Mainebiz

I n 2014, Jessica Masse and John Haff ord were looking for a build- ing for their marketing business, designlab. e Aroostook County natives were part-time Mainers, but wanted to be full-time. ey'd narrowed the search to Bangor and Millinocket. In December 2014 they had yet to make a decision as they stood in a crowd gathered to watch the Christmas lighting at the downtown Millinocket gazebo. e town was in a downward eco- nomic spiral. e paper mill in East Millinocket shut down for good that past February and Millinocket's mill, which closed in 2008, had been razed in August. Newspapers, including e New York Times earlier that year, published articles about Millinocket that read like obituaries. "Morale was very low," Masse says. e gazebo revitalization was the fi rst project by Our Katahdin, a non- profi t that advocates "small wins" using crowd-sourced funding and volunteers. A lot rested on the refurbished gazebo strung with 750 LED bulbs and housing a 10-foot Christmas tree. When the lights went on, "the town had this moment," Masse says. at spark of hope gripped Masse and Haff ord, too. 'It was the difference' Today, Masse and Haff ord, partners in business and in marriage, are running a thriving graphic design fi rm in the Millinocket's former Odd Fellows hall, which they bought in March 2015. Masse's eyes shine when she talks about the gazebo moment. "Honest to god, it was the diff erence between us choosing Bangor," she says. Haff ord, a designer and entrepre- neur, started designlab in 2004, work- ing from home. Masse has been an information analyst for e Jackson Laboratory and managed a laboratory at Harvard Medical School. She's eff usive about Haff ord's creative passion. He admires her advocacy and willingness to take risks. But they're more interested in talking about Millinocket. When designlab opened, the town was still smarting from a January 2015 report by Charles Buki, an economic consultant with Alexandria, Va.-based P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D The lights are coming on in Millinocket A graphic design firm finds purpose in mill town's revival B y M a u r e e n M i l l i k e n You can have economic development, but if you don't have community resiliency, it's not going to click. — Jessica Masse Jessica Masse and John Hafford Founders Designlab, Millinocket John Hafford and his wife and business partner Jessica Masse at designlab in Millinocket. The graphic design fi rm is in the former Odd Fellows hall. V O L . X X I I I N O. X X I I I O C T O B E R 2 , 2 0 1 7 26

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