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Life and entrepreneurship in Montclair, NJ
Episodes
Friday Jan 08, 2021
Friday Jan 08, 2021
We couldn't get enough of Jonathan Escheverry, much as we can't get enough of his coffee. Joanna,our interviewer, is married to Uber---a native Spanish speaker, who had a few more questions to ask so we kept recording as they talked and tapped his talents to get an additional interview in Spanish. Have a listen...
Sunday Dec 20, 2020
Sunday Dec 20, 2020
In today’s show we’re talking with Jason Milleisen, the creator of Montclair Meal Kits, a full food delivery service devoted to local restaurants in the Montclair area serving the people who live there. An entrepreneur at heart, Jason continues to run a pizza truck and has a true appreciation for the men and women in the food service industry. With the pandemic expected to ramp up, this winter restaurants need our help more than ever. Jason’s vision is for our great Montclair eateries to be easily accessible to the residents via delivery without all the punishing surcharges from third party delivery providers. So what will it take to make this all work? Listen and find out!
Sunday Dec 06, 2020
Sunday Dec 06, 2020
In today's show we're talking with Lucienne Coppedge and Renau Daniels, owners of the Artisans Gallery Pop-up Store. They started this business as a side project to their day jobs but it is a labor of love for them both and it shows in the careful selection of items they offer to their customers. They've made it their mission to bring quality Fair Trade and sustainable jewelry, clothing, home goods and artwork, made by local and international artisans. Many of their items are handcrafted and the majority of them are made by women artisans and designers. They also encourage products and businesses that participate in zero waste and sustainability. Lucienne and Renau have been creating this pop-up since 2015 and recently relocated and reopened Montclair's South End after recovering from the business closures during COVID.
Sunday Nov 22, 2020
Sunday Nov 22, 2020
In this week's episode, our 90th!, we're talking to a business that focuses on taking care of our pets for us when we're too busy to walk, feed or pamper them ourselves. We're talking to Janine Ruela of Montclair Pet Girl about her love of animals and how she made a quick pivot from being a teacher to pet walking and cat tending. She speaks about how her business, opened in 2011, expanded as her reputation grew and also leaves us with some advice from what she's learned over the years.
Sunday Nov 08, 2020
Sunday Nov 08, 2020
In this week's episode we speak with someone who has been, almost, an institution in Montclair for more than 25 years. Sharron Miller is the Founder/Director of Sharron Miller’s Academy for the Performing Arts (SMAPA) located on Park Street. Sharron was always passionate about dance from a young age and attended The Juilliard School and soon after, found a position with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as a soloist. She is also the veteran of seven Broadway shows and has appeared on television, film, and hundreds of radio and television commercials.
As she settled into family life here in Montclair, she found commuting to be a burden and looked to practice her art closer to home. Sharron became committed to enriching the lives of young people, through teaching dance and performance arts right here in Montclair. SMAPA’s holistic philosophy inspires students to believe they can achieve, nurturing the potential within each student by encouraging creativity, building skills, fostering self-discipline, and bolstering self-esteem
She previously served on the faculty of Renaissance Middle School for 13 years where SMAPA provided the dance and drama program for 6th, 7th and 8th grade students during the school day. Ms. Miller has also served on the faculty of Montclair Kimberley Academy, Far Brook School, and has been affiliated with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center as an arts-in-education consultant/partner. At SMAPA, she not only continues to train hundreds of students yearly, but also continues to develop her arts enrichment programs and community outreach. Ms. Miller resides in Montclair, New Jersey with her daughter, Jaimie.
Sunday Oct 25, 2020
Sunday Oct 25, 2020
In this week's episode we speak with Jonathan Escheverry of Paper Plane Coffee Co. Jonathan spent his summers as a boy in his grandfather's coffee fields in Colombia where he learned how coffee's grown and processed but he was raised in the US the rest of the year. He had an early interest in food and cuisine and went for culinary training, but found himself looking for another outlet for his passion for taste. He decided to learn more formally about producing and roasting excellent gourmet coffee and opened a coffee outlet in Brooklyn. After meeting and marrying a native Montclarion, he tired of the daily commute to his shop in Brooklyn and shifted his store to Montclair. We learn of his journey from Brooklyn, back to Colombia for training and eventually here to Montclair where he offers the very best in South American blended coffee.
Sunday Jul 26, 2020
Sunday Jul 26, 2020
In today's show, I'm speaking with a local Montclair resident, Janice Gobert. She is an entrepreneur and Rutgers’ Graduate School of Education professor and she has earned a PhD in Cognitive Science. She's a leader in her field and has studied with some of the top experts in Cognitive Science. Since 2012, she has also been CEO of a company she developed called Apprendis and their flagship product, Inq-ITS, a science platform that has been a growing resource for middle schoolers, high school students, and their teachers. The platform incorporates virtual science labs that assess and support students while they work using AI. I've known Janice for a few years here in our community and have been fascinated with her creation of this learning program.
Sunday Jul 12, 2020
Sunday Jul 12, 2020
In this episode, we're talking with two of the leaders of the North Essex Chamber of Commerce. Amiee Idan is its executive director and Denny Klein is a long time member who has years of experience supporting and helping to lead local businesses in successful business networking and partnerships.
As the threat of COVID, hopefully, recedes, our stores and businesses are beginning the process of rebuilding and reaching out to their customers to welcome them back.
Our town and it's hard-working business owners need all the help they can get. Have a listen to our speakers as they talk about the wealth of knowledge and ideas that their organization has for those in need of community and guidance while reopening and repositioning their businesses to succeed as we all move forward to re-establish our vibrant downtown areas here in Essex County.
And they talk about their upcoming event on July 15th - Meet the Mayors, which they have sponsored every year to let the public hear from the leaders of their towns and get to hear directly from them. This year it's online and we're giving you links to join the event here:
https://business.northessexchamber.com/events/details/2020-meet-the-mayors-virtual-event-3161
And we also want to thank the corporate supporters of the Chamber of Commerce for supporting this important local organization:
BCB Bank
RWJ Barnabas
PSE&G
Astorino Financial Group
Jordan Baris
Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis
Rand, Fewer & Kline
Smolin Accounting
Windmill Products
Sunday Jun 28, 2020
Sunday Jun 28, 2020
In this episode, we're talking with Jessica Kline of Macaroni Kid. Jess is an experienced marketing professional and a seriously busy Mom. She has three kids of her own and through that experience, she developed an appreciation for the value of local connections and information for creating a holistic and social community for raising your kids in.
She found the Macaroni Kid website which brings you news and info that's great for moms and families featuring advice, entertainment, product reviews, holiday fun, and parenting tips and she decided to sign on as a local publisher for our area. She launched in December, before the quarantine, and has realized that her company has new-found relevance in our new locked-down world.
Sunday Jun 14, 2020
Sunday Jun 14, 2020