STYLE-November + December 2009
Photograph by Karen Lewis

Name: Jennifer Margaret Batchelor
Age: 30
Location: Windham

What are you up to? Where are you off to?
I’m not going anywhere. I love keeping warm this time of year—baking, making stews, stockpiling hats, gloves, scarves, and making dates for snow days!

From here or from away?
Away. I’m from Somers, New York, a suburb of NYC and birthplace of the American Circus. I’ve lived in Maine for almost ten years.

What do you do?
For work: I load trucks early in the a.m. at UPS, proudly representing my union, Teamsters Local #340.

How is business?
Booming! Holidays mean overtime and even earlier mornings.

Are you an authority/expert on any subject/skill? What?
Not quite an expert, but I am a bird nerd. I have at least a dozen bird books. I find everything about them enchanting.

The most fashionable thing you own is…
Vintage Lady Pendletons.

What’s your footwear?
Work boots, Converse All-Stars, dancing heels. In that order.

Frequency at which you eat lobster?
Once a year—just to be sure I still don’t like it.

Winter is for…
Food, friends, and getting snowed in!

Where do you go to get away?
NYC, for now. My parents own an acre in Liberty, and in the future, I hope to build a camp on it soon.

Who inspires you?
My late grandmother Ruth Batchelor. She was elegant, practical, and knew how to wear red well.

What are you reading?
Body and Soul: Ten American Women by Carolyn Coman and Judy Dater.

Who are you listening to?
Frank Sinatra. It’s a phase I go through every few years. Hopefully, Animal Collective or Blonde Redhead will release something to snap me out of it.

Describe your style.
Adaptable. I can wear the dirtiest work gear, the fanciest party dress, and everything in between. My favorite is getting all dressed up. I have a collection of vintage party dresses that I need more reasons and occasions to bust out!

Maine is…
Everything I never knew I wanted.