This past July, guests gathered for a design conversation with SISTER PARISH DESIGN, preceded by refreshments at the Grotto on KNICKERBOCKER GROUP’s Boothbay campus. Guests enjoyed Apple’s iced tea, a family recipe from Apple Parish Bartlett, Sister’s daughter and an artist. The intimate midday event featured Susan Crater, CEO of Sister Parish Design and granddaughter of the legendary designer, alongside Jackson McCard, head of sales. The conversation centered on the brand’s enduring commitment to authenticity, comfort, and connection. Sister Parish Design’s philosophy emphasizes the importance of creating spaces that are lived in and loved, rather than designed to impress. Sister Parish designed homes up and down the Maine coast, including her own.

THE HAUNTED: CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY CONJURED IN NEW ENGLAND is a new limited-
edition art book from SPEEDWELL, edited by Jocelyn Lee and designed by Emily Sheffer. Blending contemporary photography by 22 New England artists with poetry spanning two centuries, The Haunted explores the region’s uncanny beauty and complex creative history. Accompanying exhibitions will open at MOSS GALLERIES in Falmouth and LIGHT MANUFACTURING in Portland, with a launch event at the PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART on October 30. Featuring work by artists including Cig Harvey and Shoshannah White alongside poems by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and more, this 162-page hardcover invites viewers to see New England’s haunted past—and present—through a poetic new lens.

MAINE GOLF recently broke ground on a $3 million nonprofit golf learning center at the former Freeport Country Club, aiming to expand access to juniors and families. Named in honor of two‑time Maine Women’s Amateur champion ALEXA RE RANCOURT, the center features a Toptracer-equipped driving range, a revamped nine-hole short course, and a junior‑friendly clubhouse with a pro shop, snack bar, indoor classrooms, and simulators for year-round play. The facility will host FIRST TEE and other junior programs aligned with Maine Golf’s mission to make the game more accessible to young Mainers. Architect DAVID MATERO, COVER THE TEES, and construction manager ZACHAU CONSTRUCTION partnered on the design and build of the facility, which is expected to open in 2027.

This fall, a collaboration between TEMPOART and PORTLAND TRAILS, called CREATIVE PATHS, continues its four-part series exploring the link among art, community, and the natural world. On October 5, join printmaker Jordan Kendall Parks for Drawing Nature, a sketching session amid the autumn beauty of Evergreen Woods (pencils and sketchbooks will be provided). Then, on November 7, dig into Kelp and Our Community, a hands-on gardening and art event with Cultivating Community, a local food justice organization. Both programs are inspired by TEMPOart’s latest installation, Winged Kelp by Gillian Christy, a sculpture outside Portland’s City Hall that “highlights the essential role seaweed plays in maintaining a healthy ecosystem while evoking our deep connection to ocean life.” Events are ticketed on a sliding scale to ensure accessibility for all. Sign up at trails.org.

A two-week intensive at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE’s Portland campus called THE COMPLETE CITY: SPATIAL DESIGN introduced students to the fundamentals of design in the built environment. Codirected by Gretchen Rabinkin, executive director of the BOSTON SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, and Addy Smith-Reiman, former executive director of the PORTLAND SOCIETY FOR ARCHITECTURE, the course immersed students in studio culture and firm visits as they learned to observe, analyze, and create in context. This year’s studio included high school sophomores through college and post-college students.

A final design project with presentations and critiques rounded
out the intensive, which was taught by architects, landscape architects, and urban designers from the area including Paige Lyons (Aceto Kimball Landscape Architecture—AKLA), Trevor Watson (Knickerbocker Group), Soren deNiord (Soren deNiord Design Studio), Dustin Tisdale (Woodhull), Riley Noble (BSC Group / Cornell), Grace Tisdale (Kaplan Thompson Architects), Emily Segal (Syracuse University), and Joanna Shaw (Winkelman Architecture). 

Students visited the offices of Acorn Engineering, SMRT, Kaplan Thompson, and Woodhull; they also paid a site visit to the Kiwanis Community Pool hosted by Portland’s parks and recreation department with Simons Architects and AKLA. 

Jurors for the final critique included Jessie Carroll (Jessie Carroll Architect), Jeff Pelletier (michael boucher landscape architecture), Eric Wittman (Knickerbocker Group), Alexis Del Vecchio (Acorn Engineering), Steve Thompson (Tetra Tech), Amelie Cadieux (Maglin Site Furniture), Ben Winschel (CHA Architecture/ ACE Maine), John Souther (USM), and Danielle Devine (MH+D).

Midcoast boatbuilder ROCKPORT MARINE is wrapping up construction on a 95-foot sailing yacht called PROJECT OUZEL, conceived by LANGAN DESIGN PARTNERS with interior design by MARK WHITELEY DESIGN. The boat’s hull is constructed with thin strips of cold-molded Douglas fir, western red cedar, and epoxy resin, reinforced in the midsection with carbon fiber for strength and lightness. In late 2023 Ouzel made boating news when its hull was flipped outdoors at Rockport Marine to allow the installation of interiors and systems to proceed. Made for long-range cruising, the yacht’s design combines a classic above-water look with a modern underbody. According to Mainebiz, the project team included structural engineers, technical experts, mechanical, electrical, mast, and rigging specialists.

GREATER PORTLAND LANDMARKS, the city’s nonprofit advocate for historic preservation, is presenting awards this month to ten honorees that represent “the best of adaptive reuse, contextual new construction, storytelling, placemaking, and individual contributions to preservation policy, restoration trades, and stewardship of historic properties.” The joint 60th Birthday Bash and Preservation Awards will be held at the Mariner’s Church on October 28 and will honor both the 2023 and 2025 winners, including the Fifth Maine Museum on Peaks Island (window restoration), Portland’s Thompson Block (adaptive reuse), Woodhull’s new headquarters at the Safford House (adaptive reuse), Vana Carmona’s home (a Greek Revival–style house on Capisic Street), and others.