‘Of course.’ The house was filled with boxes, and everyone in the family lent a hand to get those orders mailed.” 

Ambitious as she was, Sterling said his mother never forgot a sports game — even if that meant showing up with her hands covered in tree pitch. Pam kept her work almost secretive, tiptoeing around once the kids dozed off. This would go on from October, after closing down her ice cream shop (Pammy’s Ice Cream Parlor in Harpswell) through Christmas. 

“If we could start in August, that’d be great,” Douglas said. “But we can only make wreaths when the brush is ready, which forces our season into a few fast (and furious) weeks. I’m lucky if I get three hours of sleep each night.” 

Keeping it in the family

Gradually, the work has become more modernized, with some shifts receiving more acceptance than others.

As a junior in college, an alumna with her own web development company visited Sterling’s entrepreneurship class and handed out business cards. He kept them for some time, considering his mother’s trade options.

Douglas vividly remembers when her son suggested that she take the business online. He proposed creating a website where she could share her story, customers could place orders and financial data could be entered into QuickBooks, eliminating the tedious hassle of pen-and-paper accounting.

Sterling and Pam Douglas showcase a traditional wreath at their Harpswell studio on Nov. 22. The mom-and-son duo have created Maine-made wreaths together since 2009. Laura Sitterly / The Times Record

“It felt natural to collaborate,” Sterling said. “In 2009, we filed the necessary paperwork and became partners. Our website and Facebook were launched, and we began wreath-making together.” 

Douglas often jokes that Sterling is stuck helping her because she cannot decipher, let alone manage technology on her own. Her comment is a tease but reveals a deeper fear: moving away from traditional values fosters a sense of dependency.

“There’s more control taking things into your own hands,” she said. 

After much reluctance in the early-2000s, Douglas bought a wreath machine. Testing her sales at a roadside stand, she remembers holding up two wreaths, surprised that no one could tell which one was handmade. Slowly, she incorporated more technology to boost production. 

Due to high demand, Douglas makes larger wreaths by hand but can create traditional wreaths on the machine in about eight minutes.

“It’s not the money that motivates me,” she said. “I love what I do. Working in the middle of the night, with no one bothering me, I can focus on making something that I know will bring joy to someone else.” 

Sterling agreed; his children enjoy helping out in the shop, too. His son can make a wreath in under 20 minutes, and his daughter recently had to be dragged to her birthday party as she was begging to play at the shop instead. 

While the aim is to keep the business family-run, Sterling is clear about his stance: He will only encourage his children to continue in the trade if they are genuinely passionate about it. He describes the work as a labor of love, noting, “It just feels good to serve others.”

As Pam Douglas stated, every order is inspected before it is picked up. Quality is a top priority. Laura Sitterly / The Times Record

Maine-made wreaths

For Downeast farmers, balsam-harvesting is a welcome change of pace at the end of a season’s crescendo. 

A bucket of homemade pinecone decorations Sterling and Pam Douglas made using materials found across the Midcoast landscape. Laura Sitterly / The Times Record

When the last wildflowers turn golden, temperatures dip and fishermen pull their traps from the water, the time finally comes for “tipping,” or what others may call “brushing.” This is when folks head into the woods to gather the ends of evergreen branches for use in holiday wreaths. 

The work is physically demanding — hauling the weight of heavy branches and pulling ticks off at day’s end. However, a certain magic comes with noticing the soft patterns in the branches and keeping an eye out for barred owls living in the woodlot. 

Douglas and Sterling have found this to be true while foraging for supplies.

“A lot of companies cut corners,” Sterling said. “That’s why needles fall off wreaths in department stores — they need three frosts before they’re ready to use.” 

Inside Pam’s Wreath studio in Harpswell. Pammy’s 2024 Tree Sale will be held at 1410 Harpswell Neck Road from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 7. Laura Sitterly / The Times Record

Pam’s Wreaths receives its fir supply from Van Buren. In recent years, the temperatures in the Midcoast haven’t dropped low enough at the right time, so they rely on colder areas where the tipping starts earlier.

The remaining materials, such as reindeer moss and pinecones, are gathered from Harpswell and nearby towns. Neighbors and friends contribute by collecting natural items from their properties and delivering them to the shop for decoration.

Douglas values quality and will not compromise on it. To uphold these high standards, she checks every wreath before it leaves the shop and avoids wholesale commitments, such as those for hockey boosters or school fundraisers.

That said, this year, there will be an exception.

Pam’s Wreaths is hosting a tree sale at 1410 Harpswell Neck Road from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7. Locals can grab supplies while they last; a percentage of the proceeds will benefit the Harpswell Santa Fund. 

The horse-themed design, as pictured, is another signature Pam’s Wreath item. Laura Sitterly / The Times Record

Last season, the business sold 2,000 wreaths — a number Douglas and her son hope will continue to grow. By incentivizing early orders with a 10% discount, they already shipped over 400 orders before Thanksgiving.

Themed designs highlight Maine classics like the state animal, a moose. Next year, a cat wreath will be available; the wire prototype is almost perfected.

Shipments are still sent to established customers, but due to high demand, Pam’s Wreaths focuses on local pick-ups only.

Orders must be placed before Dec. 15 to be ready before Christmas. Most purchases can be made online, but call 751-7870 for larger wreaths or bulk orders. 

“I don’t get a wreath up until after the holidays because things are so busy,” Douglas said. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”