October 8th, 1818 Padded gloves designed by Jack Broughton are first used in a competitive boxing match between two unnamed English boxers at Aix-la-Chapelle in France

Downeast Trading co. Inc.

We were founded in 1975 by Rick Winslow in Ogunquit, Maine in order to avoid full-time employment. At the time surfing was his first love. The company evolved from a hobby to a job to an obsession. Originally trading in turquoise, coral, heishe beads, silver, and stone, mostly out of the trunk of a Volkswagen bug, Downeast slowly transformed from a wholesaler of semi-precious stones, pearls, and findings, to an importer of Italian jewelry.

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