Wildwood Oyster Co.
“Between the bag and the necklace, I realized that I had the opportunity to make something so much bigger than my craft and that I could start a real business with making leather bags and necklaces and so Wildwood Oyster Co. started as a company” says Becky McKinnell, owner and founder of Wildwood Oyster Company.
Becky began with her love of making fun things for herself to wear, with a special focus beautiful neon colors from which she drew inspiration. She used these colors to make fancy knots into necklaces and wore those necklaces to work and around town, receiving a great number of compliments on their style and craft.
Photographed by Maryellen Rooney
Becky’s popular Wildwood Oyster Co. Handbags. Leather and nautical rope make a good combination.
She continued with crafting, just for fun, and eventually began working with leather and creating handbags. To bring her community together around their love of creativity, she started a craft night with friends and once a month they would make greeting cards, sewn items and drawings. During these nights Becky decided to work on leather remnant pieces to make wallets with different designs. She liked being tactile and using her hands. “I was having fun thinking about the materials that made me happy and being creative with no intention to start a business,” says Becky.
It was not until her sister gifted her a hide of leather that she took her craft to a new level. “I decided that I would take this opportunity to make a handbag that I really loved. So I drew up this handbag and sketched it out on paper and traced it out on the leather, and did my best to sew it together on the sewing machine with my rudimentary skills. I need to figure out how I was going to carry the handbag on my shoulder. So I went to the marine store and found some brightly colored dock lines. And I decided that I would have a dock line hand strap. I was just so inspired by all the different colors of the dock line so I bought some extra pieces to play around with and ended up making a really cool statement necklace.”
“I realized how special it was to have a piece of fabric like that. Knowing that it came from an animal, I wanted to make sure that I was not wasteful with anything that I was creating. Being resourceful and reducing waste event though I am working with animal products. It is really important to me that I make a bag that is going to last a long time.”
“The leather to me gets more and more beautiful with age.”
Photographed by Maryellen Rooney
Becky’s latest product the Wildwood Oyster Co. clutch.
As she continues to grow her business, she is not alone in making the handbags. She partnered with a sewing company in Maine that is allowing her to produce them on a larger and more professional scale. She is striving to work with other Maine business by buying leather from a local supplier who provides and cuts the leather for her. She sorts the leather and brings it to her sewer who then sews the handbags. She sources metal from a company that is located in the US and sources rope from manufacturers in New England. There are a lot of different people contributing to the construction the bags at various stages. She intends to keep as much of the business as close to her community in Maine as possible. She appreciates that, in Maine, “So many people are willing to help and want to see businesses get off the ground and thrive, and are willing to make an introduction to bring your vision to life.”
“I think about companies that have one or a few very special products and they’re looking to do that very well and not be everything to everyone and expand to have a worldwide presence. It’s been two years I want to take this slow and make sure I am enjoying every step of the process and growth.
She values..
“Quality, happiness, and simplicity”
Originally from Massachusetts, she has found that Maine has really supported entrepreneurs and makers. “People are really willing to help here, there isn’t anyone that wants to hold back information because someone else might steal it. People are very generous with sharing what has worked for them and what challenges they’ve had. They are more than willing to make introductions to other people in the community who are willing to help you.”