Campus Celebrities: Mary Mandell & Sarah Bonenfant

Nautical Knot Weaves Into Orono

 
Instead of bar hopping down Mill Street on a Friday night, two seniors from the university of Maine sit atop the Store Ampersand weaving rope mats. Up the pull-down stairs to the dimly lit, below freezing attic, sit the two women weaving recycled lobster rope by hand on homemade jigs. With the lingering smell of old wooden furniture and dried sea salt, the two stand in winter parkas with miles of rope at their feet.

A month ago Mary Mandell and classmate Sarah Bonenfant lugged two, 20 pound, wooden and metal sewing contraptions up two staircases to set up shop.  The two fourth year kinesiology majors call their business the Nautical Knot. Mandell of Eliot, Maine proposed the idea to classmate of Scarborough, Maine.

Mandell got into the business of mat making last summer through a family friend, Susan Volger, who weaves the mats to sell to local businesses in Eliot. When the two had trouble finding jobs in the Orono, Mandell, with permission from Volger, decided to branch off and bring the business up north for an added side project to her already rigorous school schedule.

Volger, owner of Maine Rope Mats, started her business in Elliot, Maine when lobstermen were actively replacing the float rope of their traps in order to reduce the entanglement of the North Atlantic right whales. The Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (GOMLF) has been buying back and recycling float rope from lobstermen as a part of the “Bottom Line Project.” Mandell worked tightly with Volger last summer to learn the art of rope weaving. Mandell is now putting her learned skills to action.

“This past Christmas break, I worked with Sarah to put together our own rope-mat making jigs, purchase necessary equipment to make the mats and start to making the rope mats independently. We still continue to give a certain portion of our product to Susan for her business “Maine Rope Mats” but more recently concentrating on our own company,” Mandell said sitting bundled up in the workshop.

The welcoming mats, which measure 20” X32”, take approximately 45 minutes to weave and require about 100ft of rope. The hands-on work requires precision and strength to secure the stubborn, coarse lobster rope into place. With their preferred Pandora radio station humming in the background, the women weave the rope in and out, back and forth, on the metal bars of the jig about 50 times to complete one mat. The women gear up with headlamps for better lighting in the outlet-less attic along with gardening gloves for protection and warmth. Each mat is unique in color and design and can be indoors and out. The woven stack of mats in the corner of the workshop catches the eye. The pastel, sea salted colors mesh together in distinctive design and I’m sold.

The businesswomen have set prices at 40 dollars for single colored mats, 45 dollars for triple colored mats, and 50 dollars for five pattern mats. With a few orders already in place from various family friends the business is growing with profits going to Maine Rope Mats.

 The two young entrepreneurs have a strong advertising strategy and promote the good nature of the business.
“By purchasing a Nautical Knot rope mat, you are not only helping the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (GOMLF) to recycle old lobster float rope but you are also supporting protection of the whale specie from death and injury,” Bonenfant said.

The girl’s entrepreneurial spirits have inspired future expansions to their business. They plan to start making dog leashes, beach bags, and other crafts. The girls are also currently constructing a website to make pre ordering possible.