Upper Valley Business News
Deborah Hauser, director of strategic growth at Four Seasons Sotheby’s South Burlington, Vt., has been named chief operating officer of the real estate firm, which has locations in Fairlee, Hanover and New London.SKC Floral Design LLC, a florist and gift shop owned by Samantha Charles, has opened 34 Pleasant St. in Claremont. More information: skcfloraldesign.com. Please submit business announcements via...
‘Being able to solve issues every day’
Valley News Correspondent For decades, the trades have seemed like an unconventional career path for women and the statistics back that up: According to a 2021 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data report, only 1.7% of electricians in the country are women. Undeterred by the statistics, two female electricians from the Upper Valley have found joining the trades to be a smart and rewarding career choice. Both women described what it’s...
In Demand: Hand-crafted pottery business pulls through during pandemic
In 2016, Georgia Donnelly’s pottery business was flourishing. But with a move back to New Hampshire from Florida, Donnelly wasn’t producing as much. Donnelly was also busy: She had a job as a potter, first for Simon Pearce, then for Fireside Pottery. But she wanted to get back to her own craft and away from the physically taxing work of production pottery, where she might make 100 mugs in a single day. When she bought a house in...
Business of Agriculture: A delicate flower thrives in wintery Vermont
Delicate, fragile and subtle it is. But saffron is finding a foothold in the rocky soils of wintry Vermont. The crocus flower that produces saffron — a flavoring that is said to be the most expensive in the world — is suddenly being planted by the thousands around the state. In March, researchers at the University of Vermont held a saffron workshop attended by about 60 people in person and another 60 online from all over the country....
Exit Interview: King Arthur answers the call when baking gets the best of you
When your bread is sad and your meringue is weeping, when you want to try something new or are struggling to get a recipe just right or when you can’t find yeast, the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Hotline helpers can talk you through your baking woes, questions and experiments. The line has been active since 1993. Baking Specialist Martina Pochop is one of 15 bakers who staff the call center that operates for eight to 12 hours a day, 357...
Made in the Upper Valley: Clean water keeps the community running
From a sock getting flushed down the toilet to parts-per-trillion contaminants, there are myriad mayhems that can disrupt a community’s water system. Fortunately for the town of Hartford, Chief Water System Operator Rick Kenney said, there are not any per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) — a human-made chemical used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s — in either of the two central water systems that provide...
Some Upper Valley business owners are drawn to untraditional professions
Though the end products of a forester, a hot sauce company and a food waste recycling business are drastically different, Russell Forestry Services, Angry Goat Pepper Co. and werecyclefood.com all grew out of answering a call to not follow a traditional business path. The people who run these unusual Upper Valley businesses knew how they wanted to live and have forged their companies to fulfill those desires. It led them to work that...
Score Stories: Undercoating business fills void for service that’s in high demand
What started as a mission to keep his pick-up truck from rusting led Keith Mulholland to opening his own metal restoration business — in the middle of a global pandemic. Mulholland Metal Restoration opened in Weare, N.H., in July 2020, only a few short months after the state shut down businesses across many industries in the face of COVID-19. The business offers oil undercoating for vehicle protection, sandblasting services and metal...
SCORE Stories: Small businesses can adapt to survive and thrive during the pandemic with the right plan
Our present-day situation, as they say, is fluid. If being an Upper Valley entrepreneur pre-COVID was akin to floating on a placid lake, awaiting quiet inspiration before paddling forward in a charted, safe, almost predictable direction, then our current situation can feel like navigating Colorado Class VI rapids without a paddle in the dark of night. How is the pandemic affecting small businesses in the Upper Valley? We are...
Exit Interview: Jessica Giordani and Karen Zook of Scratch Supply Co.
Winter in the Upper Valley is full of outdoor activities, but sometimes you want to escape the cold and cozy up inside with good friends and good conversation. That’s exactly what happens at Scratch Supply Co., a fiber, fabric and supply shop in Lebanon. On a given day in the shop, you’ll see patrons coming in and out, troubleshooting their projects, perusing through the carefully-curated inventory of yarns, or just catching up with...
