We Make It, You Own It: Stories from Maine

Meet Emily Bastian, a Registered Maine Guide who has been fishing since she was eight years old - and still remembers the first fish she caught, on an L.L.Bean fly rod. She always has a pair of Maine-made Bean Boots in her truck, which have helped carry her full circle, from learning to fish on Maine rivers to teaching others how to get outside and enjoy all nature has to offer.

Furniture maker Eric Ritter has a natural, organic approach to his workday: "I just walk out into my shop, and it's piles of stuff to do. It's ever-changing." Wherever the day takes him, he brings his versatile Ragg Wool Sweater along for the ride - he even wore it traveling across the ocean. It speaks to the fact that to make it through all of Maine's seasons, you have to have a lot of skill sets and a bit of Yankee ingenuity.

For painter Ryan Adams, viewing and creating artwork is a transformative experience – from his first times seeing graffiti “in the wild,” to painting large-scale pieces in spaces like the L.L.Bean headquarters. In true Maine fashion, his connections to his community come through in his artwork and the places he paints.

Like many Mainers, Sarah Xiao has a deep connection to the water – and as a shellfish buyer, hers is deeper than most. Her trusty sidekick as she spends her days on the water is the L.L.Bean Boat and Tote, and just like oysters, or people, it takes on the aspects of the environment around it.