One winter six years ago, Shana Aldrich Ready found herself fooling around with her husband’s lobster gear. She had recently returned to Maine after working in the fashion industry in Boston and New York City, in search of a different lifestyle. She started making bracelets for herself out of lobstering rope and hooks. Her friends loved the bracelets and pushed her to approach local stores about selling them. Her business, The ROPES, was born. Ready says the popularity of her designs snowballed after someone from Elle saw Ready’s friend from New York City wearing one and featured the bracelet on the style magazine’s website. Now, the bracelets are sold by retailers all over the country and as far away as Japan. “Something I love is I’ve created an opportunity for myself here in Maine, and it’s something I never fathomed I could do,” she says. Ready, who lives in Cape Elizabeth, still makes most of the bracelets, including all of the most complicated design, the Portland. Staying true to what brought her back to Maine, she’s dismissed suggestions to grow the business more aggressively. “It’s about my life. Bigger isn’t always better,” Ready says. “I’d like to keep it about my life and create a quality product that people can rely on and come back to year after year.”