Camden's Go-To Gift Shop Since 1983

May 7

On a summer afternoon in Camden, customers drift into Once A Tree looking for different things: a hostess gift before dinner, a wedding present, a lamp for a newly renovated cottage, a toy for a grandchild waiting back home. Most leave with their purchases wrapped.

“People are here because they know they can walk straight from our store to the event with the gift ready to give,” said owner Liz Senders.

Once A Tree has occupied a place in downtown Camden since 1983, when it opened with a focus on handcrafted wooden goods and natural materials. The name came from the idea that everything in the store had, at one point, been “once a tree.” Over the years, the inventory expanded well beyond wood, but the original sensibility never fully disappeared.

Today, the store carries thousands of items from more than 100 vendors, with shelves filled with granite sailboats made in Downeast Maine, oyster-shaped pottery, woven rope mats, kitchen tools, pillows, children’s toys, lamps, and the hardwood boxes that longtime customers still come back looking for decades later.

“There’s a reason every item is in here,” Senders said. “Everything ties in somehow with the theme.”

The store’s mix of Maine-made goods and practical home items has made it a familiar stop for both visitors and locals. Summer customers often ship purchases home rather than trying to fit them into luggage. Others return year after year, looking for the same products they first discovered on vacation.

Senders grew up in Camden, where she and her parents owned and operated Small Wonder Gallery for decades. She sees Once A Tree as part of the broader experience people have when they visit town, particularly as more communities along the coast struggle to maintain year-round businesses.

“We love this town so much,” she said. “We want people to have a great experience here.”

That sense of continuity extends to the staff. Three year-round employees have worked at the store for more than a decade, including one who recently passed the 20-year mark. Customers know them by name. They know many customers right back.

In a downtown that changes a little every season, Once A Tree has remained recognizable: layered displays, complimentary gift wrapping, and a store where people often stop in “just to look” before leaving with something tucked under their arm.

31 Main St, Camden, ME | onceatreecamden.com