Category: Sandwich Business Group

Meet Our Members ~ Molly Simmons, 2 Basket Street Yoga

6/6/2021

Molly Simmons in the studio. Photo by Paul Simmons

What is your name and the name of your business?
My name is Molly Simmons and I own and teach yoga at 2 Basket Street Yoga in Sandwich.

How did you get to Sandwich, NH?
My husband Paul’s family has been here since 1961. Sandwich was one of the first places Paul brought me after we met. That was Fair Weekend of 2010. I remember riding along the Holderness Road heading to Paul’s mom house and marveling at all the beautiful fall leaves. I had never been to Sandwich, NH and didn’t know what to expect. It was lovely. I also met many of Paul’s oldest friends when we went to watch the parade in town. We watched from one of Paul’s friends house. Many of the people I met that day are now dear friends of mine and also a big part of the community at 2 Basket Street Yoga.

Paul and Molly Simmons. Photo by Meredith Gisness

What got you started in this work?
I started practicing yoga 20 years ago at a studio in Cambridge, Mass. I fell in love with the practice of yoga. Not only did it make my body feel stronger, but it also brought so much peace and healing to my mind. As fate would have it I started to work at the studio where I took my first class. I continued on to teach at many different yoga studios in Boston and surrounding suburbs.

Tell us about your business. What do you make, do, or offer as a service?
The studio is in our barn and offers beautiful views of Mt. Israel and the Sandwich range. This magical healing space was once used as an artist’s studio by the former steward of the property. It seemed fitting to give the studio a renewed look and create 2 Basket Street Yoga.

My style of teaching is a Vinyasa Flow, which means you will move from pose to pose. I also offer modifications if something is too challenging or you’re nursing an injury. You can rest also when you need. These are all-level classes; novices and experts alike are encouraged to come.

The studio, photo by Molly Simmons

How did your business get started?
When my husband and I bought the property at 2 Basket Street here in Sandwich we were so lucky because the beautiful barn had a studio and I knew that I wanted to create a healing space. The setting is so lovely with the views of Mt. Israel and the Sandwich Range. With fine work of Chris Read, a local contractor and friend, we tailored the studio to fit its current need.

Penny keeps watch at 2 Basket Street. Photo by Molly Simmons

What is the most fun/satisfying aspect of your work?
I love teaching yoga! It is one of my favorite things to do and it doesn’t feel like work. I tell my students all the time that being able to teach yoga and bring yoga into the lives of others is such a gift. I love the community aspect of creating a yoga studio and bringing people together from the community to learn the practice of yoga and all of yoga’s amazing benefits. It is not about being able to touch your toes, it is about being present in the moment, taking care of you physical body and mind though the practice of yoga. The benefits of a yoga practice happen on and off the mat.

What is the hardest?
Marketing my business is sometimes challenging because of the time it takes and also needing to be creative to spread the word, that is why I am grateful to SBG offering this platform to share.

What happened to your business in this last Covid year?
Luckily, I was able to keep my things going by offering my yoga classes on Zoom, which was fantastic. I also held some classes outside late summer/fall last year. I am really excited to be offering in-person classes again here at the studio. For now, I am asking all students who attend in person to be vaccinated. I am also still offering classes on Zoom.

Outdoor Yoga, photo by Paul Simmons

What are your goals and hopes for the future?
My goals and hopes for 2 Basket Street Yoga are to add more classes to the schedule, to continue to create a space for people in the community to come together and practice yoga, feel the healing benefits, and enjoy the beauty of the mountains.

The view from 2 Basket Street. Photo by Molly Simmons

What else can you tell us about yourself and your business?
I am also a Reiki partitioner and own powersofhealing.com which I founded in 2007. I provide Reiki healing to clients in my Cambridge office. I also offer Reiki healing sessions here at 2 Basket Street Yoga.

I am a twin. I love hiking, biking, skiing and running the trails & the roads with my sweet husband Paul and our dog Penny!

Molly Simmons
info@2basketstreetyoga.com
617-461-9512
2basketstreetyoga.com

Meet Our Members ~ Derek and Linda Marshall

5/27/2021

Please enjoy this edition of Meet Our Members in which we learn about Derek and Linda Marshall, wonderful artists and craftspeople, who have lived and worked in Sandwich for decades. We are extremely fortunate to have so many fascinating and talented people in our midst.

Derek Marshall throws a pot. 1983, Photo by Chet Brickett

What is your name and the name of your business?
Derek Marshall. Currently we operate as Derek Marshall Lighting, but before that, we operated as "The Sandwich Kiln " starting in 1971. Basically, it is the same business except we work more with glass than clay...but all comes under the rubric of ceramics.

What got you started in this profession?
After graduating from college in 1965 Linda and I were married. We were then whisked off to Japan where I was to join my ship, the Destroyer Henry W. Tucker, DD875 to serve as her first lieutenant. This was the real start of the American involvement in Vietnam and the Tucker was utilized almost continually for shore bombardment with our 5" guns.

Tucker also worked in carrier operations, running interference against possible enemy submarines and also as a decoy in the Gulf of Tonkin to lure the North Vietnamese to attack us to justify President Johnson’s Tonkin Resolution, the sole justification for our increasing presence in this war. That attack never happened.

Derek training with the Marines, 1963. Photo by Michael Moore

Linda, free to pursue more interesting things in Japan while I waged war, became fluent in Japanese. We both developed an intense interest in Japanese art, particularly the ceramic traditions of Japan, a world apart from the overbearing war.

We found, after some searching, a Japanese potter of national repute who said he would take us on in exchange for English lessons. It was a wonderful opportunity with a great artist. We were able to carry on this relationship for several years, between deployments to Vietnam. We lived in a small Japanese house in the fishing village of Hayama, across the peninsula from the Yokosuka Naval base on Tokyo Bay. There the mountains ran into the sea and red Camellias bloomed in the hills in the winter.

Derek stacking a kiln in Japan, 1970. Photo by Matajiro Kawamura

Life was good. I learned traditional Japanese ceramics, fired in a wood burning kiln about 40 feet long along with the incomparable Japanese aesthetics.
Eventually we were shipped back to the states to finish off my four-year commitment to the armed forces for paying my ROTC scholarship to Columbia University.

In Norfolk, Virginia, we found a great teacher of ceramic art at the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Science where by good chance we were able to continue our studies of Japanese ceramics by a wonderfully knowledgeable teacher.
After discharge from the Navy in 1969 and a summer sojourn touring around Europe, we returned to Japan to continue our study of Japanese art. I attended the Kyoto City University of Fine Arts (Kyoto Geijitsu Daigaku) for a year of graduate study in Japanese ceramics.

Linda took up brush painting in the style of black ink on handmade paper (sumi-e) and studied under the internationally renowned artist Tomikichiro Tokuriki.

Linda painting in the studio, 2013. Photo by Derek Marshall

After a year of total immersions in the life and arts of Japan, the three of us, (Amy was born during the rainy season in Japan in 1970) returned to America looking to start our professional careers in the creative arts.

Two years later, our son Crofton entered the world and now lives next door to us with his two sons, Alex, 16 and Gus, 13. Crofton is a builder and his wife, Andrea, is a registered nurse.

Daughter Amy lives in New York City with her husband, Chad. They are both dancers (Amy Marshall Dance Company) and have three children, Pasha, 13, Devlin 13 and Gillian, 10. Amy & Chad are both trainers as well, catering to a private clientele.

Linda and Derek in Sandwich, 1975. Photo by Marcella Winslow

How did you get to Sandwich, NH?
As it often happens, winding up in Sandwich was a random process. While we were in Japan, Linda's parents had left Connecticut for NH to open a gift shop,The Towle Hill House, in Meredith.

When we returned from Japan in late winter of 1971, it was our intention to find a likely spot for setting up a pottery studio in Maine. A friend suggested that we look at Sandwich. A little investigation revealed that Sandwich was a delightful rural community with a long tradition of crafts and in fact was the birthplace of The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. The Sandwich Home Industries was one of several League shops selling New Hampshire art and crafts in the state.

As it turned out, the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen is a unique organization, the envy of other crafts people around the country. For several years I served as VP of the organization, headquartered in Concord.

Derek and Linda in front of the shop, 1983. Photo by Chet Brickett

How did your business get started?
We started out as potters which meant building a studio, a couple of kilns and all the associated gear necessary to what amounted to a small factory. We made tableware, bowls of all sizes, plates, cups, and such like. It was a lot of work, going through about 8 tons of clay a year which I mixed in a repurposed mortar mixer.

One day we were approached by Norman Perry, a premier maker of table lamps for the architectural and interior design trade. He asked if we would be interested in making some ceramic bases for his company to turn into table lamps.

A pair of Draong Rings lamps, 1978. Photo by Norman Perry Company

This we did for several years and became his bestselling line. We won the Roscoe award from the New York City Resources Council for one of our lamp’s designs. In 2019 we won Best of New Hampshire lighting from New Hampshire Magazine.

From this we found a lighting market which not only included table lamps, but also wall sconces. Eventually we incorporated elements of art glass into the sconces and then it was but a short jump to making wall sconces out of glass alone.

What is the most fun/satisfying aspect of your work?
We always enjoy selling our art to interesting people and places. We have sold our lighting in many places, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, China, etc.

In 1976 we were commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts to design and produce a dinner service for a special luncheon for the senate wives hosted by the President’s wife. A single serving of this is now in Sandwich Historical Society.

We do not necessarily know about the interesting people as so much of that kind of thing is handled by third party professional designers...but we have made and sold various of our lights to Richard Branson for his private islands in the Caribbean. I am also delighted when I see our lights in movies and television shows, most of which I have forgotten, but include Friends, Seinfeld, Fraser.

In 1978 we returned to Japan for three shows of our ceramic art with our two children in Kyoto, Kurashiki and Takamatsu.

Large tenmoku charger painting by Linda, 1986. Photo by Derek Marshall

What is the hardest?
Minor problems occur dealing with customers who have a hard time making decisions. Our job is to help them see clearly what they want.A challenging part of our work is conceiving a new design, reducing it to a two-dimensional draft, then taking that to a three-dimensional pattern from which a series of negative and positive molds must be produced to finish the design.

Usually there is a period of trial and error where all the previous steps may need to be tweaked, or worst case, abandoned to start all over again. Going from an idea to a finished product can take up to a year or longer.

What has happened to your business in this last Covid year?
Cautious people are slower to spend money and the people who produce the glass we love sometimes run out of product. These are typical problems that were exacerbated by the pandemic.

What are your goals and hopes for the future?
We are always coming up with new designs, finding interesting new glass and other related parts for our designs, usually metal, metal castings and even nuts and bolts with appealing finish and texture made from brass, bronze or stainless steel.

Reaching our market is always a challenge when you live on a dirt road in the middle of New Hampshire. We advertise in design journals such as New Hampshire Home and Interior Design and send out press releases to inform the world that we exist for their pleasure.

Lilia pendants in a Squam Lake home, 2017. Photo by John Hession

What else can you tell us about yourself and your business?
We stock about 4-5 dozen styles, textures and colors of the best art glass made in the world. The glasses have all the intrinsic charm of gem stones all being made from the same elements. We have access to thousands of different colors, mixes and textures and can fulfill customers’ requirements for custom work.

All this information and more is on our website. Please come and browse: derekmarshall.com

Meet Our Members ~ Gunnar Berg of Hill People Winery

4/24/2021

Cath and Gunnar in the vineyard. Photo by Kristin Berg

What is your name and the name of your business?
Gunnar Berg of Hill People Winery (Hill People LLC). Started in 2013 with Catherine Graham and 100 vines.

How did you get to Sandwich, NH?
In 1950 by train when I was 10 months old, then by automobile after that. I learned to walk and talk in Sandwich. I was born and grew up in Black River Falls, WI. My father’s side of the family was of Norwegian descent, and my mother’s Scotch/Irish. Her maiden name was Jane McCrillis. Her parents were Neil McCrillis and Marion Bullard McCrillis. The McCrillis family built on the Whiteface Intervale in 1789, so there is a very long history in Sandwich, which I discovered in 1972 when I moved here full-time because everyone seemed to know my business before I knew it myself.

I was a student at the University of Wisconsin, Wausau and Madison, when the Vietnam war caused mass protest and disruption. I was an apolitical engineering major and switched to psychology for my last two years. After getting clubbed and teargassed for no reason I could see, I headed for the hills. Peace and quiet, clear water, clean air. I could not resist.

Gunnar in 1977, after moving to Sandwich. Photo by Pam Hitchcock

What have you done since you came to Sandwich?
I think my very first job was picking rocks from what was to become a clay tennis court. Come to think of it, that is an apt description of my 49 years in Sandwich- picking rocks. It is said—and I can verify this—that you can dig a big hole, separate the rocks from the soil, put the rocks back in the hole, and when it’s full you will have all the soil and a pile of rocks left over.

After rock picking, I got a job at the original Sandwich Cabinet Shop. When the owner abruptly vacated to Colorado, I was left holding the bag with many unfilled orders. With a pathetically small SBA loan, I bought the equipment and set up shop. Over the next 35 years I specialized in custom woodworking from guitars to kitchens to resurrecting Tappan Chairs.

Gunnar turning Tappan Chair posts. 2000 (approx). Photo by Gunnar Berg

Microwaves and the lure of high speed internet intruded on my woodworking and I built a solar powered wireless internet network in 2003 to try and bring Sandwich up to speed so to speak. The next 16 years I devoted to keeping people online through everything the Northeast could throw at me. That was exhausting and I tried to think of yet another career that I knew nothing about that would allow me more time, in what should be my laid back retirement, to spend on the Hill, which was why I moved here in the first place.

Installing a 900 MHz antenna on Red Hill. 2013. Photo by Catherine Graham

Tell us about Hill People. What do you make, do, or offer as a service?
Hill People LLC is a mom and pop vineyard and winery located on a high southern slope of Flat Mountain in the Sandwich Range. We specialize in wines from northern cold-hardy grapes developed at the University of Minnesota by Elmer Swenson of Osceola WI. We also produce wines from local fruits and berries. The winery—and our home—is off-grid and solar powered, probably the only winery in the state that is. Sitting at 1300', it is also the only vineyard at that elevation. We sell through Farmer's Markets and directly from the winery. Our tasting room will be open by appointment once the novel corona virus becomes a minimal threat to public health.

The Winery, 2020. Photo by Gunnar Berg

How did this business get started?
In 2012, at the Vermont Pub and Brewery in Burlington, Cathy and I started talking about possibly starting a micro-brewery. Since it seemed that’s what too many people were doing, we nixed that and I floated the idea of hard cider and planting an apple orchard. Cathy simply said, “You do know how old you are- right?” And so the search for Northern cold-hardy grapes- which you could harvest at 50% in year 3- was on. In 2013 we planted 100 Marquette, Prairie Star and LaCrescent grapes- in 2014 another 100, and in 2015 another hundred. Growing grapes this far north is a real challenge, to say nothing of Japanese beetles, bears, turkeys and cedar waxwings competing with you.

Given the limited amount of juice available from 300 vines, which is about the maximum that Cathy and I can manage, we branched out into other fermentable fruits and berries that were available locally. Our first departure from wine made from grapes was dandelion wine, which I made from my grandmother’s recipe. That was followed by blueberry, apple, honeyberry, pear, peach, tomato, and aronia berry. These non-grape varieties are now our staples.

Dandelion picking…it takes a village, or at least a group. Photo by Gunnar Berg

Cath tending the vines. Photo by Gunnar Berg

What is the most fun/satisfying aspect of your project?
The most satisfying part is after the very lengthy process of growing or gathering the fruit, crushing, fermenting, racking, and bottling, ending up with a product you like and are happy to share.

Some Hill People Winery offerings. Photo by Rob Caldwell

What is the hardest?
The hardest parts are all the random variables that get flung at you out of the blue. Could be bears, could be black rot fungus.

What has happened to your business in this last Covid year?
Business was down 60% in 2020.

What are your goals and hopes for the future?
We would like to be known for very local and very homemade unusual wines that can be best in class. We need to spend more time marketing and getting our wines on many more palates. It wouldn’t hurt if we could turn a profit.

Young Gunnar, 1984. Photo by Martha Nichols.

Gunnar in 2010. Some things don't change… much. Photo by Shannon Caldwell

Contact hillpeople@cyberpine.net, through our Facebook page at https://facebook.com/hillpeoplevineyard
or by calling 603-986-9769 (Gunnar) or 603-491-2004 (Cathy).