MAE Finds More Room to Grow in Newberg

NEWBERG, Ore. — Opening the door to MAE‘s soap, skincare, and candle workshop and warehouse will inevitably waft sweet, spiced, and soothing scents onto the Sherman Street sidewalk that runs alongside it. Today, it was Hinoki, a crisp and woodsy fragrance emanating from warm soy-based candles being poured by hand in the main workshop space.

The company hopes those aromas will draw customers through the door at 115 E. Sherman St., as MAE is opening its retail space to the community Monday through Friday to purchase locally made products, even as their growth means people all around the country are smelling the same scents.

MAE, the Newberg-based apothecary brand, has reopened its doors for retail for the first time since owner Jennifer Engelman purchased the business in early 2025. The company also moved into a larger production space this summer and is preparing a custom line of bath products for The Allison Inn & Spa — the latest in what Engelman describes as a breakout year for the brand.

“It’s been almost a year since I took the leap to do this full time,” said Engelman, who previously worked as an executive recruiter. “The moment I did, I just felt growth. The business needed it, and the results show that the time spent has been worth it.”

She said the first year under her ownership was spent building systems and adjusting processes. Now with those systems, processes, sourcing, and recipes in place, her focus has turned elsewhere.

“The first year was really learning and getting our footing, and this second year has been growth and expansion,” Engelman said.

That growth has shown up in several places at once. MAE has added retailers across Oregon and pushed into new markets outside the state such as California, Michigan, Tennessee, New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

“I would say we’ve found that markets that mimic Oregon do well,” Engelman said. “Smaller communities that care about how products are made and the people behind them, those do really well.”

The company has also fielded interest from larger national retailers, though Engelman said MAE is being deliberate about which partnerships it pursues.

One such partnership is with Newberg’s luxury hotel, The Allison Inn & Spa. General Manager Tessa Peterson first learned about MAE products while visiting Anacréon Winery, which stocks and uses MAE products in its Newberg tasting room.

Peterson said The Allison had discussed the possibility of creating a custom line of products for guests, and after learning MAE was local, she thought it would be a perfect opportunity. She messaged Engelman and asked if she could purchase MAE soap for The Allison’s bathrooms, and asked if she knew how to make shampoo.

“[Engelman] is very creative,” Peterson said. “Initially she said she didn’t do shampoo, but then she called me back in no time and said she figured out how to make shampoo.”

That kicked off a spirit of collaboration, culminating in a custom Allison scent line that will be used and sold at the hotel’s north Newberg campus. The scent is inspired by The Allison’s grounds — herbs to represent the herb garden, some woodsy notes inspired by the surrounding trees and the building itself, and a little bit of rose as a nod to Allison co-founder Joan Austin’s garden on the property.

“It was a really fun process,” Peterson said. “We’re really excited to work with Jen [Engelman] — it’s fun to see such a luxury product come out of our little town.”

The scented product line, including shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, body wash, and lotion, will be in each of The Allison’s 85 rooms as well as the hotel’s spa. The hand soaps and lotions will be available in the public bathrooms as well. Candles with the scent, along with other MAE products, will be available for purchase in the retail section of the hotel.

This is only the latest boost the brand has received recently. In July, Shop TODAY named MAE’s hand cream the best splurge hand cream in its 2026 Beauty Awards.

“For hydration without the greasy feel, our reviewers say this MAE Hand Cream is worth the splurge, giving it a perfect score for its texture, performance and overall feel,” the article said.

The list is built from thousands of new product launches narrowed down to several hundred finalists for hands-on testing, according to Today.com. In the list, MAE appears alongside beauty product titans such as Native, Aveeno, Aquaphor, and Dove.

“It’s not typical for a brand our size to receive the award,” Engelman said. “That was a pretty big moment.”

The product lineup has grown alongside the business. MAE launched a travel-size line of its hand cream this year, which Engelman said has resonated with visitors passing through Oregon wine country.

“People come to wine country, and they visit, and they want to grab something from one of our retailers or one of our wineries and get on the plane,” Engelman said.

The company also launched Studio Series, a line of limited-release candles built around more experimental scent combinations than MAE’s core blends.

“The Studio Series is meant to be a little bit messier in the sense that it is really layered, really complex. It’s playful,” Engelman said.

The first candle in the series has already sold out in small batches, and a second, described by Engelman as more fall-oriented, is expected later in the season.

From Workshop to Warehouse

MAE’s expansion took a physical turn this summer when the company took over the larger, attached warehouse space vacated by Miss Hannah’s Gourmet Popcorn, which relocated its own production and office space in late July. Engelman said MAE had heard Miss Hannah’s was scouting a new location and asked its landlord for first right of refusal on the space once it became available. She moved products over within days of Miss Hannah’s emptying out, with freight of raw materials arriving the next week.

The additional square footage gives MAE room to grow beyond production, according to Engelman. The company eventually plans to host private events in the space, including candle-making and perfume-roller workshops, she said.

MAE also reopened its Sherman Street storefront on Fridays this summer, and now will be open for retail sales Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Customers can order products online for in-store pickup, and the shop also sells discounted products with minor cosmetic flaws from the hand-batching process.

“I want people to know that we’re here,” Engelman said. “I want people to know that they can come and open this door, even if the sign says ‘closed’ by accident. Knock on the door.”

The company is also hiring for a part-time shipping and production role that Engelman said could expand over time.

“Our goal is to grow this business and create jobs in this community,” she said.

Looking ahead, Engelman said MAE plans to launch a body-care line in 2027 built around botanicals grown in the Willamette Valley, extending the brand’s local-sourcing focus into a new product category.

“I only see growth in the future for us,” Engelman said.

Learn more about MAE at the company’s website, shopmae.co, and Instagram page.