Interviewee:
Michele Cobban Barden (She/Her)
In your own words, tell us about your business, organization, or initiative.
Odd Cod Studio is a small coastal craft studio on the North Shore of Massachusetts. We make things by hand; wooden signs, nautical ropework, custom-engraved boards, and seasonal ornaments, all of it rooted in the landscapes and maritime history of New England.
The studio is run by Michele and Gary Barden. We’re both trained geographers, which probably explains why we’re so drawn to place, history, and the stories that objects carry. Michele designs and hand-paints every sign. Gary runs the laser engraver. And together we tie ropework using traditional marlinspike seamanship techniques that translate surprisingly well into modern coastal living.
The name comes from the cod, a lasting symbol of New England’s maritime heritage and the region’s quiet sense of individuality. That’s the spirit we try to bring to everything we make, work that’s coastal without being kitschy, well-crafted without being precious, and made to actually last.
Tell us a bit about you and why you do what you do. Share your passions for your business, organization, or initiative.
We came to this work from an unexpected direction. Michele and Gary are both trained geographers and environmental scientists, people who spend their careers thinking about place, ecosystems, and how humans relate to the natural world. We actually met in the geography and cartography department at Salem State University, which means our connection to the North Shore and to maps, place, and landscape runs pretty deep.
We both still work full-time. Gary is a GIS director and Michele is an environmental scientist specializing in water resources management. Odd Cod Studio is what we do in the hours around that work, early mornings, weekends, and any stolen time in between. That probably sounds like a lot, but honestly the making is what recharges us.
Michele started painting signs in 2019, originally under the name Signs by MiCo. What began as a creative outlet kept growing and evolved into something more. There’s something deeply satisfying about making an object that connects someone to a place they love. A town name, a set of coordinates, a stretch of beach that means something to them. The ropework came later, when we started exploring marlinspike seamanship and discovered that it was as much an art form as it was a practical skill.
We’re makers because we’re curious about materials, techniques, history, and place. Odd Cod Studio is where all of that comes together.
What is the last thing you read, watched, or listened to that had an impact on you?
Honestly, a lot of what impacts me most these days comes from my work. As an environmental scientist focused on water resources, I spend a lot of time reading about the changing biology of Massachusetts Bay. We are seeing fish, phytoplankton, and zooplankton appearing in local waters that simply weren’t here before, alongside significant reductions in the populations that once defined these waters. It’s fascinating and unsettling in equal measure.
For me it connects directly to why place matters so much. The North Shore that we grew up with, that we draw on for everything we make at Odd Cod Studio, is changing. The cod that gave us our name is itself a species under pressure. That awareness doesn’t make the work feel smaller, it makes it feel more urgent. Making things rooted in this place, in this moment, feels like its own kind of documentation.
What’s the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you or your business?
People probably expect us to be listening to sea shanties in the studio. The truth is it’s more likely to be Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, or Red Hot Chili Peppers. We have a full-blown addiction to grunge rock that has soundtracked pretty much every sign we’ve painted and every knot we’ve tied. There’s something about that era of music, raw, unpretentious, built to last, that actually feels pretty aligned with how we think about making things. Or maybe we just really like loud guitars. Probably both.
What is Creative Collective?
Creative Collective delivers comprehensive business services – marketing promotion, technical assistance, business consulting, and advocacy at all levels – for Essex County entrepreneurs, creators, and innovators. We support the whole person, not just the business, through a collaborative community where members learn from each other, not just from us, because we know thriving businesses are built by thriving humans supporting each other. Learn more and join Creative Collective at www.creativecollectivema.com/join
