Meet the Maker
Lauren Beveridge, Owner and Maker of Scout + Bean
I am a maker to my core. I’ve been making things since I can remember. Give me an idea, describe a product you need, show me a sketch of what you're thinking - chances are, I can figure out a way to make it. I am a perfectionist through and through when it comes to stitches, size, shape, and consistency. I strive to create unique, original designs, incorporating elements that no other rope artisans are doing. I make pieces that people can actually use - things that are beautiful, but not so beautiful that you want to set it on the shelf and never use it.
When I’m designing my pieces, I’m always trying to solve a problem - needing a basket to bring in all the green beans from the garden, needing a tote to keep all my knitting in one place and ready to grab at a moments notice, a keychain that I can loop around my wrist because I’m hauling in eight grocery bags and a toddler on my hip. I don’t like tchotchke things that collect dust, and you’re not quite sure what to do with. My pieces are designed to be used on a daily basis and to blend seamlessly into peoples’ lives and homes.
I learned to knit sitting between my great grandmother’s legs when I was six. My mother taught me to sew when I was ten. Growing up, we weren’t poor, but like most Maine families - we were one accident or medical mishap away from being in trouble monetarily. My mom sewed our clothes from scratch. From a young age, it was always engrained in me that "we can make it ourselves”. Which when you think about it, is so incredibly empowering and self sufficient - to have the ability and confidence to make something yourself, because you can.
I started working with cotton rope on a whim four years ago, and people started noticing. Taking something you throw on a hook in a shed, and making it into a useful, and beautiful piece is still so exciting to me. Sewing rope in circles is calming, a bit hypnotic and gives me time to sit quietly and think big thoughts.
I am a one woman show over here - I dye all the rope, sew up all the rope, tag finished product, and ship everything! I work in my in-home studio space, among the Coastal Mountains in Lincolnville, Maine.