Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 27 M AY 1 9 , 2 0 2 5 F O C U S S M A L L B U S I N E S S Chapman expects to open the work- shop in mid-June, with blacksmithing classes going live on his website. e location is great, he adds. Nearby attractions include breweries and an amusement center. "Having public-facing businesses around me feels like a big plus," he says. People will hear the blacksmithing shop and will be poking their heads in." Ups and downs In 2020, Michael Friedland and his partners — his sister Jennifer Friedland- Stora and Ryan Holland — opened the Lumbery, a building supply store in Cape Elizabeth. e mission? Offer lumber from family-owned and -operated mills, with trees cut within 40 miles of the mills, catering to local contractors and do-it-yourselfer homeowners. In 2023, the town of Cape Elizabeth sued the Lumbery over the location of outdoor display items and signage. Although the town later dropped the lawsuit, the partners were worn out and listed the real estate and inventory for sale in 2024. But by January, there was a shift. "We all love the Lumbery and we had a big meeting and we realized, Let's go all in," says Friedland. Local sourcing Friedland came to the enterprise from his handyman business, Willard Square Home Repair. Frustrated by the lack of nearby lumberyards, he figured that, since he had to stock his own wood, it would be great to open a store to sell wood and related items, with a chain-of-custody model that asks what are the social, environmen- tal and economical effects associated with the items. e partners renovated a former Cumberland Farms, all mainly self- financed through Friedland. It opened with building and garden supplies, including custom, in-house-built items such as garden arbors and raised gar- den beds; specialty items like northern white cedar, rough-sawn hemlock, live edge slabs and native plants; and a hardware section. But the town's 2023 lawsuit, based on a condition of the store's initial site plan, meant that anytime Friedland wanted to move or change outdoor displays, he needed to apply for a plan amendment, which took time and money, he said at the time. For the Lumbery, the arrangement was untenable because displays had to EXPECT to learn at your pace Financial aid available for qualified students. at the UNIVERSITY of MAINE at PRESQUE ISLE YO U R J O U R N E Y. YO U R PAC E . affordability EXTREME UNPARALLELED EXCEPTIONAL support personal academic success coach flexibility 100% online & fully asynchronous Flat tuition rate per 8 week session— $1,700 for bachelor's, $2,350 for master's umpi.edu/yourpace | umpi-yourpace@maine.edu Looking for a degree completion program that's both affordable and designed to meet the needs of working professionals? UMPI-ad-qrtr-06-2024-v02.pdf 1 6/10/2024 11:03:55 AM Summer 2 session starts 7/7. APPLY BY 6/6 Make new connections with the Greenville business community! PRESEN T ING SP ONSOR REGIONAL SP ONSORS HORS D'OEUVRES / CASH BAR / NETWORKING WITH AREA BUSINESS EXECUTIVES S PACE IS S PACE IS L IMITED L IMITED, BE S URE TO , BE S URE TO R EG IS TER! R EG IS TER! Please register ahead at www.mainebiz.biz/OTRGreenville25 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18 / 4–6PM / BL AIR HILL INN, GREENVILLE GREENVILLE P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » A chef's knife in a forge at Soma Metalwork, in Portland I've spent the last few months collecting the highest-quality anvils I can find. — Kiran Chapman Soma Metalwork

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