MILLINOCKET, Maine — To John Hafford and Jessica Masse, the former Wreath Factory building is a giant, empty canvas, full of potential for the creative internet-based businesses they hope to bring to it.
The husband and wife team plan to move their Designlab graphic design and social media marketing firm from their home in Medway to the three-story facility at 135 Penobscot Ave. by September. They said they bought the building for an undisclosed price in March and have been renovating it since.
Their goal is to turn the building into an all-in-one media and marketing facility, possibly with suites for video and audio production and editing. They also said they are considering using parts of the building for community meeting rooms and as an incubator for other businesses.
“The great thing about the building is that so much of it is in original condition,” the 47-year-old Hafford said Wednesday.
“It’s got great bones,” Masse said.
“We do a lot of video production that we can fit right into this,” Hafford said. “It’s got room for so many different things.”
“Whatever we imagine, we can make happen here,” said Masse, 41.
Built in 1925, the brick building was home to a chapter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, an altruistic society dedicated to philanthropic enterprises that dates back to 17th Century England.
The building has a large open space on its second floor the Odd Fellows used for theatrical productions — a space that would be perfect as a soundstage, Hafford said. Small rooms on the third floor, which Hafford speculates were used as dressing rooms for performers, remain there.
Both from Aroostook County, Hafford and Masse have been together since she was a student at Caribou High School, she said. In business with Designlab in Medway since 2004, the couple’s clients include Dunkin’ Donuts, L.L. Bean, Four Seasons, National Park Service, Evian bottled water and Hotel Bel-Air.
Clint Linscott, a member of the Katahdin Area Recovery and Expansion committee that allocated $7,500 to Designlab to help the relocation, said he saw a lot of promise in Hafford and Masse. He said he was glad they found a good space for themselves on Penobscot Avenue.
“They are very community-oriented. They keep updated on the community, not just their business,” Linscott said. “The more businesses we can get back onto the main streets in all three communities the better, and the downtown location for them in Millinocket is excellent for them.”
“I am thrilled that we will have somebody with their expertise so close at hand, for their website expertise,” said Anita Mueller, a downtown Millinocket business owner and Town Council member.
Once Designlab moves into its new home, Hafford and Masse want to approach officials in East Millinocket, Medway and Millinocket to see about marketing those towns individually and collectively, especially to tech- or internet-based businesses, Masse said. Getting high-speed Internet lines into downtown help draw such businesses to Millinocket, they said.
Hafford and Masse have already done commercials for Millinocket Regional Hospital, Cary Medical Center of Caribou and the Jefferson Cary Oncology Center. The area’s extraordinary beauty, recreational opportunities, inexpensive rents and relatively low cost-of-living could make it a real draw for Internet businesses that could work from anywhere in the world, Hafford said.
“We think we could go a long way toward convincing people to come here and do business,” Masse said.
