Thanks to Facebook, The Maine House in Hallowell Finally has a Logo

The people have spoken with their digital thumbs, and Chelsea Ellis' design will become the official logo for Hallowell's The Maine House. Ellis' elegant piece, a silhouette of a single evergreen, beat out a more stylized logo of a leafless tree by Gayle Chung. The Maine House announced the winner via a Facebook post yesterday.

Ellis, design editor for the Kennebec Journal and a freelance photographer, told Eater her work went through a handful of versions with different fonts, but ultimately she chose to utilize something familiar to the owners: the type on their own placeholder sign. "There were definitely several drafts using different typefaces, but I ended up sticking with the type on the sign they already have. I think it works well with the tree silhouette," she explained.

As for the tree silhouette, Ellis pictured wandering the woods of Maine throughout the year: "When I think about Maine in any season, I think of hiking or cross country skiing through the woods. The evergreen trees are beautiful at any time of the year here. So I thought a single evergreen would be fitting for a sweet spot like The Maine House."

The finalists for The Maine House's logo contest: Chelsea Ellis' (L) and Gayle Chung's designs on glassware.

The Maine House owners, mother-daughter team Coby and Deanna Thibeau, initiated the design contest in November, following four months of logo-less business. It's a savvy move that is likely to encourage fans to feel more ownership over the business. The lounge is one of few spots in the area focusing on local craft beverages. Ellis pointed to that focus, along with the staff, as a major draw of The Maine House. And now that she's won two free beers per week for the rest of the year, she'll be getting much better acquainted with the space.

"I've honestly only been to The Maine House a handful of times, but I love the space and the people who work there are so nice. Plus there are so many great Maine beers," she said. "This area really needs a place like The Maine House where local brews are served."