Love. Love. Love. Love is all you need.
As we hover between the chilly embrace of January winter and the distant promise of spring, with daylight lingering just a touch longer, we invite you to settle in for some long winter’s tales in this issue—a celebration of local love in all its forms. Whether it’s through small gestures or grand acts of kindness, love has the power to light up even the grayest of days. Need some comfort to get started? Turn to page 26 and whip up a batch of Nina Parrott’s soul-nourishing soup. It is all you need to warm the bellies of your loved ones and make them show their love by doing the dishes.
Within these pages, you’ll find superhero stories—individuals who show us how love, passion, and connection can transform lives. A caretaker draws inspiration from the solitude of the Isles of Shoals, using photography, music, and writing to help others reconnect with the natural world. In a nearby workshop, a master craftsman honors fallen urban trees by crafting beautiful, meaningful furniture that tells their stories while raising awareness of endangered species like the ash. A resilient beauty entrepreneur reimagines her career with a new salon while mentoring young stylists with the wisdom of her own journey. Our Portsmouth Rotarians extend their purpose-driven work globally, traveling to India to support life-changing reconstructive surgeries for over 50 patients while continuing to strengthen their community here at home.
These stories remind us that love isn’t just a feeling—it’s dedication, creativity, and action. Together, we can achieve so much more than we ever could alone. Thank you for letting us share these love stories with you. We hope they make you fall a little deeper in love with the many people and places that make our community shine.
Here’s to a February filled with love, love, love—in all its many forms.
TARA PHILLIPS, MANAGING EDITOR @PORTSMOUTHCITYLIFESTYLE
February 2025
PUBLISHER
Anne Moodey | Anne.Moodey@CityLifestyle.com
MANAGING EDITOR
Tara Phillips | Tara.Phillips@CityLifestyle.com
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR
Chelsea Lyn Agro | Chelsea.Agro@CityLifestyle.com
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Kevin Edge | Kevin@KePhoto.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Susan Gallagher, Ann Kathryn Kelly, Kim Piela, Rebecca Ingalls
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Alex de Steiguer, Don Chick Photography, Jamie Mercurio Photography, The Prism House
Corporate Team
CEO Steven Schowengerdt
COO Matthew Perry
CRO Jamie Pentz
CTO Ajay Krishnan
VP OF OPERATIONS Janeane Thompson
VP OF FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT Erika Smiley
AD DESIGNER Jenna Crawford
LAYOUT DESIGNER Amanda Schilling
QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Hannah Leimkuhler
Meconi Financial Management & Advisory
We are a comprehensive financial planning practice, led by Art Meconi who is registered to service clients in 31 states. We have a team of experienced professionals dedicated to the highest levels of client service. Our hope is to empower our clients to achieve their financial goals through personalized financial planning, tailoring to each client’s unique needs and fostering collaborative relationships built on trust.
inside the issue
Caretaker of the Wild
Seacoast artist Alex de Steiguer captures her experience as a caretaker of the Isles of Shoals.
Artistry & Ash
EAD Woodwork’s Ed Szczepanik celebrates the vanishing art of traditional woodworking and extols the virtues of the highly valuable but rapidly disappearing ash tree.
Catering With Love
The Fifth Flavor's Nina Parrott finds love and joy through food.
Portsmouth Rotary mission trip to India provides no-cost surgeries with life-changing impact.
Artist Alex de Steiguer is no stranger to the wildness of nature, particularly the sea's wrath come winter. She has been the caretaker of the Isles of Shoals for 28 winters. Read about her experience on page 32.
Alex de Steiguer
1: Realtor Jenn Madden enjoying some holiday cheer with Beth Jackson Gagne and local remodeler Chip Blodgett with wife Erin. 2: Cindy Lindley of Newburyport Bank with Peter Eggelston of Portsmouth Brewery and Ben VanCamp of Chamber Collaborative. 3: Kory and Illyse Sirmaian at Business After Hours at the Rooftop at The Envio
Seed
TRANSFORM YOUR WELL-BEING
Experience
CARETAKER of the wild
Seacoast artist Alex de Steiguer captures her experience as caretaker of the Isles of Shoals
ARTICLE BY REBECCA INGALLS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX DE STEIGUER
Gosport in the Snow
Stories Chapter 2
Stand at the sea’s edge on a clear day in Rye and you’ll catch a splendid view of the Isles of Shoals seven miles east. In the warm months, visitors gather to enjoy spiritual and artistic retreats, history, and wildlife. In the winter, however, the site is closed to the public because the weather we experience on the mainland is far more treacherous at sea. Without safeguarding, nature would have its way with this precious place. Fortunately, Alex de Steiguer is its committed caretaker.
Having grown up near the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in northern New Jersey, de Steiguer is no stranger to the natural world. At age 18 she joined the Ocean Research and Education Society on a tall ship crisscrossing the Gulf of Maine. Over the next eight years she worked as crew on numerous other expeditions, living, as she describes, “in the thick of wildness.” Some journeys were aboard the resilient schooner, Ernestina, which endured the notorious “Perfect Storm” as de Steiguer and crewmates navigated safely to the Caribbean. She was accompanied by her mother’s 35mm camera, with which she captured her adventures as she grew dedicated to the grit and solace of the sea.
Serendipitously, a few years later, one of her shipmates worked on the Isles of Shoals, which needed a caretaker. De Steiguer was called to the job, and for 28 winters she has been devoted to this labor of love. Despite human efforts to batten down the island, nature finds its way in.
“When it snows on the mainland,” de Steiguer says, “there are probably galeforce winds here.” She is ever on watch, ready to remove snow drifts from historic interiors and forestall damage. Based on Star Island, she is almost always completely alone among the nine islands, apart from the boat that brings her supplies every three to four weeks. While some might fear this kind of solitude, she does not. “Here,” she explains, “the wildlife becomes my community— gulls, owls, geese, ducks, eagles, seals—and I also know there are people out there in the world who care about me.”
De Steiguer’s work as a photographer, writer, and musician is intimately linked to her work as a caretaker. “A lot has been lost in our modern lives,” she reflects. “My art is my way of pointing to the natural world, from which we evolved, and to express reverence for it.” She hopes that her raw experience of nature, as captured in her photographs, will be a “touchstone” that encourages others to remember when they once connected to nature, and be inspired to seek it out. Likewise, her music aims to capture her multi-layered
They Hold Time Lightly
A lot has been lost in our modern lives. My art is my way of pointing to the natural world, from which we evolved, and to express reverence for it.
experience within the natural world. Her first album, Island Sublime, which can be found on her website AlexdeSteiguer.com and on BandCamp, features a collection of her original songs written during winters on the Isles of Shoals. She is currently working on a second album.
On the mainland, de Steiguer prints her images in her darkroom in York, Maine, is represented by the Pucker Gallery in Boston, and gives occasional presentations to the public. Understandably, it's a process for her to transition between the starkly different environments in which she spends her year. On returning to the mainland, she finds herself troubled. “It’s so loud,” she explains, “There's the traffic noise, voices, everyone's on their devices. It’s disheartening.” She strives to find “quiet, centering” moments—an early rise with the dawn, the solitude of writing. And yet, she explains, “Moving back to the mainland is, in some ways, refreshing. I lose some of the preconceived notions I have about humanity, and see individuals with new eyes.” Her immersion in the maritime wild has taught her that “we all share the fragility of life.” Simply look at her photography and listen to her music and you will find a unique perspective on humility, resiliency, and the unbridled power of nature.
White Island Light 7
Bold, Beautiful, and Reborn
Taking the easy road has never been an option for Jessica Bellanti. The demon of adversity has dogged her at every turn of her life, hurling one obstacle after another in her path. But the relentless demon met its match in this fierce and tenacious beauty entrepreneur.
Today, Jessica Bellanti wears the sheen of an accomplished professional. This savvy salon owner, sought-after Portsmouth stylist, and L’Oreal National Artist is the portrait of success. Success, though, came with a price: an uphill climb fraught with challenges and upheaval.
Bellanti’s tribulations began early in her life. Her high school cheerleader persona cloaked an insecure teen battling dyslexia and ADHD. Disaster struck in her junior year when a serious car accident derailed the remainder of her high school education. Bellanti later earned her GED but struggled with a lack of confidence and direction.
Her longtime interest in hair and makeup finally decided her life’s trajectory, and in 2005, she enrolled in Portsmouth Beauty School of Hair Design. Here, Bellanti discovered her passion for making people feel good about themselves. With growing confidence, she envisioned this becoming a lucrative career and set her sights on owning a salon.
The determined young stylist formed a partnership with one of her clients, and in 2012, she opened Jessica Todd Salon under her then surname. Her first business venture
ARTICLE BY SUSAN GALLAGHER
would bring great success but also mounting challenges, leading Bellanti to make the difficult decision in 2023 to move on, leaving her Jessica Todd brand–and identity–behind. “After spending a decade building a reputation with that salon,” she says, “I had to be willing to walk away from everything to start over again.”
Six months pregnant with her daughter Luna at the time, Bellanti credits motherhood with her newfound fortitude. “Having my daughter,” she says, “gave me the courage to do what I felt was right for me, even though it wasn’t the easy path.” Choking up, she adds, “I didn’t want her to grow up afraid to make hard choices.”
Bellanti’s hard choices blossomed into an unexpected blessing: she realized the importance of community. Support enveloped her from all around, bringing her to tears more than once. In a stunning display of loyalty, all 24 of her former stylists followed her to Jessica Bellanti Salon, her bold new venture boasting her married name.
Jessica Bellanti finds inner strength through hardship and a new beginning at her namesake salon
Photo: Jamie Mercurio
But adversity wasn’t finished with the plucky Bellanti yet. Ensconced in a temporary location for six months, she and her stylists eagerly awaited the new salon’s move to its permanent space. On the day after the birth of her daughter, the lease fell through at the last minute due to state septic regulations. Luckily, in March of 2024, fate intervened, and the salon found its permanent home.
The January 2025 opening of the new salon on Portsmouth’s Islington Street heralded the parallel rebirths of both the business and the woman that is Jessica Bellanti. “I am not the same person anymore,” she says. “I have learned hard lessons, and I have built grit over time.”
Bellanti channels this hard-earned experience into mentoring young stylists, something she calls “the whole reason I became a salon owner.” This generous boss mentors with more than just words, investing heavily in her stylists’ education and training. Her genuine goal is for them to flourish both personally and professionally.
For the reborn Jessica Bellanti, this new chapter of her life is about “embracing the calm.” Long gone is the adrift, insecure young woman. “I’m approaching this new salon knowing exactly who I am, and believing I have nothing to prove,” she says. “I feel confident, grateful, and excited for what’s to come.”
Photo: The Prism House
Photo: Jamie Mercurio
Our showrooms are designed to inspire, with bath, kitchen and lighting choices from top brands curated in beautiful, hands-on displays. From product selection to delivery coordination, an industry expert will be there to support your project every step of the way. fergusonshowrooms.com
ARTICLE BY SUSAN GALLAGHER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN EDGE
EAD WOODWORK'S ED SZCZEPANIK CELEBRATES THE VANISHING ART OF TRADITIONAL WOODWORKING AND EXTOLS THE VIRTUES OF THE HIGHLY VALUABLE BUT RAPIDLY DISAPPEARING ASH TREE
ARTISTRY & ASH
Ed Szczepanik is one of a dying breed. This gifted artisan is among an elite but dwindling brotherhood of true craftsmen. In a world of mass production and instant gratification, Szczepanik and his EAD Woodwork tradesmen lovingly craft furniture with preci-
“IT’S
for him. More consumers were in the market for distinctive, traditionally crafted pieces. Seizing his chance in 2001, he sold the business to his partner and boldly ventured out on his own, opening EAD Woodwork in York. In 2023, he added the Portsmouth showroom, Urban.
HEARTBREAKING. THE ASH TREE IS THE KING OF THE FOREST IN NEW ENGLAND.”
sion, patience, and passion. Artistry is unfolding in this York, Maine shop.
Szczepanik feels an attachment to everything that comes out of his shop, whether his own handiwork or another worker’s. This dedicated business owner is involved in the process from beginning to end. “Each finished piece is a part of me,” he says. “I know where the wood came from. I’ve seen every tree first and followed its journey from the time we sawed it and dried it until we made something out of it.”
His love for his craft began in a high school shop class and flourished during his two years in a woodworking program at the Worcester Center for Professional Crafts. This led to a New York City apprenticeship to a cabinet maker, and in 1994, the enterprising young Szczepanik found a business partner and opened his own shop in Durham, New Hampshire.
Working in cabinetry “to earn a living,” the creative Szczepanik yearned to craft furniture. The time finally came when the furniture industry appeared to have room
Szczepanik’s work is deeply entwined with his tremendous reverence for nature’s splendor. “My concentration is on showcasing Mother Nature’s work, not mine,” he says, humbly. “It’s about celebrating the beautiful materials she supplied us with.”
He carries his respect for the natural world to the harvesting of his raw materials. “The trees we get don’t come on a tractor-trailer from somewhere I’ve never been,” he says. “They’re not cut down from a forest. They’re from someone’s yard. These are urban trees.”
Szczepanik understands the almost mystical attachment people have to their trees. He likes to say that every tree has a story. Someone grew up with that tree in their yard, soaring on a swing beneath its branches or gazing at its grandeur from their bedroom window. When age, disease, or a storm topple this giant that took so long to reach maturity, homeowners are devastated. Szczepanik feels an obligation to these once mighty trees to do something with the wood they leave behind.
CONTINUED >
Beyond the sustainability factor, the wood from these felled trees supplies Szczepanik with unique and lovely materials to work with. Much of this wood is impossible to find at a lumber yard. His favorite wood is not a specific species, but any tree uncommon to furniture making. Surprisingly, one of his most preferred woods is apple. “No one thinks of apple wood as lumber,” he says. “Everything about it is beautiful–it even smells nice to work with!”
Szczepanik holds one tree particularly dear: the ash. Like the craftsman brotherhood, it is a dying species. The majestic tree is rapidly disappearing, a victim of the voracious Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive beetle. “It’s heartbreaking,” he says. “The ash tree is the king of the forest in New England.” The saddened woodworker sings the praises of the beleaguered ash. “The wood is one of those honest materials the country was built on,” he says. “It’s a gorgeous, rugged hardwood.”
The ash tree itself is a striking example of nature’s artwork. Its sweeping, curved boughs create a graceful outline, while delicate, pointed leaves stand out against dark grey bark. Efforts to save the once-thriving tree are ongoing, with several states and municipalities trying various pesticides to treat the problem. But so far, the decimation is spreading too rapidly for these efforts to slow. The effects of climate change may be an accelerating factor in the tree’s demise. “No one thought the infestation would spread this far north,” says Szczepanik. “We’re seeing it from Texas to Canada.”
“MY CONCENTRATION IS ON SHOWCASING MOTHER NATURE’S WORK, NOT MINE.”
As a woodworker, he prizes ash wood more than the average builder, seeing its charisma where others do not. Most cabinet shops and lumber mills only know ash for the whitish-yellow sapwood that grows around the outside of the tree, but EAD uses the heartwood, which is browner and has more figure and character. “We don’t use what the lumber yards are selling,” says Szczepanik. “We use the wood differently in our furniture to show people how cool this material really is.”
A new day may be dawning for both the traditional woodworker and the elegant ash. Appreciation for quality craftsmanship is on the rise, and new breeding programs to re-establish the ash tree are gaining traction. For this disappearing artisan and declining tree species, their best days may be yet to come.
BUSINESS INFO
Urban | EAD Woodwork showroom
15 Penhallow Street, Portsmouth 603.380.9901
eadwoodwork.com
Managing Urgent Objectives & Important Dreams
Ray S. Panek
CATERING WITH LOVE
The Fifth Flavor's Nina Parrott finds love and joy through food
Seacoast caterer Nina Parrott’s love for cooking and entertaining began in her childhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “My mom knew how to throw a dinner party, so I learned from her. It really paved the way,” she recalls.
After college, Parrott honed her craft at culinary school in San Francisco, but credits her real education to working in restaurants. Her love for catering blossomed while employed at a hotel, inspiring her to launch The Fifth Flavor 20 years ago. Now based in Rye, she is busy juggling weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, and, during Valentine’s season, a special three-course meal delivery.
As a gift to our community, Parrott—who is also known for her generosity in donating food and organizing an annual pie drive to support Gather at Thanksgiving— shares a recipe to cozy up and enjoy the thick of this winter season with a robust and rather jubilant carrot-ginger soup with coconut.
I love this recipe because it’s quick and infinitely adaptable. The soup itself is gluten-free and vegan, so garnish as you see fit. Here, for Valentine’s Day, I’m adding a bit of romantic decadence with poached lobster, preferably from Seaport Fish, in Rye. Learn more about Nina and what she offers through FifthFlavor.com
ARTICLE BY KIM PIELA | PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN EDGE
CARROT-GINGER SOUP WITH COCONUT
SERVES
4 to 6 people
Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, vegetable oil or ghee
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced turmeric (or 1 teaspoon powdered turmeric)
• Pinch of chile flake
• Kosher salt
• 2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 7 cups water
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ½ pound fresh (not previously frozen) lobster meat
• Handful of soft chopped herbs, like dill, tarragon, basil, parsley or scallion- or a combination
• Drizzle of good quality olive oil
• Freshly-cracked pepper
• Lime wedges
Directions:
Put a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat and add coconut oil. When oil is hot but not smoking, add onions and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until onions are soft but have not taken on much color. Add ginger, turmeric, and chile flake and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Season generously with salt.
Add carrots and water. Raise the heat and bring to a rapid simmer, then put on the lid and turn heat low. Cook until the carrots are quite tender (almost falling apart), about 20-25 minutes. Remove from stove and let cool slightly before puréeing batches in a blender. Strain if needed (the older I get, the less I feel the need to strain) and return to the pot. Add coconut milk. Check the consistency. You want it to have a little body but not thick like baby food. If necessary, add a couple tablespoons of water, adjust the salt, and add a dash of chili flakes if tasting flat. Ladle hot soup into bowls. Divide the lobster pieces evenly and garnish with herbs, olive oil, freshly cracked pepper, and lime wedges.
REPAIRING LIVES, RESTORING HOPE
Portsmouth Rotary mission trip to India provides no-cost surgeries with life-changing impact
ARTICLE BY ANN KATHRYN KELLY
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY DON CHICK
On an early morning in September, Midge Nelson watched a room in an Indian hospital be filled with men, women, and children. They queued into two lines. Nelson, an account executive with USI Insurance Services and current president of the Rotary Club of Portsmouth, was behind a desk, paperwork
“I keep doing this because the need for people in these countries is so dire. And the results, so life-changing.”
spread before her. Fellow Rotarian Yvonne Legge, a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley and a past president of Portsmouth Rotary, sat beside her.
Nelson and Legge would spend 12 hours pre-registering people for free reconstructive surgeries. The room never seemed to empty. Women carried crying babies. Men held the hands of shy children. Every other person standing before Nelson and Legge was either severely disfigured from burns or from cleft lip and/or palate.
“I thought I knew what to expect, going in,” Nelson admits, “but nothing prepares you for something like that.” Nelson saw hope in every person’s eyes and it was clear to her how much they wanted to be selected for this life-changing surgery. She also sensed their apprehension. The room was busy and loud, and she and Legge relied on interpreters to help as they pre-qualified people. “The emotional experience far surpassed what I expected,” she adds.
Following pre-registration, photos were taken of every person seeking surgery. Numbers were written on arms. Each met with plastic surgeons who determined those eligible and those disqualified from incompatible blood tests, malnourishment, or because their disfigurement was too severe to resolve in the day surgeries scheduled for that week.
Nelson and Legge were among nine Portsmouth Rotarians who traveled to Faridabad, India, on a twoweek mission trip. Gary Nadeau, Butch Ricci, Don Chick, Leonard Seagren, Kevin Shultz, Ann Bliss, and Tatijana Shone joined them as non-medical volunteers. Rotaplast International, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose name means Rotary Plastic Surgery, coordinated a medical team of 20 additional volunteers from across the United States: plastic surgeons, pediatricians, anesthesiologists, dentists, OR nurses, and a COVID-19 safety officer. Rotaplast has performed free surgeries through medical mission trips to more
Headed to Faridabad
than 21,000 patients around the world since 1993. The Portsmouth club raised $100,000 to sponsor the Rotaplast trip.
“We were the funding partner,” Nelson explains, “and because we paid for all medical supplies and airfare for everyone, including medical volunteers, our club could send up to 10 support staff.”
On the ground in Faridabad, a city near Delhi, the team set up three operating rooms at Amrita Hospital. They evaluated more than 110 Indian children and adults to determine care during the preclinic day Nelson described, then sprang into action the next day, providing reconstructive surgeries to more than 50 patients through nearly 80 procedures. All in 10 days, with provided services valued at more than $440,000.
Cleft lips and palates affect one in 700 children, most commonly in developing nations. The deformity impacts speech, causes critical dental issues, and presents a choking hazard, aside from crushing social stigma. Malnutrition is the primary cause, impacting young women even before they’re pregnant, then transferring to fetuses.
“It’s amazing to see a child’s or adult’s life transformed with a few hours of surgery,” Legge shares. “They move from being outcasts to healing within two weeks and now accepted by society.” She says the surgery is quick and uncomplicated. “The before and after photos say it all.”
Leonard Seagren agrees. Seagren helped in the OR, sterilizing and sorting instruments. The trip to India was his third Rotaplast mission; he previously went to Togo and Bangladesh. “I keep doing this because the need for people in these countries is so dire,” he points out. “And the results, so life-changing.”
Bottom: Yvonne Legge and Midge Nelson
“It’s amazing to see a child’s or adult’s life transformed with a few hours of surgery. They move from being outcasts to healing within two weeks and now accepted by society.”
The Rotary Club of Portsmouth is a dynamic group of more than 150 people from across the Seacoast: doctors and lawyers, realtors and bankers, landscapers and artists, police, fire and municipal professionals, corporate and nonprofit executives, and small business owners. The Portsmouth club rolls up to Rotary International, the world’s largest service organization with 1.2 million members and 35,000 clubs in 200 countries that live by the motto: “Service Above Self.”
While Portsmouth Rotary supports globally ambitious programs like Rotaplast, the club also fundraises and donates more than $200,000 each year right back into our community. The club’s annual Christmas tree drive and sale of limited-edition brass ornaments featuring
Seacoast landmarks raises proceeds that fund annual scholarships to Portsmouth High School seniors, and grants to local nonprofits. They host a Thanksgiving meal each year with the Greek Orthodox Church in Portsmouth, open to all. They assemble and ship care boxes to military personnel, volunteer at the Seacoast-area Salvation Army soup kitchen, and organize food drives for local pantries.
They meet each Thursday at 12:15 pm at the Portsmouth Country Club in Greenland. Visiting Rotarians and anyone from the community are welcome to join them for lunch and a club meeting. Learn more about the many ways Portsmouth Rotary serves, and how you can get involved, at PortsmouthRotary.org.
Leonard Seagren and Kevin Shultz
realty report
This data is a sampling of sold properties from December 2024. Source: IRES MLS system.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
True love means keeping the lights on, no matter what storms come your way. Imagine the comfort of knowing your family will always be safe, warm, and powered through life’s unexpected moments. It isn’t just about grand gestures—it’s about the little things, like being prepared for anything, with a Generac Generator.
From now until March 31st, you have a chance to win a Whole-Home Generator for FREE! Scan below to learn more. Keep the spark alive, even when the power’s out. Scan the QR code.
