Tell us about MacRae’s Sustainable Goods and why you started it. MacRae’s offers products to our community which are safe for people and the planet! We work hard to find vendors who carry this goal from the beginning to the end of life of their products. The items we carry in the store include products for personal care, home, pets, cleaning, laundry, and much more. We’re particularly proud to offer closed loop refillable cleaning and personal care goods. Closed loop means the bulk containers we receive are returned to the vendor to be cleaned out and refilled – so that nothing is thrown away in the process! MacRae’s is located at 108 Washington Street in Marblehead. We hope you will stop in and see all of the great products we have in our store!
What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever received? The best business advice I’ve received was also really great life advice – When you let go of something that isn’t serving you, it gives you the time and the energy to focus on something that will!”
What is your favorite spot in Marblehead, and why? Crocker Park feels magical everytime I go to it! I love seeing it at different times of the day as it has a different personality at each time.
What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?I love to write poetry!
MacRae’s Sustainable Goods
Owner: Jennifer Lewis 108 Washington St, Marblehead
www.MacRaes-Goods.com
Tell us about Stone and Compass and why you started it. I started Stone and Compass 13 years ago with $9.00, a dart, a map and a dream to impact people’s lives globally while also staying true to my roots in Marblehead. The company runs adult tours and then reinvests the profit to lower the costs for kids (high school and college students) to travel abroad. While the kids are traveling, they also create and build sustainable projects for local communities and people who are in need. Supported by the Stone & Compass volunteer adult staff, the kids build confidence and capacity to become global-minded change agents inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. This summer we sent over 100 Marblehead youth abroad to 5 different countries.
What is the best business advice you’ve ever received? The best business advice I ever got was to believe in myself and push through adversity.
What is your favorite spot in Marblehead, and why? Without a doubt, my favorite spot in Marblehead is Browns (Crowninshield) Island. It harkens back to my youth and is still an incredible place to let go and take in the beauty of the area.
What is something people would be surprised to learn about you? That I logged over 1,000,000 miles in the air over the last 21 months. Basically the equivalent of going around the world 40 times. It’s been quite a crazy two years!
Stone & Compass
Founder/President: Robert Goodwin [email protected]
www.StoneandCompass.com
Tell us about The Landing Restaurant. The Landing is a landmark restaurant that was first established in 1972. I was fortunate to join the Partners back in 2002. Over the last few years, we’ve gone through a few menu changes and several renovations. Once known solely for the great view of the harbor, the new fresh look, and current culinary team. have made us one of the premiere restaurants on the North Shore. I’ve always loved hospitality and we pride ourselves on the way we make our guests (locals and tourists) feel when they enter our house. The addition of the Function Room has given patrons a beautiful option in town to celebrate those family moments or business affairs.
What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever received? A great piece of restaurant business advice I received was “MBWA” – Manage by Walking Around. You must have the ability to manage the numbers upstairs in the office, but you get more out of your people and understand more of your business by being on the floor and talking to people. Keeping your eye on the moving parts helps you identify problems and find solutions quickly.
What is your favorite spot in Marblehead, and why? My favorite spot in Marblehead would have to be The Landing. I spend a lot of time there. Looking out at the Harbor and talking to the fisherman on the dock is one of the most unique experiences that I get to enjoy on a daily basis. I am very fortunate indeed!
What is something that people would be surprised to learn about you? It might surprise people to know that I spent over 14 years in Southern California. I first went out there in 1979 to pursue a dream of becoming a stuntman – tough job to break into…literally. After crashing my motorcycle 3 times I felt the safer bet would be to continue school and make the restaurant business my career.
The Landing Restaurant
Partner & General Manager: Robert Simonelli 81 Front Street, Marblehead
www.thelandingrestaurant.com
Tell us about Marblehead Candle Company. Marblehead Candle Company was a pandemic born business. David and I both came from the restaurant industry, and like so many other people were out of work for quite a while. For many years we had thrown around several business ideas of things we “should do”, all of which never came to fruition. Then one day the idea of Marblehead Candle Company came up in conversation and we both loved the idea so much that we decided on the spot we were going to go for it and see what happened.
David and I really love this town and we may have a slight addiction to candles so it felt right to create something that would embrace both. All our candles are hand poured in small batches at our studio in Old Town (128 Washington Street, Marblehead)using 100% soy wax and clean fragrance oils, so when you burn one of our candles it’s free of things like carcinogens, mutagens, and other toxins. Each scent in our collection was carefully crafted to recreate your favorite memories of life here on the coast. Our vision for Marblehead Candle Company was to create a long lasting, high quality, great smelling candle that people would love but that they could also feel good about burning.
What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever received? Truthfully, I don’t think anyone has ever really given us any business advice. To be fair, we didn’t leave a lot of opportunity for advice to be given when we were in the beginning phases of building the business. Prior to the Marblehead Candle Company launch we kept the entire business a secret from everyone, not even our family knew! It wasn’t an easy secret to keep because we were excited about what we were building but we knew if we were to share what we were doing that inevitably we would get a lot of input or advice from people. We already had a clear vision on what we wanted the business to be, that as first-time business owners we didn’t want to end up confused or overwhelmed or even influenced into changing. So, we did everything behind closed doors until we launched.
What is your favorite spot in Marblehead, and why? Chandler Hovey Park, AKA Marblehead Light, is definitely our favorite spot to spend time in Marblehead. It’s just so peaceful and beautiful there, especially in the summertime. One of our favorite things to do in the summer is get Marblehead House of Pizza and eat picnic dinners there.
What is something that people would be surprised to learn about you? Hmmm…something that would surprise people about us…good question. Well, David was a professional surfer in his younger years and as far as I go, that’s a tough one. I’m not sure there’s a lot that would surprise people about me! If I had to pick one thing, I would say that I’m quite the introvert. I feel like as a business owner when most people interact with me, I am circumstantially extroverted so it would be hard to know otherwise, but at my core I am a total introvert. I guess you could call me an outgoing introvert!
Marblehead Candle Company
Owners: Amanda McRae and David Adkins [email protected]
www.MarbleheadCandleCompany.com
Tell us about Kids in Motion Dance Studio and why you started it. Kids in Motion Dance Studio began 17 years ago. My girls grew up dancing at a studio in Marblehead and I loved every minute of their experience. I felt like Marblehead needed an option for children to dance recreationally, meaning that dance didn’t have to be their main activity and children could take as little as one class or as many classes as they wanted. At Kids in Motion, children can take hip hop without having to take ballet. We offer a wide variety of dance classes for all levels and ages, preschool through high school. The instruction from our staff is high quality in a relaxing, caring and family feel type studio. You can register your kids for our Fall classes at www.kidsinmotiondancestudio.com
What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever received, or advice you would like to share? When it comes to business advice, I would say, “Always trust your gut and follow your instincts”.
What is your favorite spot in Marblehead, and why?I love all of Marblehead. I grew up and raised my family here in town. One of my favorite spots is Gatchell Park. It holds a lot of great memories for me of the hundreds of baseball games my son played there.
What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?I think people would be surprised to learn that I love to knit. It’s a relaxing hobby that I really enjoy.
Kids In Motion Dance Studio
Owner: Susie Likins [email protected]
www.KidsinMotionDanceStudio.com
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