As Seen On : Mary Swenson
If friendships could be valued in candles-for-earrings-trades, ours would truly be priceless.
Mary and I met years ago, both of us in the fledgling stages of launching our small businesses. I remember the first craft fair that we were at together, a rainy and cold Massachusetts May Saturday, where we both did some retail therapy with each other to make up for the wet socks, white fingers, low sales. And my Farm + Sea habit was formed...candles in my home, roll-on perfume in the bathroom, reed-diffusers and more candles at my studio, and so many gifts given over the years…You get a Farm + Sea candle! And you get a Farm + Sea candle! And you get a Farm + Sea candle!
More often than not, when somebody sees the label, they say “Oh, I LOVE Farm + Sea!” But even better than that, to me, is when someone says “Oh, I love Mary + Rob!” or “Mary + Rob are the best!” Because that really is the essence of what this small business world is all about. Not just the quality of the products, or the beautiful branding, or the spiffy website…It’s the people. It’s not just Farm + Sea. It’s Mary + Rob.
Maybe you’ve shopped with each of us over the years, as we sell our work side-by-side at the Silvaticus Maker’s Markets. Thank you. Maybe you purchased one of our new collaborative Valentine’s Day Gift Sets. Thank you. Maybe you try to shop small and local and handcrafted whenever you can. Thank you. Maybe you’ve read this far, and will read the rest below to learn a little something about my lovely friends Mary + Rob, and what they have created. Thank you. And maybe you will become one more, among so many, to say “I love Farm + Sea! Mary + Rob are the best!”
Thank you.
xx
Amy
[interview below by kayla doyle]
Mary, wearing the Sliver Dangles [photo by Kate Donovan]
Mary, could you please start by telling us a little bit about yourself.
I’m Mary Swenson, founder and co-owner of Farm + Sea, which I now run with my husband Rob right around the corner from Amy’s studio in Amesbury. I’m a huge supporter of handmade and small business, own way too many cookbooks and pieces of pottery, and get overly excited about tortilla chips. If Rob and I aren’t working, we’re probably on some sort of weekend adventure, most likely in Maine, definitely eating oysters.
We would love to hear more about Farm + Sea. What has your path to Farm + Sea looked like?
I’ve always been a serial entrepreneur – even if my ideas just stayed in my head and never came to fruition – and always a creative. But when you’re young, you’re really never taught that those traits are actually living-makers...so you take the safe path and work the job to have the career that buys the things and pays the bills. And that’s what I did, and it was fine, until it wasn’t. At some point, you have to answer to the things inside of you that make you who you are, and decide whether or not you want to live authentically and with purpose and passion, or just continue to go through the motions. I chose the former. I’ll never forget that when I left my job to focus on the business full-time, a woman who used to be my manager said to me “That’s a bold move.” And even though I’m pretty sure that she didn’t mean it as a compliment, I always took it as one.
Farm + Sea Studio Shop in Amesbury, Massachusetts
Could you tell us a bit about your materials and ingredients? What are you using and why?
From the start, I knew that I wanted to use only the highest-quality ingredients for our products...like natural waxes and oils, and fragrances that are free from phthalates. When I was first starting out, just over seven years ago, phthalate-free fragrances weren’t quite a thing, and I had to really do some digging to find suppliers who sold them...today, they are readily available from pretty much every fragrance house, which is great to see, and shows the shift in what customers are demanding and expecting of the products that they bring into their home. I love that.
What does production look like for you and Farm + Sea? Do you have support?
Rob and I are at the studio pretty much every day, 7 days a week, to some extent. That could mean a full production day, or just a quick check-in at the studio to tie up some loose ends or plan the week ahead. We are incredibly lucky to now have a small but mighty team in place to help us, and we literally couldn’t run our business without them. They are family to us.
Like Amy, your work is very hands-on. Does your process ever feel tiresome or laborious? What continues to excite you?
When our production commitments get especially insane – like during the holidays, for example - we sometimes feel like we’re on autopilot. Rob and I will work all day, get home and have a quick dinner, go to bed early, and then repeat the whole thing the next day. And the next. And the next. But we’re surrounded by a team that makes us laugh, keeps the energy buzzing, and cares just as much as we do about what goes out the door and into a customer’s home or a retail shop. To have that kind of support around us has been a game-changer in so many ways. What continues to excite me? New scents, creating the visuals for our brand each season, and opening the doors to our little studio retail shop each week – it’s always been a dream of mine to have a brick and mortar, and this has been a great way to scratch that itch and give our customers a way to experience our brand in an in-person way.
How did you and Amy meet? How have you stayed connected over the years?
I always tell people that Amy is why I’m in Amesbury. I had been a fan of her work and knew her studio was in Amesbury, so in 2017 when I was ready to move production out of our house I reached out to her to pick her brain about what spaces might be available locally. Right off the bat, she was welcoming and open and eager to help, and to this day we still meet for coffee at the Market Square Bakehouse to talk shop, trade advice, and cheer each other on. Amy is someone I’ll always look up to as an artist and small business owner.
Do you wear Amy’s designs? What pieces of Amy’s can you be seen wearing?
I call Amy “my official jeweler” (ha!) because I am the proud owner of almost an embarrassing number of her pieces. Her earrings in particular are my go-tos – they’re miraculously lightweight and effortlessly cool. The ones I reach for most often these days are the Arrow Dangle, the Sliver Dangles, the Numa Studs...and her Selma Ring never comes off.
Rob and Mary Swenson at their Farm + Sea Studio Shop [photo by Kate Donovan]
Thank you so much for reading our latest installment of As Seen On. You can learn more about Mary + Rob and Farm + Sea HERE. And you can find our Valentine’s Day Gift Set in person at their shop and online at farmandsea.com until February 14, 2023.
And ASO readers, please enjoy 20% off of Mary’s favorite AVE styles, the Arrow Dangles, the Sliver Dangles, the Numa Studs and the Selma Ring. Discount is automatically taken at checkout.
If you or someone you know wears AVE jewelry and is interested in being featured in our “Ode to the Wearers", please reach out to us. We’d love to learn more about you and what you wear.