A new home accessories boutique has opened in Wiscasset. BIRCH, at 72 Main Street, is full of delightful, out of the ordinary gifts and furnishings to enhance your home and bring a sense of enjoyment to your spring.

BIRCH owners Brad Sevaldson and Greg Uthoff opened their doors with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 1, with an open house that drew people from all over the Midcoast area.

Sevaldson and Uthoff moved to Wiscasset recently from Boynton Beach in South Florida. Uthoff said they did the reverse of what most people do. “We moved to Florida when we were young, and came north in the latter stage of our lives.”

The couple said they had been vacationing in Midcoast Maine annually for around 20 years, visiting longtime friends on Orr's Island. “We'd take day trips up and down the coast, and we've always enjoyed Maine,” Uthoff said. “We've had a long-term goal to do something like this.”

Both men have a long background in retail, mostly with Saks Fifth Avenue, Uthoff in visual merchandising and Sevaldson in customer service.

Last June, they decided it was time for a change. They came to Maine and looked into business opportunities.

They ended up buying the three-story building on Main Street in Wiscasset, between Rock, Paper, Scissors and DebraElizabeth’s. The shop is on the first floor, and Uthoff and Sevaldson live on the second and third floors. Uthoff said he likes the idea of living where he works. “After living in Florida for almost 30 years, I'm much more acclimated to the heat than the cold. It's kind of a fantasy to just walk downstairs to work. I don't even have to go outside if I don't want to.”

“It was a dream to do this,” Sevaldson said. “I was up here last March visiting our friends in Orr's Island and I started looking around. Greg was unhappy in his job at Saks and I was retired, just doing my photography.” Sevaldson's photography, mostly of Maine, with some European and architectural themes, will be displayed at the store.

Don't let the name, BIRCH, fool you. Aside from some simple, stark birch limbs placed in strategic locations, and the logo, there's not a lot of birch-related merchandise. “We didn't want to be known as 'the birch store,'” Sevaldson said. “We just wanted a name that was clean and simple, something that would stick in people’s minds.”

The birch limbs came from Castle Tucker. “There were some trees being cut down, and rather than it being used for firewood, we brought it into our shop,” Sevaldson said. “It was serendipitous. We love birch trees.”

All of their inventory is inspired by their idea of Maine, with different themes. “We're doing a vintage Maine theme, including vintage postcards, lobster and buoy things, along with some nostalgic and souvenir things,” Uthoff said. “Sort of coastal cottage with updated versions of cottage themed items, and some contemporary metal and wood pieces.”

The inventory also includes linens, glassware, pillows, tables, lighting and sconces, cards, books and other fun things, both whimsical and practical.

“We wanted some local Wiscasset kinds of things in the shop,” Sevaldson said. “We'll see how it goes, and then we’ll add to the collection.”

The shop will also feature different artists’ displays. Presently Fran Sokol's work adorns the walls, many featuring birch trees based on photographs taken by Sevaldson.

“We're thrilled to be here in Wiscasset, and proud to be a part of it,” Uthoff said.

“We just love this town and area,” Sevaldson said. “We want to be a part of it. We've gotten involved and we want to stay involved. We are really blessed to be so warmly welcomed. It's the way life should be.”

BIRCH is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday through April. Beginning in May it will also be open on Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Call 207-522-4045.