A series of interviews with inspirational tenants from across CORE-managed properties
Roxi Suger has arguably one of the most stunning spaces in Biddeford’s Pepperrell Mill. Step inside her massive brand headquarters at #13-109, 40 Main St. and you’ll find huge windows and rows and rows of sewing machines.
“It’s a mill space but it’s like an atelier,” says Roxi. “It’s so beautiful with these 16-foot ceilings and wide open columns. It really does capture the essence of what these mills first were.”
Roxi is the founder of Angelrox, a family business that creates unique bamboo and plant-based clothing. She was one of the first designers in the US to adopt bamboo as a fabric. “It’s all plant-based and is so soothing,” she says. “It’s great for anyone with skin sensitivity. It’s from the earth and returns to the earth.”
Roxi is in many ways a business leader before her times. She was one of the first innovators to move into Pepperell Mill all the way back in 2012. Today her brand has three stores, one around the block from the mill on Washington Street in Biddeford, another in Portland’s Old Port, and the third in Newburyport, MA. She was also one of the first to only use North American-based suppliers (all her fabric comes from Quebec and Long Island). And all along, she’s engineered her products to minimize waste and save, reuse, recycle and eliminate waste.
Originally from Oklahoma, Roxi spent the first 18 years of her career in New York City in the heart of the fashion industry. She worked for brands like Vivenne Tam and Urban Outfitters and taught as an adjunct professor at Parson’s School of Design. Then her young family moved to Maine after stumbling across the mills in Biddeford. Today she employs a team that oscillates between 20-25 employees. She explains right now they have a more skeletal staff as the market has been challenging this past year.
She is also known for building community. Roxi is the force behind numerous “Biddeford Balls”. And she calls her customers and employees ‘angels.’ “They are our angels, they’re making this all possible,” she says, laughing. “They’re supporting jobs and lives!” This September, Roxi celebrates the grand opening of her recently relocated Portland store at 89 Exchange Street. She says she will be organizing “teas scheduled for groups of angels.”
As we finish our conversation, we ask: What are her thoughts of CORE Finard taking over the management of this part of Pepperrell Mill?
“I’m so impressed with CORE Finard” she says, smiling. “You all came in with a sense of renewal and concern for your tenants. I’m very happy that you’re now at the helm. I think it’ll be great for the Pepperell Mill community to have such strong local supporters and champions of the people who live and work here.”
Learn more at www.angelrox.com