“Listed in Brooklyn Magazine ‘Most exciting and influential creatives in Brooklyn’, Katie Garcia currently does A&R and event coordination for Secretly Group. In addition to working at Secretly, she runs a label of her own called Bayonet Records alongside her husband and Beach Fossils founder, Dustin Payseur. Katie was also the label manager of independent label Captured Tracks for 4 years between 2010-2014. ”
Dress: Zara, Necklace: Alter
ON HER MORNING ROUTINE
I wake up after setting three alarms, I do a deep stretch reaching up while inhaling, and then bend over while exhaling, I pop my contacts on or just wear my glasses if I’m feeling lazy.
on her beauty routine
I don’t wash my face in the morning. Typically I wash my face and put moisturizer (Kiehl’s Rosa Arctic Youth Regenerating Cream or their Powerful Wrinkle Reducing Cream, sometimes I'll use PROACTIV Green Tea Moisturizer) right before I go to bed so when I wake up I’m ready to run out the door. I also use Alba Botanica Natural Acne Dote Face and Body Scrub, Soapwalla Deodorant Cream and Fresh's Sugar Lip Polish. For face masks I like GlamGlow GLAMGLOW YOUTHMUD Tinglexfoliate Treatment and REN Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask.
on her personal style
I almost exclusively wear black and white. My way of “mixing it up” so I’m monochromatic all the time is by incorporating cool patterns. Red and army green also sneak their way into a few pieces. I’m big into Uniqlo and Zara. Alter in Greenpoint has a lot of great stuff and it’s one of the few NYC boutiques I’ve been to where everything is actually affordable. And then of course I go thrifting as much as I can. I don’t go as often as I’d like to in NYC mainly because there aren’t many good thrift spots and the few that are great are far from my place. However, when I go home to Miami I go straight for this one special shopping center that has a few thrift stores (which I will not name and selfishly keep secret, but if you’re from Miami... you know what I’m talking about) and pick up so many great treasures.
on getting into music
I got into music partly by my own curiosity and partly by my mom's younger brothers who listened to great music in high school. I used to go into their room when I was a kid and look at the posters on their walls and ask all these questions about all the bands they were into like The Stone Roses and The Cure. I also just watched a ton of MTV growing up, so a lot of the stuff on there definitely shaped my music taste for better of for worse!
On her favorite record
I’ve liked ‘The Glow Pt. 2’ by The Microphones since my best friend in college Shelby introduced me to it. It perfectly summed up how I was feeling at that time in my life. It’s loud and almost metal-like at times and then quiet and contemplative at others. During young adulthood I had this swirling whirlpool of emotions both high and low and a constant yearning whether for love, friendship, understanding or rebellion. I would have to assume that it’s the same for most people during that time in their lives. For me personally, everything in my life was so romantic whether via either actual romance or just going on wild adventures with my gang of friends. Flying on my bike down a hill, shooting off fireworks in the park, lounging in bed with a lover, smoking weed in a giant parachute; this album soundtracked all those moments in my mind.
on her favorite book
Another book that really affected me was The Fall by Camus. I had just been dumped by the guy who gave me the book and I was reading it while on a family trip in Germany. The book really struck a chord with me. The confessions of this selfish lawyer in the novel sort of mirrored the actions of my ex-partner at the time. It felt good to kind of wallow in the “people are shit” mentality. I generally don’t feel that way about people and try to have a pretty positive outlook on life, which is probably why reading stuff like Camus is very sobering for me! I need that balance in my life.
Top: Flux of Pink Indians
““The BWLOOW was such an eye-opening book in terms of what I learned about the history of the Dominican Republic. Despite being Cuban, I didn’t know much about the neighboring island of the DR. I never knew the story behind Trujillo or Las Hermanas Mirabal, but after reading I felt enlightened.””
Katie's favorite books
The Fall by Camus, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz, Just Kids by Patti Smith, Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, An American Primer by Walt Whitman, A Crack Up At The Race Riots by Harmony Korine, Tao Te Ching by Laozi
katie's favorite records
Remain by They Are Us Too, On Your Own Love Again by Jessica Pratt, The Glow Pt. 2 by The Microphones, 154 by Pink Flag, Weird Pop by Beggars Banquet
Katie's favorite places IN new york city
Le Gamin for dinner/brunch
Eagle Trading Co. for lunch/coffee/tea
Glasserie for a fancy dinner
Ramona for a nice cocktail
Pencil Factory or Broken Land for a good beer
Alter for an affordable boutique
Cafe Himalaya for incredible (and cheap!)
Molasses Books for a great bookstore w/a bar
Top: Zara, Shorts: Forever 21, Socks: H&M, Boots & Backpack: Vintage