Chilton's Profile in Decor Maine's Fall 2026 Interiors Issue

Excerpt from the Profile: Into the Wood

Written by Lila Harron Battis 

It all started with a few cans of paint. Back in the 1880s, the company then known as Chilton Manufacturing Co. sold paints and stains, with outposts in Portland, Boston, and New York. In the 1970s, the owner began using locally made pine furniture to showcase his products. “More and more, people just wanted to buy the furniture,” says Chilton president Jen Levin. By the time Levin and her husband Jared bought the company in 2014, furniture was Chilton’s mainstay. Amish artisans in the Midwest produced the bulk of the brand’s Shaker-style pieces, with the remainder—about 27 percent of the total production— made by woodworkers in Buxton and Farmington.

But deep roots and a couple of local woodworking outposts don’t alone add up to a Maine heritage company. For that, Jen had to do some legwork. “It was like turning a very large ship,” she says. “Rather than just being a furniture store, we wanted to be a brand.” Continue reading the full profile here.