Notable Edibles-New England Good Life
Even the name of Jay Bell’s company, New England Good Life, speaks to the joy that he finds in crafting salvaged wood into useful and beautiful objects. After a few “stutter steps” in 2016, Bell began reinventing his previous business, homebuilding, into one that captured the essence of old Cape Cod. By the summer of 2020, he was making his now-iconic compass serving trays, yet no two were alike. “My inspiration sometimes feels like a scavenger hunt, with the reward being the emotional reaction the buyer has and how it connects to their story. Memories are the currency of life,” is Bell’s mantra and his touchstone. “The Cape is steeped in centuries of seafaring history and, more recently, tourism, but always family. Relationship, continuity, and history can anchor someone’s story as the world moves fast.”
His first design was a collaboration with Sarah, the younger of his two teenaged daughters. They deconstructed a pallet to make a vertical garden for her school project. She discovered she enjoyed using power tools and they loved working together. They encouraged her older sister Sydney, who had won several digital art awards, to paint coastal scenes on subsequent creations and she has become an integral part of the business.
The process begins with the choice of wood and how it speaks to Bell with its imperfections, size, and color. He tries to keep flaws and blemishes as best he can without compromising the functionality. He then clamps and glues the wood if needed, and adds runners on the back that help to stabilize the piece and provide a place for a recessed hanger. Since small Cape Cod houses don’t always have a lot of storage room, these can also be hung as wall art. Artwork is added (a whale, a compass, wedding information or a home and address), the finish is applied (non-toxic shellac, water-based polyurethane, or butchers wax) and finally, handles (often dock cleats, but sometimes old brass pulls) and protective pads. He has begun to use old windows, where Sydney paints a memory of a customer’s favorite scene on the glass panes.
Bell acquires his wood by trading a finished project made of the same wood for a load of floor planks, or by scouring job sites to see what’s being discarded or sold. He loves to engage with people about the history of the lumber he has acquired and what might make a perfect gift. The timber could be 200 years old from a house in Orleans, or might be a piece that has hash marks on it to mark its specific place as a floorboard. “Part of the fun for me is to enhance the experience. Not just create a charcuterie tray but use locally-sourced foods by local companies to really maximize the moment and fully round out the experience,” Bell said. He and his products can be found at Love Live Local festivals as well as at his website.
The Bell family recently moved to a historic former sea captain’s home on Route 6A in Yarmouth Port. They had outgrown their Dennis home, and the old barn behind the 1820s house had the perfect ambience and size for a workshop. He is happy to meet with clients there to explore the options available and impart the stories of the wood.
One of the most humbling projects Bell says he worked on was a painting on an 1830s barn remnant. Sydney recreated the scene from a photo that was taken where a family spread their mother’s ashes: sea, sand, beach grass and a sailboat. The painting memorialized an enduring and incredibly meaningful image for both families.
New England Good Life
newenglandgoodlife.com
Instagram: @newenglandgoodlife
