ON HER MORNING ROUTINE
My morning routine starts at 6:30am. I begin my morning by meditating for 10 mins, and head for the tea kettle in the kitchen where I begin my prep work for my daughter's school lunch and snack. I cook all of her lunch meals every morning, so the house smells like garlic and onions very early. Luckily, my partner loves the smell of both. Once I send her off to school I head back home to Dakota, my very anxious dog waiting for his morning walk. By the time I get back home, I try to give myself "me " time which is 1 hour that includes going to the gym, yoga class, or re-straightening my closet.
On her start as an interior designer
I can thank my stepmother for introducing me into the world of interior design. When I graduated from college after studying Fashion Merchandising, I was having a hard time finding a job in that field. Venting to my stepmom on a weekly basis about not finding the right job was the norm, so she suggested "how about interior design?" She had a good friend who was an interior designer, and was looking for an assistant to help manage his accounts, so I went in to interview and I got the job, which totally surprised me not having any prior experience. I was so eager to learn the business and grow. I learned so much in such a short time. I did have to earn his trust, but once he felt comfortable, he let me work directly with the clients to help guide their vision. After working 2 years as an assistant interior decorator, my focus started to shift back to fashion. I was lucky enough to work in Product Development Management for 8 years until I left in 2006, and, at the same time, I met my partner, Dan, who would help cultivate my vision in creating a lifestyle brand, People of 2morrow. Things moved very quickly with Dan, and after 2 years of dating we decided to buy a townhouse built in 1890 in the heart of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. We did not have the budget to hire a large team to help with the renovation. Luckily Dan had a friend that was experienced in construction and carpentry and helped us to do the work hands on. Yes, it was a bit ambitious, but we just went for it.
On renovating
Our townhouse is 3 stories tall. We lived in each apartment as we renovated. You can't imagine the dust; using the vacuum 15 times a day became the norm. After the first 8 months of renovation, I felt a deep desire to have a dinner gathering for close friends. We lived on the 2nd floor at that time. So my guests arrive, table was set, the place was coming along. Our guests were curious how I was going to cook dinner without a stove, and unbeknownst to them that I was cooking a 5 course meal on a small grill on the fire escape. They were so amazed how I could pull that off while cooking for 10 people. They chuckled for sure. I would say the hardest part on redoing a townhouse is how physically and mentally exhausting it was. We renovated our house for over 3 years. Living without a kitchen at times, living with dust, not having a back wall in the bedroom when we blew out the bricks to install custom windows...we had a hard time having a social life, we were just drained.
On her favorite bookS
The older I get the more I realize how incredible Mother Nature is. I made a conscious decision to learn more about nature, and a friend recommended The Hidden Life of Trees to me. It's incredible, a must read. A powerful reminder to slow down and tune into the language of nature
On her favorite recordS
Terence Trent D'arby, an artist I was madly obsessed with in the 80's, yes I'm going back. I loved his sultry voice, his dance moves were memorable, and he had a wicked fashion sense. This album will forever be one of my favorites.
On her beauty routine
For my face and body I'm pretty strict about only using as natural as possible products. What you put on your skin is just as important as what you eat. I use a few different products daily. I wash my face and body with Apoterra's Activated Charcoal + Dead Sea Salt Complexion Soap, I then apply Malaya Organics Rejuvenating Face Serum, which is incredible, and for my body I use Monoi Tiki Tahiti Oil, which smells like you spent the day at the beach—I'm obsessed. Skincare is very important to me. I would say the most important beauty tip is to wash your face before you sleep, moisturize your face lightly with a face oil that offers chamomile—my favorite would be Apoterra's Night Clarifying Treatment. Try a facial mask treatment every two weeks to clean out your pores. I use Palermo's Vitamin C Facial Mask, which also has pink clay and rosehip.
ON where she shops
I honestly shop everywhere. I would say thrifting is by far my favorite method of shopping for clothes for myself and clients. My favorite vintage shops are Housing Works, L Train Vintage, Beacon's Closet, and Angel Thrift Shop to name a few. Some of my other favorite places to shop are Oroboro, Steven Alan, Creatures of Comfort, and Bird Brooklyn.
On founding People of 2morrow
Once we finished 80 percent of the renovations in the townhouse, we took a little break, and 9 months later my daughter Yaelle was born. Truly the best moment in my life was becoming a mom. When it came time to shop for her, I found myself going to second hand stores. I had a few special places I would go, and found the most incredible pieces. I loved thrifting for her as much as thrifting for myself. I started to shop and curate vintage baby clothing, in hopes of selling the collection to stores. It all happened so quickly, I realized I had to think of a name of the collection, which I called, "Little People of 2morrow." A few different shops in Brooklyn picked up the collection, and it started to become a little business, a business I could tend to while being a full time mother. I curated the vintage baby clothing for 6 months, until my partner Dan mentioned that there would be great potential for opening a buy-and-sell lifestyle/concept shop in Greenpoint. We came across this large ground-level industrial building, surrounded by glass on the corner, and we both knew this would be the perfect place to open our first store.
On the future of People of 2morrow
People of 2morrow was created to offer on-trend, non-expensive fashion for our community. We also offer styling tips on our Instagram, showing how to wear the pieces we were highlighting on our online shop, in addition to selling items from local and fairtrade international artists. We noticed online sales increasing, and decided to close the shop to instead focus on the continued growth of our online presence, without the cost of overhead for a physical store. We're also shifting our focus to interior decorating services and floral decor for weddings.
Favorite books
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
See The World Beautiful by Anne Menke
The Oldest Living Things in the World by Rachel Sussman
Favorite records
Wishing Well by Terence Trent D’Arby
The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding
Favorite Movies
Amélie, Steel Magnolias, The Color Purple, Out of Africa
Favorite places
Cafe Mogador and The Butcher's Daughter for brunch
ABC Carpet & Home and Chelsea Flea Market to shop