Category: Q&A

On The Job – Elise Noga

Eco-friendly product maker

Elise Noga of Bedford is the owner of The Beaded Sheep (thebeadedsheep.com), a blog, podcast and online shop selling handmade eco-friendly home and beauty products.

Explain your job and what it entails.

Mostly, I’m making my products, which currently consist of cloth napkins, dish towels, paperless towels, cotton rounds, no-drip cuffs, tote bags and drawstring bags. … There’s a lot of creativity [involved] in picking out patterns, designing new products and putting the products out into the world via my online shop and a few retail locations. I also host a podcast … The most important part of my job is that I get to do it with my daughters. That’s truly my favorite part.

How long have you had this job?

I started The Beaded Sheep officially in the spring of 2019, and it became an online shop in the fall of 2020, where I sold only cloth napkins through Etsy.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

In 2019, I left my full-time job in tech support to be home full-time with my first daughter, since she had just turned 1. I started The Beaded Sheep originally to do blogging, then dabbled for a small time period in family photography, and finally landed on selling cloth napkins.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I didn’t need a lot of training for this job, but my mom taught me how to sew. … In college I studied Communication Arts with concentrations in Creative Writing and Global Missions, and that education has helped me with marketing, writing, communicating what my business is about, hosting my podcast — also called The Beaded Sheep — and having my business strive to help others be more eco-friendly.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Since I work from home … my work attire is whatever is comfortable and kid-friendly.

How has your job changed over the course of the pandemic?

I started this job during the pandemic, and it was difficult at first since I wasn’t comfortable doing business in person and had to rely heavily on online orders. Now that more things are open, I’ve been able to do more fairs, which has been more helpful for my business.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

I wish other people knew how much work goes into having a business like this. Not only do I make things, but I’m the accountant, the marketer, the salesperson, the writer, the creative director — everything.

What was the first job you ever had?

My first job was being a babysitter for some of my neighbors.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

My husband recently gave me the sweetest advice, and that was to follow my heart with this business and not let anyone else dictate what I should be doing. I also think it’s so important to be willing to pivot and change what direction you’re going in since making a change can bring so much good.

Five favorites

Favorite book: Harry Potter series.
Favorite movie: I don’t have a favorite movie, but my favorite show is Schitt’s Creek.
Favorite music: My favorite genres are indie, folk, alternative and hardcore.
Favorite food: Pretty much anything chocolate.
Favorite thing about NH: There’s so much to do, and most of my immediate family lives here.

Featured photo: Elise Noga. Courtesy photo.

Choose to refuse

New Hampshire goes plastic-free for July

The Plastics Working Group, one of the specialized action groups in the New Hampshire Environment, Energy and Climate Network, has challenged New Hampshire to take part in the international Plastic Free July initiative this month. Cindy Heath, the original convener of the Plastics Working Group, talked about how people can take the pledge and why it’s so important.

What is Plastic Free July?

Plastic Free July was an international campaign founded in Australia. It is a pledge format where individuals and businesses and organizations can pledge to strive for a plastic-free July. The intention is to raise awareness and help discover alternatives to using plastic in our everyday lives … and we also want to help build momentum for future legislation that supports plastic waste reduction. … You can join us as an individual or as part of an organization, business or community, and you can take one action or more than one.

What are some actions that communities can take to engage with the initiative?

They should start by going to the Plastic Free July website, plasticfreejuly.org, which has many, many pages of resources. A proclamation with their town select board is a possibility, just declaring the importance of plastic waste reduction and the commitment to try to have a plastic-free July. There are opportunities to do things like picnics, library displays … showing what alternatives there are to using plastics in your everyday life. I already know that the communities in Hopkinton and Dover are going to be doing some library displays with education around plastic waste, and we’re going to be hosting a plastic-free picnic in Cornish on July 16, so communities are engaging in different ways.

What are some things that individuals can do to go plastic-free in their day-to-day lives?

Individuals can take the pledge and learn about how to do things like bring a cloth bag to the grocery store instead of using the plastic bags that are provided; refuse to purchase vegetables that are being sold packaged in plastic clamshell containers; refuse to buy beverages in plastic bottles; refuse plastic [utensils] and Styrofoam takeout containers when they go out to eat, or request alternatives. … Before plastic was invented, we all found ways to have a picnic, order takeout food from a restaurant and not use plastic bags.

In what ways are plastics harmful?

The concern that we’re trying to raise awareness about is not only the environmental impacts of plastic production; it’s also the human health and animal health impacts of plastic waste. The Plastic Free July website has a number of facts around the volume of plastics that goes into our oceans and how microplastics end up in our food through the food chain, because marine animals eat plastic thinking it’s food, and then the food chain progresses and it ends up in our food. Plastic particles have even been discovered in human placenta. It’s a human health concern as well as an environmental concern, and we’re just hoping that people will understand the health and environmental impacts of plastic.

What kinds of progress has New Hampshire made with reducing plastics so far?

We’ve had several communities host a screening of a film called Microplastic Madness, which is about fifth-graders in New York who are able to, over a two-year period, help New York City, and then New York State, ban Styrofoam use in schools and in restaurants for takeout. We have community members who are working with local restaurants to try to develop an ocean-friendly designation through Surfrider, which is another organization … working specifically on helping restaurants choose alternatives to plastic and styrofoam takeout [materials]. Then, in the infrastructure realm, there are changes that a number of our communities have initiated, things like recycling systems and doing waste audits at schools. In Bristol, they held a sustainability fair in May to raise awareness about plastic film recycling. In Claremont, they’re working on collecting styrofoam for recycling. In Gilford, they’ve just taken delivery of the first Styrofoam densifier in New Hampshire and will begin accepting Styrofoam for recycling shortly.

How can individuals get their cities and towns to commit to more plastic-free practices?

They can go to our Ten Towns Actions Toolkit website, 10towns.org. On the homepage, there’s a box at the top that says “Join Us and Take Action,” which will lead people to a form to complete. Then, one of our members will get in touch with them to help them get started.

Featured photo: Cindy Heath. Courtesy photo.

In the kitchen with Tony Elias

Tony Elias is the owner of The Spot To-Go ([email protected], and on Facebook and Instagram), a food truck specializing in scratch-made Puerto Rican street foods that launched in 2020. He’s known for items like beef and chicken empanadas, as well as combo plates with pork, rice and beans, and jibaritos, or Puerto Rican fried plantain sliders with pork, cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo ketchup. Elias’s Puerto Rican tacos and canoas (roasted yellow sweet plantains sliced down the middle — like a canoe — and stuffed with beef, melted cheese, cilantro and an aioli) are also huge hits. A native of Philadelphia and a former professional wrestler, Elias got his start in the food truck world when he launched Made With Love 603, a food trailer offering a similar menu of Puerto Rican eats, in Manchester in 2014. Now known as Superstar Tacos, the trailer recently became an official vendor for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and can exclusively be found at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (1 Line Drive, Manchester) during home games. When Elias is not slinging tacos at the ballpark, you can find him at other locations on The Spot To-Go truck — as of right now, he’s most often in the parking lot of Paul’s Car Care (84 Elm St., Manchester), but will regularly post his whereabouts on social media.

An empanada press, because I sell a ridiculous amount of empanadas. … When I make them, I do like 500 at a time.

What would you have for your last meal?

My last meal has to be a real Philly cheesesteak, with rib-eye steak, Cheez Whiz, grilled onions and ketchup. … There’s a difference between a real Philly cheesesteak and the steak and cheese subs you get up here, for sure.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

I have two. Rice and Beans 603 in Salem, and Prime Time Grilled Cheese [in Manchester]. … Rice and Beans has a delicious roast pork and their fried chicken is also really good. Then for grilled cheese, I mean, you can pretty much give me any flavor that they have at Prime Time and I’ll take it.

What celebrity would you like to see ordering from your food truck?

The Rock. When I was a kid, he and Stone Cold Steve Austin were my guys. I’ve just been a very big fan of his forever now.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

The canoa and the empanadas. … I love watching people bite into the empanadas because it’s always the same reaction. They’ll bite into it and their eyes open up wide and they go, ‘Whoa!’ … With the canoa, I like catching people off guard that have never had one.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?

Birria tacos. That’s the style of taco that comes with a consomme dip on the side. It’s slow-cooked beef, cheese, onion and cilantro, and then I throw in my touch of Puerto Rican [spices] in there. Once you’ve got that nice and grilled up, you take that very same consomme and you splash it all over the taco that is on the grill. … I’ve seen people now make pizzas and quesadillas out of them.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Wings. I love them in every style, [but] if I had to pick my favorite flavored wings, I’m going with Buffalo and blue cheese.

Beef empanadas
From the kitchen of Tony Elias of The Spot To-Go food truck and the Superstar Tacos food trailer

Pre-made empanada shell (Goya brand, 10-pack)
1 pound ground beef
1 can tomato sauce
¼ cup diced onions
¼ cup diced peppers
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
½ Tablespoon adobo seasoning
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 packets sazón

Brown the ground beef and drain the fat. Put the beef pack in the pan and add tomato sauce, onions, peppers, onion powder, garlic powder, adobo, minced garlic and sazón. Simmer all together for 10 minutes, then cool off before filling the empanada shell, adding a slice of American cheese. Once filled, close the empanada and press around it with a fork. Fry until golden brown.

Featured photo: Tony Elias. Courtesy photo.

On The Job – Andrew Budrick

Upholstery repairman

Andrew Budrick is the owner of Budrick’s Mobile Upholstery Repair, an automobile interior and furniture upholstery repair service based in Manchester.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I own a mobile upholstery repair business that specializes in auto interiors and furniture. I typically repair burn holes, rips and tears in leather, worn out and faded seats, or seams that are coming undone. I sometimes get calls for boat repairs or even restaurant furniture. I mix my own colors to match the upholstery, hand-sew seams back together and have a specialized process of repair for each individual job. Almost all jobs are different, but when it comes to automobiles, certain vehicles have the same defective areas of wear.

How long have you had this job?

I have been doing this for 16 years, but started working for myself nine years ago.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I had moved to Florida from New Hampshire at the age of 21 with three years of college and no degree and no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I happened to meet a guy who offered me a job which I knew nothing about. He hired me as his helper and taught me everything I know about this specialized line of work. I worked for him for about seven years before moving back to New Hampshire in 2012. Now that I had the knowledge, I started going from car lot to car lot, passing out business cards.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I had on-the-job training for the seven years I was in Florida. The hands-on experience was the best kind of training I could have gotten. I had a really good teacher who gave me one-on-one training six days a week for seven years or so.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

I don’t have any type of uniform. I dress according to the weather, and nothing too nice, because the dyes and paints I use get on my clothes.

How has your job changed over the course of the pandemic?

During Covid, just like most people, I was out of work. When things started opening up again, I started getting calls again from my old accounts. At the end of Covid, my girlfriend pushed to help me advertise more by helping me build a website and posting my business on Google and Facebook. She does all the advertising, which helps me focus on just doing my job. I’m busier now than before Covid because of this.

What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

I wish I knew more about running a business, but I’ve learned along the way.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

I wish they knew how much patience and attention to detail goes into what I do. It took me about four years to get really good at all aspects of my work. It’s not something you can learn overnight.

What was the first job you ever had?

I was a stock boy at Market Basket.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

If you enjoy what you’re doing, you’ll never work a day in your life.

Five favorites

Favorite book: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Favorite movie: Gladiator
Favorite music: Depends on my mood, but classic rock is always good.
Favorite food: Pizza and coffee Oreo milkshakes.
Favorite thing about NH: That we get to experience all four seasons.

Featured photo: Andrew Budrick. Courtesy photo.

Culture contribution

Franco-American Centre names Franco-American of the Year

Meet Timothy Beaulieu, the winner of the Franco-American Centre’s 2022 Franco-American of the Year Award.

When did you first start exploring your Franco-American heritage?

I grew up away from the culture and the language. I grew up like any American kid did; I just happened to have the funny last name. I didn’t really know too much about our Franco-American heritage, where we came from or what our traditions were until I got older, when my grandfather just started kind of unloading on me. … Then, I thought it would be something cool to promote and grow.

What has been your involvement with the Franco-American Centre?

I started volunteering for the Franco-American Centre back in 2014, and I have done a bunch of stuff for them. I ran their program committee for a few years. I created their YouTube channel, and then we created the first French-language YouTube contest that we’d seen in New England, the Euclide Gilbert Foundation French language video contest. I was on the Board of Trustees for six years. My pet project, which I started in 2015, is PoutineFest. I still run PoutineFest today.

How did you start volunteering for them?

I was looking for a nonprofit organization I could get involved with that was tied to my Franco-American heritage. There aren’t a heck of a lot left. Then, I found the Franco-American Centre. They seemed to have to have a presence, so I thought it’d be really cool to get involved. The thing I liked about the Franco-American Centre is that they’re willing to look at things that are new and not just do things that are old.

What is the Franco-American of the Year Award?

The Franco-American Centre picks someone who has done volunteer work and such in the Franco-American community. … I was pleasantly surprised that they picked me; I didn’t expect them to because I didn’t really grow up in the Franco-American community … but [the winner] doesn’t have to be a Franco-American; it can be anyone who has been involved in the Franco-American culture and language … so it’s cool that they picked me, someone who grew up away from the culture and then came back to it.

What are you up to now?

I’m planning the next PoutineFest for October. That is my primary focus. I think PoutineFest can help make some money for the Franco-American Centre and bring the culture back and make people more aware that you can’t throw a rock without hitting someone with a French name in Manchester or Nashua. It would be cool to see New Hampshire really lean into that heritage more and do more with it.

What do you want people to know about Franco-American culture in New Hampshire?

It’s crazy to think that Montreal is only four hours from here — I mean, Quebec is really almost part of the New England region; the border is right there — and New Hampshire has so many Franco-Americans or French-Canadians, and still, we don’t teach the language in many schools. It seems like I am always hearing about another French program getting cut. It would be really cool if we could bring the language and some of the culture back and make those connections with Quebec again. There doesn’t need to be a barrier; it doesn’t need to be shut off.

Featured photo: Timothy Beaulieu and family. Courtesy photo.

In the kitchen with Jeremy Guyotte

Jeremy Guyotte is the head chef of Rambling House Food & Gathering (57 Factory St., Nashua, 318-3220, ramblingtale.com), which opened in early March just a few weeks after its adjoining sister establishment, TaleSpinner Brewery. Both are owned and operated by the Gleeson family, who also run 2nd Nature Academy (formerly known as The Nature of Things) in Nashua. With an overall focus on sustainability, the eatery’s dinner and bar menus feature a diverse offering of scratch-cooked meat, seafood and vegetarian options that rotate with the seasons, with ingredients sourced from purveyors all over New England in addition to the Gleesons’ own farm. A native of Gloucester, Mass., Guyotte has extensive experience working with seafood, most notably during culinary stints he spent at Captain Carlo’s Oceanfront and at Passports Restaurant in Cape Ann.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

Radio. Music is an inspiration throughout the day. Oftentimes, music will spawn ideas in the kitchen and those ideas turn into delicious creations.

What would you have for your last meal?

To me, food is about the people, places, stories and traditions. That may mean crossing camel kabsa off my bucket list, but it has to be in Saudi Arabia on the sands with a Bedouin family. Or, it may be that I am with my family on the Sicilian coast during a beautiful Mediterranean sunset.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

I unfortunately haven’t explored the local scene as much as I would have liked to yet, since half my time in New Hampshire thus far has been during Covid. That said, I love our downtown neighbors in Nashua. Stella Blu and CodeX have been highlights for my family.

What celebrity would you like to see eating at Rambling House?

Tom Brady. We both married women named Giselle and we’re the same age. Clearly, we’d be best friends.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

As of today, monkfish puttanesca, or the house-smoked salmon. We also serve some of the best ice cream I have ever tried in my life and I’m not alone in that opinion. God bless [Rambling House president and co-founder] Erin Gleeson, who makes it from scratch.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?

There is an increase in an understanding and appreciation for local producers. … At Rambling House, we are in a unique scenario, because we are building and expanding, and we are trying to source as much locally and from our own farm as we can. There is a lot of growth yet to come, but getting involved in the local community is showing us how much of a passion and demand there is out there from our guests, and the like-minded mission from our fellow restaurateurs and farmers.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Burgers [and] barbecue. … My children really love “mayonnaise chicken.” … It’s mayonnaise, Parmesan [and] spices, spread on chicken [with] bread crumbs and more cheese, baked. Unreal and not my personal favorite, but they love it.

Fresh fish papillote
According to Rambling House head chef Jeremy Guyotte, papillote is a classic French technique of sealing seafood with aromatics and baking or grilling it, trapping all the flavors and natural essences inside its own little “oven” of paper or foil.

1 whole fish or fish filet (any fresh fish will do)
2 Tablespoons compound butter

Compound butter (combine following ingredients):
Butter
Shallots
Capers
Basil
Parsley
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
White wine
Olive oil

Combine compound butter ingredients, mixing well, then set aside. Place your fish on a piece of foil large enough to fold up over it. Smother with two tablespoons of compound butter. Starting at one corner of the foil, fold it into a triangle and seal it up by pinching the sides. Throw it in the oven on 400 degrees for 10 minutes, or on the grill for 8 minutes. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then open and enjoy with your favorite summer sides.

Featured photo: Jeremy Guyotte. Courtesy photo.

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