From left: Kim, Carly, and Pete Erskine at the Mexicali Blues store in Newcastle. (Suzi Thayer photo)
On March 25, 1988, an innovative new store opened in Portland. Now Mexicali Blues can be found in six locations around Maine, and it continues to grow and thrive. The store is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
The word “hippie” comes to mind when one enters Mexicali Blues and smells the incense, then takes in the colorful display of batik and tie-dyed, flowy dresses and tops that fill the spacious main showroom of its Newcastle store. Owners Pete and Kim Erskine, with their friendly, easygoing manner, do nothing to dispel that feeling. The name of their business comes from one of their favorite Grateful Dead songs.
But though the store and its merchandise are reminiscent of the bygone days of the Woodstock era, the clothing, jewelry, accessories, and home decor are still coveted by girls and boys, women and men of all ages and lifestyles.
Mexicali Blues’ Facebook page describes its merchandise as an “eclectic collection of unique and mindful goods, from batiks and tie-dyes to silver and gemstone jewelry, from exotic gifts to Eastern-inspired decor … a Maine-grown brand with a global consciousness, a little bit crunchy and always fun.”
The idea for the business was born one day in March 1988. Eric Lipkin, Pete’s friend and classmate from Gettysburg College, planted the seed. He had come to visit Pete in South Bristol, where Pete’s family had a summer place.
Pete Erskine (left) with his first partner in Mexicali Blues, Eric Lipkin. (Suzi Thayer photo)
The two had done their share of globetrotting, and Lipkin was ready to settle down a bit. He had planned to start a store with his brother, but his brother backed out. He asked Pete if he wanted to go to Portland and start a Mexican import business.
“I said sure, but what does that mean?” Pete said. “He said we’d go to Mexico and Guatemala, and bring stuff back and sell it. I was in.”
Mexicali Blues was launched. It started as a small Mexican and Guatemalan import store in Portland, with a lot of Grateful Dead goods.
Lipkin left the business five years later, and Pete met Kim shortly afterward, when she went into the Portland store to visit a friend. It was Pete’s birthday. Kim asked him what he was doing to celebrate.
“Nothing,” Pete said. “Of course there was a big party planned for later at my house.” They went out on a date instead, and have been running the business together ever since.
The smell of incense and colorful displays of of batik and tie-dyed dresses and tops greet shoppers as they enter the spacious main showroom at Mexicali Blues in Newcastle. (Suzi Thayer photo)
Now there are two Mexicali Blues stores in Portland, and others in Bangor, Freeport, Raymond, and Newcastle. The company’s warehouse is also in Newcastle. Besides the clothing and jewelry, shoppers will find troves of bags, scarves, hats, gloves, mittens, gifts, T-shirts, decor, paper lanterns, incense, and essential oils.
The business employs 70 people year-round and more than 100 during the summer. Pete said their employees and loyal customers are the real reason the business has grown and flourished for 30 years. “It takes a team,” he said. “We have an awesome team.”
The Erskines and their daughter and manager of the Newcastle store, Carly, were in the Newcastle location Aug. 10. They, and the ever-welcoming staff, greeted every customer who came through the door, without being overly attentive, giving them space and freedom to browse.
Pete and Kim talked about their business and their commitment to environmental and educational causes. When the Erskines aren’t running their stores, they’re pursuing their real passion: supporting projects dedicated to doing good both locally and around the world.
One percent of every Mexicali Blues purchase goes toward worthwhile causes. “One percent doesn’t seem like a lot, but it adds up, with six stores and internet sales, and it can really effect change,” Pete said.
Inside the Mexicali Blues store in Newcastle. (Suzi Thayer photo)
When a series of earthquakes devastated Nepal, the Erskines donated 100 percent of sales revenue from their Tibetan Prayer Flags – $25,000 – toward earthquake relief. A year later they donated another $25,000 to help build a school there.
When they learned that artisans in the Guatemalan highlands didn’t have adequate housing, they began donating 100 percent of the proceeds from their beaded bracelets to help build homes.
“It’s those kind of sustainable things we like to give to,” Pete said. “If you give someone a pair of shoes, that’s great, but shoes wear out. We’d rather support things that help people gain skills through education. These people just want a chance.”
Hanging star lights are a popular item at Mexicali Blues. (Suzi Thayer photo)
“We believe that world culture and community culture are two sides of the same peso,” the Erskines state on their website. “Our travels and our website take us all over the world, but our stores and our hearts are back home in Maine. We think globally and commune locally … we have loved collaborating with local organizations that ‘do good’ in the countries we import from and in the communities where we live and work.”
Kim is on the board of Friends of Thai Daughters, an organization that protects girls, typically aged 8-23, from the hill tribes of Northern Thailand who were trafficked or are vulnerable to trafficking. The organization helps by providing a safe living environment and education.
Environmental awareness is also at the top of the Erskines’ list of priorities. All the bags used at their stores are 100 percent recycled, and packing peanuts are biodegradable. The store and headquarters in Newcastle are powered with solar energy. The couple contributes to environmental causes and sells environmentally friendly products.
Their products are mostly handmade, with a focus on cultural traditions and artisanal techniques, like hand-stamped batiks and hand-blocked textiles, and hand-beaded jewelry and embroidery.
While Carly, 24, manages the Newcastle store and helps with international buying, one of the Erskines’ sons, Chauncey, 26, has been teaching in Vietnam, Japan, and Ecuador, and 21-year-old Caleb is in California making yurts. His company is called Living Intent Yurt Co.
The couple is heading to Thailand and Bali, Indonesia soon to buy their merchandise for next summer.
They travel to those countries and to Guatemala, India, and Nepal for three to four months each year. “We go to different locations and choose the styles of clothing we want, and we pick out the material we want to use for it,” Kim said.
Meanwhile, the Mexicali Blues family continues to celebrate the business’s 30th anniversary. “We’re big on celebrating,” Pete said. “We’re celebrating all year.”
Pete Erskine holds a Grateful Dead-inspired T-shirt with his licensed logo, which was designed in 2001. (Suzi Thayer photo)
The celebration has included events at each of the six stores and will culminate with a cruise on a Casco Bay Lines boat in Portland on Sept. 9. It’s a sold-out event, with 250 people planning to attend, and 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to Camp Sunshine, a retreat on Sebago Lake for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
To watch a video about Mexicali Blues’ 30th anniversary, go to youtube.com/watch?v=k5h57CdeSaU.
“It’s a lot of travel, a lot of experiences, and a lot of fun,” Pete is heard saying toward the end of the video. “We only buy from, work with, and sell to people who smile.”
