Japan...9/11...and farmer's markets?

Most Seacoast stories don't involve these components.

But for Jonathan Blakeslee, the owner of the very popular White Heron Tea & Coffee, they're critical elements of a story that you have to hear to believe.

From the roasting room at White Heron located in the West End of Portsmouth, founder/owner Jonathan and I discuss:

• Jonathan's Japan experience (00:00)
• Living and working in the Pacific Northwest (06:20)
• The origins of White Heron (09:41)
• Organic, fair trade, and sustainably sourced (16:10)
• Follow the podcast (22:13)
• Opening in Portsmouth in 2013 (23:48)
• Advice to future shop owners (31:38)
• Jonathan's concerns about the industry (35:54)
• Opening in Eliot in 2020 (47:58)
• What's your mission? (53:03)

Jonathan Blakeslee is the founder and owner of White Heron Tea & Coffee. Born in Portsmouth in 1969, Jonathan also spent his formative years in North Hampton and South Berwick. In lieu of attending college, Jonathan spent two years with the Coast Guard in Japan. After that, he spent several years working at top-ranked restaurants in Seattle and Portland (OR) before returning to the Seacoast in the mid-2000s to start White Heron.

This podcast is hosted, written, researched, and produced by Spotify's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Troy Farkas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. FOLLOW the show on Apple or Spotify to support the show. It's free :)

Competent. Clear. Compelling.

According to Michael Cinquino, these are the traits of an effective communicator.

He calls it the 3C Method, and it's a philosophy that he swears by. A combination of lessons learned from his world-class acting teachers, four years in the U.S. Navy, a past career advising CIOs, teaching at UNH, and running his own small business, the 3C Method is the North Star for a man whom I believe may just be the most interesting man on the Seacoast.

On this Veterans Day, Michael Cinquino joins me at the Portsmouth Public Library to discuss:

• How I met Michael Cinquino (00:00)
• Michael's Navy background (03:55)
• Pursuing a career in acting (16:53)
• How to support "Seacoast Stories" (21:34)
• How acting changed Michael's life (22:45)
• The lost art of listening (28:48)
• Gen Z's communication skills (36:36)
• The 3 Cs of effective communication (44:32)
• How to get more confidence (54:18)
• What's your mission? (01:03:12)

Michael Cinquino is the CEO of Soho Creative Studio, a remote agency that captures content and designs strategies for small businesses. A veteran with four years of Navy experience, Michael graduated with a MFA from Rutgers, a degree he took to New York City to then pursue a career in acting. He moved to the Seacoast in 2020, and he now also works as an adjunct professor at the University of New Hampshire. Michael also hosts the "Performance Anxiety" podcast.

To find out more about Michael's services, please visit SohoCreativeStudio.com⁠ or ⁠@michaelcinquino on Instagram.

This podcast is hosted, written, researched, and produced by Spotify's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Troy Farkas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To support this show, please leave a review of "Seacoast Stories" on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠our Apple Podcasts page.⁠⁠ Details on last week's contest will come out Wednesday on the @seacoaststoriespodcast Instagram account.

*For tickets to support Troy at the Catapult Seacoast "10 to Watch" event on Wednesday at The Press Room, ⁠⁠⁠click here.

We all want to be our own bosses.

Honestly, who actually enjoys taking orders from somebody else? Don't we all spend most of our days dreaming and scheming about all the better ways we could spend our time, if only we could work up the courage to take the leap?

Today's guest, Andrea Schwanbeck, is all too familiar with that inner dialogue. She engaged with it for years, waiting and waiting for the right time to dive into the unknown.

But when a COVID layoff blindsided her, Andrea was left with no choice but to finally go all in on herself, even if it meant she had to pay a premium for health insurance as a Type 1 diabetic.

In this week's conversation from Brass Tacks Photography in Portsmouth, and in celebration of Diabetes Awareness Month, my friend Andrea joins me to discuss:

• Andrea's start in photography (00:00)
• Diabetes diagnosis (06:36)
• Andrea's career prior to Brass Tacks (15:32)
• Wedding photography (23:15)
• A fun show announcement! (26:14)
• An unforgettable story (27:32)
• Our relationships with T1 Diabetes (31:19)
• Opening the Brass Tacks Studio in Portsmouth (46:50)
• Building a brand (51:21)
• What's your mission? (55:25)

Andrea Schwanbeck is the owner of Brass Tacks Photography, a studio located in the heart of downtown Portsmouth. Originally from Andover, Mass., Andrea graduated from Bentley University with a degree in finance. Before pursuing a full-time career in luxury wedding photography, Andrea worked in radio advertising and jigsaw puzzle licensing, among other things. A former collegiate swimmer, Andrea is also a proud Type 1 diabetic.

To find out more about Andrea's services, please visit BrassTacksPhotography.com or @brasstacksphotography on Instagram.

This podcast is hosted, written, researched, and produced by Spotify's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Troy Farkas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To support this show, please leave a review of "Seacoast Stories" on ⁠⁠⁠our Apple Podcasts page.⁠ To enter the contest mentioned in the podcast, please DM @seacoaststoriespodcast.

*For tickets to support Troy at the Catapult Seacoast "10 to Watch" event on Nov. 13 at The Press Room, ⁠⁠click here.

This world is riddled with issues. In this election year, you don't need me to tell you what they are.

But one problem you likely aren't aware of? That won't get voted on in this year's ballot?

Today's guest joins Seacoast Stories to educate you on the problem you may not even know you have: The spiritual clutter that is blocking you from fulfilling your potential.

In this week's conversation from Empowering Path in Portsmouth, spiritual guide Alex Bynum joins me to discuss:

• Alex Bynum's background (00:00)
• Trauma from working as an EMT (07:40)
• Health problems that nearly killed Alex (10:33)
• The "weird guy" that introduced her to healing (13:23)
• Leave a podcast review here (17:54)
• Energy healing and life activations (19:20)
• Training at The Modern Mystery School (24:48)
• Alex's weird job (29:06)
• Why we're in a "spiritual crisis" (37:12)
• How we can read others' energy (40:56)
• What's your mission? (46:17)

Alex Bynum is the owner of Empowering Path, a spiritual training and energy healing center based in Portsmouth. Started 11 years ago in Boston, Alex moved her business to the Seacoast during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Tennessee native, Alex graduated from the University of Tennessee following a dreadful one-year stint at NYU. Per the Modern Mystery School in Toronto, Alex is one of the top 20 spiritual guides in the world.

To find out more about Alex's services, you can check out the Empowering Path web site and/or Instagram account.

This podcast is hosted, written, researched, and produced by Spotify's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Troy Farkas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To support this show, please leave a review of "Seacoast Stories" on ⁠⁠our Apple Podcasts page.

*For tickets to support Troy at the Catapult Seacoast "10 to Watch" event on Nov. 13 at The Press Room, ⁠click here.

*This podcast contains references to death and violence. Listener discretion is advised.*

"It was all-consuming. It was unbelievable."

That's how Justin Juray felt on October 26, 2023, the day after the largest mass casualty event in Maine history took place in Lewiston, an event that claimed the lives of 18 innocent Mainers on a night that will never be forgotten.

But Juray, the co-owner of Just-In-Time Recreation, where eight people lost their lives, is charging forward. Determined to honor the memories of those taken far too soon, and to not let hatred win, he and his wife, Samantha, reopened the alley earlier this year despite facing seemingly insurmountable hurdles that would have permanently closed most businesses facing similar situations.

In today's conversation from Just-In-Time Recreation in Lewiston, Justin and I discuss:

• The Lewiston shooting (00:00)
• Buying the bowling alley (03:20)
• Owning a business with his wife (08:47)
• The aftermath of the Lewiston shooting (10:28)
• Re-opening the alley in May 2024 (18:28)
• "Lewiston Strong" (33:30)
• Effects of the shooting on mental health (35:06)
• What's your mission? (43:21)
• How this episode came together (44:55)

Justin Juray is the co-owner of Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley located in Lewiston, ME. Born in New Jersey, he moved to Maine in childhood and has stayed ever since. Along with his wife, Samantha, he purchased the bowling alley in 2021 before renovating and re-naming it.

For more information on the alley, please visit their web site here. To donate to Lewiston recovery efforts, check out MaineResiliencyCenter.org.

This podcast is hosted, written, researched, and produced by Spotify's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Troy Farkas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To support this show, please leave a review of "Seacoast Stories" on ⁠our Apple Podcasts page.

The next time you think about attending a show at The Music Hall in downtown Portsmouth...you may want to think twice.

Because you may just come into contact with something that will haunt you forever.

In today's conversation from a sketchy cellar in Deadwick's Ethereal Emporeum, Portsmouth's top ghost historian Juniper Pickwick and I discuss:

• Juniper Pickwick's affinity for ghosts (00:00)
• What makes Deadwick's special (06:26)
• Interacting with the ghosts of Portsmouth (08:22)
• The first stop along the Spectral Stroll (17:10)
• John Paul Jones' complicated love life (23:25)
• The Music Hall's haunted history (27:53)
• The conviction of Ruth Blay (30:35)
• Smuttynose Murders (33:52)
• Is Portsmouth spookier than Salem? (38:23)
• What's your mission? (44:18)

Juniper Pickwick is the Director of Visual Artistry and the Keeper of Hearth and Banke at Pickwick's in the Strawberry Banke region of Portsmouth. Adopted into the magical Pickwick family in 2019, Juniper is the leader of the annual Spectral Strolls, and she's a critical part of the machine behind beloved spooky spots Pickwick's, Deadwick's, and Fezziwig's.

To book a private Spectral Stroll with Juniper, visit this link here. For more information on the Halloween party mentioned in the episode, send @seacoaststoriespodcast a DM on Instagram.

This podcast is hosted, written, researched, and produced by Spotify's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Troy Farkas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To support this show, please leave a review of "Seacoast Stories" on ⁠our Apple Podcasts page.⁠

Jezmina Von Thiele has dealt with it her whole life.

The racist stereotypes. The assumptions. Others labeling her as a nomad, runaway, and a thief.

But rather than shun her Romani heritage, Jezmina leans fully into it. Through her podcast, social media channels, and new book, Jezmina represents swaths of "outcasts" in this country. A nonbinary woman of Romani heritage, Jezmina uses her platforms to fight for the world she's dreamt of feeling safe in -- a world where people of all belief systems, sexual orientations, and physical appearances can live in harmony.

But for that world to exist, the rest of us non-Romani people (gadje) need to understand first who the Romani people are, where they come from, and why -- in an era when we're heightened to the experiences of outcasts -- no one seems to care about the Romani people.

In today's conversation from my makeshift home studio in downtown Portsmouth, Jezmina Von Thiele and I discuss this subject and much more, including:

• Who are the Roma? (00:00)
• Identifying as queer + nonbinary (11:56)
• How COVID ravaged Jezmina's life (19:50)
• Grappling with a new life (26:53)
• Jezmina's new book (34:52)
• Palm reading, Evil Eye, and talking to horses (37:40)
• The normalization of anti-Romani racism (46:30)
• Book tour details (51:37)
• What's your mission? (54:12)

Jezmina Von Thiele is a popular Seacoast-based Romani fortune teller, podcaster, writer, and now, an author! Jezmina's new book (co-written with Paulina Stevens), "The Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling," is now available on Amazon. You can also check out her Romanistan podcast or follow her on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele.

This podcast is hosted, written, researched, and produced by Spotify's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Troy Farkas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To support this show, please leave a review of "Seacoast Stories" on our Apple Podcasts page.

BACKGROUND LISTENING:

• Jezmina's appearance on "The Found Generation" podcast in 2023
• The LA Times podcast "Foretold," which centers on Jezmina's co-author Paulina Stevens

Jeremiah and Nicole Vernon can't take it anymore.

The complaints from the neighbors. The town meetings. The regulation boards. The financial burdens. The stress. The tears. The drama.

They just want to focus on what they love to do: Responsibly growing nutritious and delicious food for the thousands of customers who attend their famous agritourism events, shop in the farm store, and value local farms.

Tired of fighting these battles behind closed doors, the Vernons are ready to talk about what's really happened in the 10 years they've owned and operated the farm.

And that's why they're on the podcast today.

In today's conversation from Vernon Family Farm in Newfields, N.H., Jeremiah and Nicole Vernon join me to discuss:

• Jeremiah's love for farming (00:00)
• Jeremiah and Nicole's smelly first date (04:50)
• The Vernon Family Farm backstory (08:10)
• The financial challenges of running a farm (15:20)
• Agritourism (18:22)
• The neighbors' complaints with VFF (20:20)
• The Vernon's mental health struggles (32:58)
• The uncertain future of Vernon Family Farm (44:25)
• What's your mission? (55:07)
• BONUS: The issue with "Big Ag" (56:38)

Jeremiah and Nicole Vernon are the owners and operators of Vernon Family Farm in Newfields, N.H. In business since 2014, their farm is one of the most beloved across the entire state. Known most for their agritourism events which bring live music, delicious food, tasty beer, and a loving environment to their community, the Vernons have built a robust following thanks to the quality of their food, dedication to the little details, and a mission centered on bringing people closer together through their farm.

To help Vernon Family Farm continue the fight against their neighbors, please consider donating to their GoFundMe here. For more information on the events and offerings from the farm, please visit VernonFamilyFarm.com or give them a follow on Instagram @VernonFamilyFarm.

This podcast is hosted, written, researched, and produced by Spotify's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Troy Farkas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To support the telling of more important ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Seacoast Stories ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠like this one, please FOLLOW this podcast on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ feeds.

BACKGROUND READING:

• "Neighbors Clash Over Vernon Family Farm Agritourism Events in Newfields" The Portsmouth Herald
• "Granite State Growers: Vernon Family Farm" NH Magazine