This 4th of July, celebrate more than freedom—celebrate freedom from surprise breakdowns, plumbing issues, and electrical troubles with help from Heritage Home Service. Whether it’s keeping your AC running cool, your plumbing flowing right, or your electrical systems safe, our expert team is here to keep your home operating at its best all summer long.
This summer, let Heritage help you kick back, relax, and celebrate the comforts of home—your way.
Exploring Locally: Finding Adventure Close to Home
I find that there is always something truly magical about exploring your own backyard—and by backyard, I mean the vibrant Seacoast of New Hampshire and Maine. This little corner of New England is packed with incredible experiences, from easy weekend getaways to hidden hiking trails and inspiring creative outlets. Whether you're diving into a new hobby or just following your curiosity, there’s always something waiting just around the corner.
I’ve always loved discovering lesser known characteristics of the Seacoast and its surrounding areas—each town, trail, and scenic roadway seems to have its own personality. Long before I called Portsmouth home, I was already hooked. One moment that stands out? A hike up Mt. Major on a crisp early morning with my friend Tara, who would later become my business partner. That hike was more than just a workout—it was a turning point. As I stood at the summit, taking in the beauty, the peace, and the promise of the region, I knew I had found something special.
These days, exploring locally is part of both my lifestyle and my inspiration. From outdoor adventures like biking, kayaking, and hiking to hands-on hobbies like woodworking and pottery, or spontaneous road trips to uncover hidden gems, the Seacoast keeps me endlessly curious.
So, whether you’re a longtime local or a newcomer ready to explore, I invite you to embrace the adventure right here at home. You just might find your next favorite trail—or your next big idea—right in this little pocket of heaven.
MOODEY, PUBLISHER
July 2025
PUBLISHER
Anne Moodey | Anne.Moodey@CityLifestyle.com
MANAGING EDITOR
Tara Phillips | Tara.Phillips@CityLifestyle.com
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR
Chelsea Agro | Chelsea.Agro@CityLifestyle.com
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Sarah Coleman
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Kevin Edge | Kevin@KePhoto.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Rebecca Ingalls, Susan Gallagher, Ann Kathryn Kelly
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Doug Merriam, Jeff Roberts, Todd Snyder
Corporate Team
CEO Steven Schowengerdt
COO Matthew Perry
CRO Jamie Pentz
VP OF OPERATIONS Janeane Thompson
VP OF SALES Andrew Leaders
AD DESIGNER Josh Govero
LAYOUT DESIGNER Amanda Schilling
QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Hannah Leimkuhler
inside the issue
At the intersection of architecture and art, Sash & Solder restores stained glass windows to museum-quality condition to last another century. Featured 12 18 22 28 28
Lost and Found at Hidden Pond
At this sanctuary resort you’ll find the real power of
Summit Quest
Hiker Corrine Ferzoco conquers all 48 New Hampshire 4000-footers and discovers her inner strength.
Community of Creativity
Port City Makerspace brings creatives together on a shared journey of artistic exploration. Conservation’s Creative Side
Hidden Pond is designed for privacy and relaxation, bringing the outside world in with its thoughtful spaces. Read about this rejuvenating resort on page 12.
Jeff Roberts
Launched in 2024, Collaborate & Listen is the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth’s podcast which celebrates the stories of our members.
Seasons 1 and 2 are live now. Past guests have included:
Tom Bath
Monte Bohanan
Heidi Carrington Heath
Michael Cinquino
Julie Cutting
Jennifer Desrosiers
Paul Gilson
Krystal Hicks
Amanda Kidd-Kestler
Sarah Lachance
Cheryl Lesser
Lionel Loveless
Regina Piantedosi
John Randolph
Courtney Ritchings
Darin Roark
Tina Sawtelle
Maya Shrinivasan
Anne Weidman
Keith Bamford
Elizabeth Chilton
Cariann Daley
Chris Dwyer
Kaley Gagne
Michelle Lemay
Beth Moreau
Ben Wheeler
city scene
WHERE NEIGHBORS CAN SEE AND BE SEEN
1: Grace Conant, Senior at PHS, displays her artwork at Portsmouth High School Senior Showcase at 3S Artspace. 2: Lori Waltz-Gagnon, Executive Director of Leadership Seacoast, and Molly Hodgson, CEO of GoodWork, enjoy the gundalow Piscataqua sail. 3: Aileen Dugan and Cleo Villaflores celebrate the recipients of the Seacoast Women's Giving Circle 2025 awards. 4: McKayla from Martingale Wharf serves up a yummy espresso martini. 5: The Portsmouth Chamber Collaborative crew aboard the TOURville Pedicab on the way to Hit the Decks. 6: Robin Drunsic and Hanna Schaffer, co-owners of Forest + Ash Design Company, modeled for the Rivet & WLW Charity Fashion Show. 7: Nicole Vernon, Vernon Family Farm, modeling Rivet outfit during recent charity event supporting Red's Good Vibes.
Caitlin McGrath-Levesque and Marla Baldassare, We Fill Good, celebrate a successful charity event supporting Red's
9: Rich Gherlain, Theresa Rice, Kirk Todd, Sarah Biernbaum, Jill Erickson, and Emmanuel St. Germain at Choice Mortgage grand opening event. 10: Seascape Capital Management team out and about at the Cross Roads House gala.
8: Red's Good Vibes'
Good Vibes.
SAMANTHA NOELLE OBER
Found at LOST AND HIDDEN POND
Todd Snyder
At this sanctuary resort you’ll find the real power of rest
ARTICLE BY REBECCA INGALLS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOUG MERRIAM, JEFF ROBERTS, TODD SNYDER
Surrounded by abundant New England flora, just minutes from Goose Rocks Beach, Hidden Pond is quaintly nestled in the natural world. Emily Nelson, general manager of the Kennebunkport Resort Collection, which features 10 different “boutique destinations,” has been a steward of this rich haven of hospitality for the last decade. “You pull in, and you’re not quite sure where you are,” she says
Todd Snyder
fondly. “But, actually, you are 10 minutes from downtown Kennebunkport and one mile from the beach.”
The resort first opened in 2008 as a 14-cottage showcase, explains Nelson. Local designers were given a budget and the freedom to realize their aesthetic vision for each cottage, imagined around themes like rustic tranquility and the natural landscape. The second phase of its development in 2011 saw the addition of two more cottages and 20 king bungalows, as well as The Barn, the Tree Spa, and the famous farm-to-fork restaurant, Earth, which has been named one of the 50 Most Beautiful Restaurants in America by People Magazine. By 2020, Hidden Pond included 10 glorious treetop lodges, in which it might seem almost sacrilegious to use a cell phone.
Indeed, with its proximity to the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust Nature Preserve, Hidden Pond invites guests to tap into a world barely touched by technology. They can walk, bike, take a “forest bath,” and even spend time with the on-site gardener and enjoy a bounty they can pick themselves. The Tree Spa offers elevation in the literal sense while guests enjoy massage and yoga in a treehouse-like setting with an accompanying chorus of birdsong. Children, too, can unplug in favor of art classes, marine science camp, and playing on the beach.
As the air, sea, and sun work their magic, the staff of Hidden Pond is present to answer every call. “Our staff’s on-property presence tries to be as anticipatory as possible,” explains Nelson. “We try to fill a guest’s need before they want it.” That “anticipatory” awareness starts even before visitors set foot on the property. By the time a guest arrives, the concierge has already reached out to them, inquired about their holiday hopes, and made the appropriate arrangements for dining, tours, and wellness.
Todd Snyder
Doug Merriam
Jeff Roberts
And the guest list is diverse. A cozy family vacation, an anniversary weekend, a multi-generational celebration, the “mini-moon” of a couple unwinding from their wedding. Folks from Boston, New York, and over the pond have found solace in the permission that Hidden Pond gives them to “hang up and hang out,” even for just a few days.
How does Kennebunkport’s Hidden Pond resort staff know that the spell they have cast is working? “From that first arrival moment,” Nelson reflects, “people are stressed from the drive or flight and coming off of their daily lives. But by day two, they’ve received their coffee and pastry, and have begun to relax.” As one day leads into the next, she says, the staff members get to witness the decompression of their grateful guests.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life,—no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair.” Emerson is clear that it is up to us as human beings to seek out this kind of clarity and peace, but it is a task that can seem downright impossible in the havoc of schedules and notifications and worldly worries. Fortunately, the creative minds behind Kennebunkport’s Hidden Pond have combined the giddy element of discovery and the healing immersion of nature into a resort haven that awaits the weary modern mind.
Hidden Pond is open from the start of May to late October and Earth is open year-round.
Doug Merriam
SUMMIT QUEST
Hiker Corrine Ferzoco conquers all 48 New Hampshire 4000-footers and discovers her inner strength
ARTICLE BY SUSAN GALLAGHER
Corrine Ferzoco looked up at the majestic and daunting peak of Mount Bondcliff, which looms at 4,265 feet above her, and took a deep breath. This was it—the final summit. Completing this climb would be the culmination of her sixyear quest to scale all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000-foot
“I learned that I can trust myself–that I am capable.”
mountains, an impressive feat at the age of 69. “I was determined to do it before I turned 70,” she says.
Ferzoco’s mission to ascend all 48 peaks was nowhere on her radar when she stepped foot on the first of them, the 4,003-foot Mount Tecumseh, at age 63. The idea only germinated in her mind much later, blossoming as she racked up climb after climb, gaining confidence with each. At first, she didn’t think she had it in her to complete them all, but by the time she climbed Mount Washington, she realized she had 33 of them under her belt. With bolstered self-assurance, she resolved to finish all 48 climbs—at her own pace and on her own terms.
For Hampton resident Ferzoco, a retired registered nurse and self-proclaimed “gym-rat,” the passion for hiking crept up on her over time. While she had long dabbled in hiking with her gym friends, her discovery of summit hiking in her 50s
transformed her enjoyment into fervor. She began with early morning climbs of Mount Wachusett in her then home state of Massachusetts, but eventually, the soaring White Mountains of New Hampshire beckoned, almost daring her to resist their call. Always up for a challenge, Ferzoco answered with a resounding, “Here I come.”
From the beginning, Ferzoco was not alone on her inspiring journey. Close friends not only hiked some of the 48 with her but encouraged her along the way, helping her prepare physically and mentally and advising her on gear. Ferzoco took their advice to heart, carrying the Ten Essentials for hikers on even her shortest forays. These include a first aid kit, water, food, extra clothing, a compass, and supplies to survive the night, if necessary. Since Ferzoco braved these hikes year-round, she relied on three-season hiking boots, insulated winter boots, and microspikes to navigate ice and snow.
The genial Ferzoco collected a new friend as well along her path to the 48, earning herself the lofty title of “Shoe Angel.” Before embarking on a wintry March hike up Mount Pierce, a serendipitous parking lot encounter led Ferzoco to lend her extra pair of boots to a female hiker who had forgotten her own. The boots happened to be the right size. The freshly crowned Shoe Angel would later go on to hike Mount Isolation, her number 47, with her newfound boot-buddy.
On October 14, 2023, the big day arrived. The 48th summit awaited the eager but nervous Ferzoco and her fellow mountaineers, Sue Gaudet, Beth Adams, and Maggie Porpora. The 19-mile hike up Mount Bondcliff was one of the most challenging, but the indomitable Ferzoco reached her goal, and before her 70th birthday as planned.
Reaching this summit brought Ferzoco more than personal satisfaction. Standing triumphantly atop the peak, defying the buffeting 60-mile-per-hour winds, she felt the unwavering support of her three friends enveloping her like a wind-proof blanket. Her most powerful impression of this final hike is how special her companions made her feel. “It was all about friendship,” she says, choking up with emotion. “If they could have pulled out a brass band and a red carpet, they would have.”
Despite her incredible accomplishment, Ferzoco humbly shrugs off the praise, insisting she is just one of many older hikers pushing their limits and reaching for the sky. Asked what she has learned about herself from this experience, she pauses thoughtfully before answering, “I learned that I can trust myself–that I am capable.”
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COMMUNITY
David Josko fixing up bikes for Seacoast Pedal it Forward
PORT CITY MAKERSPACE BRINGS CREATIVES TOGETHER ON A SHARED JOURNEY OF ARTISTIC EXPLORATION
A unique community exists in the heart of Portsmouth—a wildly diverse band of artists, craftspeople, tinkerers, and techies. Different ages, different backgrounds, same agenda–create! They don’t shun one another because of their differences, but welcome the life-spice of variety. This artsy crew shares knowledge and equipment willingly, collaborates happily, and basks in camaraderie. It sounds like a perfect world, but it is just Port City Makerspace (PCMS).
ARTICLE BY SUSAN GALLAGHER
Makers Ann Stokes and Jonathan Bock with their recently assembled Strawbery Banke entryway
Makerspaces like PCMS are literally spaces where people make things. But beyond the table saws, metal cutters, and 3D printers, it is the spirit of collaboration and sense of belonging that has spurred the popularity of these workspaces over the last decade, particularly since the pandemic. People tired of isolation yearn for interaction, creative expression, and the mental health benefits that come from both.
PCMS provides workshops for everything from woodworking, metalworking, machining, and auto and bike repair to pottery, textiles, 3D printing, and CNC electronics. Frustrated artisans in need of space, tools, and equipment gratefully flock to the makerspace to release their artistic zeal. Members bring their own raw materials, but the makerspace supplies some materials, like clay for pottery, at a discount whenever possible. The three hottest areas of interest these days are jewelry making, glass working, and surprisingly, blacksmithing. An enterprising group of aspiring blacksmiths have set their sights on building their own forge–a clear reflection of PCMS’s thriving spirit of ingenuity.
Jack Segal has been PCMS’s secretary, executive board member, and development chair overseeing fundraising since 2023. He is also an aspiring woodworker—what first brought him to the makerspace. Like so many others, he was searching for a space
to hone his craft, equipment to use, and fellow craftspeople to connect with. At PCMS, he found all this and more.
Segal raves about the collaborative atmosphere at the makerspace. “You come for the crafts, you stay for the community,” he says. In this rare place, where fellow creatives share their expertise without reservation, his skill level has soared. As a beginner woodworker, he relishes the chance to work alongside experienced professionals and learn from them. Many newbies who walk through the makerspace’s door have never picked up a tool, touched clay, worked with electronics, or even seen a 3D printer, but experienced members, volunteers, and the PCMS staff are on hand to teach them. Classes in 21 subjects are also available and are open to the public.
Heading up this exceptional staff is Alex Nunn, someone Segal calls “the face of the makerspace,” and the handiest person he has ever known. Nunn, the general manager since 2014, can fix or work on every piece of key equipment in the facility. This “lifelong tinkerer” first came to the makerspace to learn welding and has since become indispensable in helping makers learn new skills. “He is what really makes the membership experience,” Segal says.
An unexpected bonus of the PCMS experience is the opportunity for each craftsperson to expand and diversify. Members
“OUR MISSION AT ITS CORE IS TO INSPIRE THE ARTIST AND MAKER IN EVERYONE. WE WANT TO GIVE THEM THE TOOLS, THE COLLABORATIVE CULTURE, AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO FEED THE CREATIVITY THAT LIVES WITHIN.”
Pottery by pottery studio manager Danielle Kurani
join focused on one craft, only to find themselves inspired by a wondrous new world of others. Segal is a classic example. For his latest woodworking project, custom-carved his and hers charcuterie boards for engagement gifts, he uses the electronics lab to design them, the woodshop to mill the lumber, and the CNC shop for carving and engraving. Dave Kasparzak is a more traditional artist who has similarly expanded his creative horizons. A gifted charcoal artist, he added woodworker to his resume and now creates custom frames for his own pieces. Founders, Ross Beane, Clint Crosbie, and Zach Robinson never imagined the
“YOU COME FOR THE CRAFTS, YOU STAY FOR THE COMMUNITY."
impact their makerspace would have on the Seacoast arts community. Back in 2012, the three friends launched the workshop to collaborate on projects, purchase shared equipment, and spread their creative wings. But they soon discovered that other artists and makers across the area needed the shop for their own projects, and in 2014, they established the nonprofit Port City Makerspace.
Now home to 270 members, PCMS thrives as a hub of creativity, made possible by its remarkable facilitators. A monthly membership fee of $50 allows unlimited access during regular hours.
For diehard enthusiasts who just can’t stay away, $80 per month allows 24/7 access. Scholarship programs are available for those who qualify.
Port City Makerspace may seem too good to be true, but Segal insists it really is as special as it sounds. “Our mission at its core is to inspire the artist and maker in everyone,” he says. “We want to give them the tools, the collaborative culture, and the opportunity to feed the creativity that lives within.” At PCMS, this ideal collaborative culture has become reality, proving that we can all work together in harmony, no matter what our differences may be.
A rack of clamps for gluing up cutting boards
Maker Justin Williams carving details into a leather piece
ARTICLE BY LINDA DITCH |
summer is POPSICLE SEASON
KIDS AND POPSICLES ARE THE PERFECT SUMMERTIME PAIR
As temperatures rise, children race to the freezer for this frosty treat or wait anxiously for the approach of the musical ice cream truck. Making homemade popsicles is a fun, kid-friendly activity.
SPICED GRAPE POPSICLES
ingredients:
Makes 18 to 24
• 2 quarts Concord grape juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 12 whole cloves
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 3 tablespoons whole allspice
directions:
Put all of the ingredients into a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to barely a simmer and let it cook for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour the juice through a cheesecloth-lined strainer into a bowl or pitcher to remove the spices. Allow the juice to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate until well chilled. Pour mixture into popsicle molds. Freeze until firm.
CONSERVATION’S Creative Side
At the intersection of architecture and art, Sash & Solder restores stained glass windows to museum-quality condition to last another century
ARTICLE BY ANN KATHRYN KELLY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN EDGE
Stained glass windows are more than exquisite works of visual art. Each window also tells a written story, literally.
Throughout the Middle Ages, stained glass windows were dominant across Europe’s Gothic cathedrals. While breathtaking, these windows had a practical purpose. They were “the poor man’s Bible,” visually interpreting Biblical stories for a widely illiterate population.
Stained glass, of course, isn’t limited to churches. Fast-forward from medieval times to the 1600s through to World War II, stained glass windows adorned libraries, banks, municipal buildings, and elaborate residential homes throughout the world.
Celebrated for visual beauty, documentation is just as important to every stained glass window’s “life story”—especially when it comes to recording current conditions and the repair processes needed, so that future generations may continue to enjoy the grandeur. This is where Sash & Solder comes in, working at the intersection between architecture and art; between conservation and creativity.
Sash & Solder, located in the Button Factory in Portsmouth, specializes in museum-quality stained glass window restoration and repair. Owner and craftsman Tom Driscoll founded Sash & Solder in 2015 with his wife and co-owner, Heather Brooks. A third owner, Dennis LaVersa, joined in 2019 and became partner in 2023. Fun fact: Driscoll and LaVersa met as teenagers, working together at a pizza shop. Decades later, their working relationship came full circle when they both apprenticed with the same Boston restoration studio. Together, they’ve worked for several Boston studios on projects that included Princeton University’s chapel, Trinity Church in Boston, The Culinary Institute of America, Boston College’s chapel, and Salve Regina University’s chapel in Providence, Rhode Island, to name just a few. This depth of experience instilled in them the confidence and sophisticated skillset needed to now operate their own studio and bid on complex restoration projects.
The Sash & Solder team brings a combined 70 years of expertise to commercial and residential stained glass projects throughout New England and New York. They repair and restore antique glass and plated windows, and provide glass painting and firing services, partial and complete lead restoration, and repair of wood sashes
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and encasements. Sash & Solder is leadsafe certified and holds memberships and accreditations with Stained Glass Association of America, American Glass Guild, Window Preservation Alliance, New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, Maine Preservation, and Preservation Trust of Vermont.
The team works with churches, libraries, municipalities, and developers. Before new project work begins, they document each window’s original design, construction, and condition. This is done through photographs, video, and rubbings (similar to gravestone rubbings), as they capture meticulous notes. “The lifespan of stained glass window installations is about 125 years before attention is needed,” Driscoll explains. “The biggest factor is lead deterioration. When lead becomes brittle it can no longer hold the weight of stained glass and requires repair.”
The scope and process of each restoration or repair is shared with the client and archived in Sash & Solder’s files. “We document everything,” Driscoll continues, “not only for our benefit, but for craftspeople who may undertake the next restoration in 100 years. Our documentation will enable them to either replicate our process or improve upon it using the next century’s advancements.”
Driscoll gravitated to a career in stained glass restoration after taking an Adult Ed class in the mid-1990s in Seattle, where he found his passion. He grew up in Massachusetts; his wife, in New Hampshire. They moved back to New England in 2000, and he and Heather started their business in 2005. They moved to Portsmouth in 2015, rebranding it Sash & Solder.
Stained glass restoration and historic wooden window repair for commercial, sacred, residential and municipal space ranging from large-scale, multi-phased restorations to smaller-scale, more specialized repairs. Sash & Solder holds the highest preservation standard, always striving to retain the original integrity of the windows.
SASH & SOLDER
855 Islington St., Suite 109 | Portsmouth sashandsolder.com
Instagram @sash&solder
“We document everything for craftspeople who may undertake the next window restoration in 100 years.”
He says the team’s most challenging project to date has been a six-year, multi-phased restoration with First Church Christ Scientist in Concord. “When we finish, we will have restored every window,” Driscoll says. They expect to complete a third phase later this year. The Concord church holds a revered position in the Christian Scientist religion, second only to the “Mother Church” in Boston. He continues, “Due to its size—the church seats 1,000—it’s been a huge undertaking, but so rewarding.”
From that cathedral-sized project, he points to a more intimate assignment in North Hampton. “Union Chapel in Little Boar’s Head seats only 60 worshippers,” he says. Driscoll and the team restored the church’s focal point, a landscape window that features intricate opalescent glass. “Technically, quite challenging,” he explains, “because opalescent glass uses layers of stacked or ‘plated’ glass to deliver more visual depth than traditional stained glass.”
Sash & Solder’s latest project is at North Church, the beloved cultural landmark in Portsmouth’s Market Square. The church recently underwent major structural renovations, including ADA-compliant updates and office installations. Sash & Solder started reinstalling windows in June of this year which they restored over the winter—preserving this historic gem’s beauty for many more generations to come.
realty report
A SAMPLE OF RECENTLY SOLD PROPERTIES ON THE SEACOAST
Join Summerwind for our monthly collaborative Ladies’ Night featuring locally-owned, women-led businesses from across the Seacoast offering their products, services, and experiences in a relaxed environment. Previously featured businesses include vintage clothing, handmade products, express teeth whitening, tox and filler, ear piercing and permanent jewelry services. This event is free and open to the public. Cocktails and light bites are served. Visit SummerwindJewelers.com and follow us on social media for updates!
JULY 12TH
5th Annual Piscataqua Riverfest July 12
Prescott Park | Portsmouth | 10:00 AM
The 5th Annual Piscataqua Riverfest is Portsmouth’s annual celebration of the rivers and bays featuring a traditional boat show, food, music, historical demonstrations, hands-on activities, and great local vendors. Held on the grounds of Strawbery Banke, 14 Hancock St, Portsmouth, there is something for everyone. Entry to the event is free.
