Mint and Thrift

Last week, I had a candid conversation with Kate Goldwater, owner of one of my favorite NYC vintage and secondhand shops, AuH2O. Based in the East Village, this small shop offered some of the most accessible prices on everything from vintage jewelry, secondhand contemporary clothing, even some designer shoes. The “always connected” nature of social media takes a lot out of a person, and Kate was juggling being a small business owner and super mom to her 2 daughters. Not being a small business owner and having a steady income through my corporate job, I had heard about the small business assistance loan program – formally known as the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. To shop AuH2O and continue to support Kate’s business, please check out her new store on Etsy!

As we continue to follow guidance on how to best stop the spread, wearing a mask has become a hot topic, but an essential action to ensure the health and safety of our communities. Using vintage fabrics (or an old shirt or dress) and an amateur’s mini sewing machine, you can easily create a custom face mask that’s all your own! Plus: Based on IG Stories feedback, I am selling custom masks as part of my ongoing closet sale! These are one-of-a-kind and handmade by me, so if you choose to purchase and not DIY you’ll still receive a super cute, unique mask.

Redefining the things that are truly essential, embracing a slower way of life, appreciating the work of those who care and feed us, calling out racism and anti-semitism and embracing allyship, and finally, taking one for the team and wearing a mask even when it’s uncomfortable. But what I have known for a while is that I want to be more intentional with what I am posting about: choosing sustainability, diminishing purchases from fast fashion companies, increasing secondhand shopping via thrift and vintage stores. But as a marketer by trade, I know that fast fashion fills a specific need, and although I prefer to thrift and vintage shop, I do find myself at times perusing Zara. The problem with fast fashion is that the clothing is created to meet specific trends in a rapid-fire manner, leading to a lot of water waste and discard-ability of the clothing.

Over the past month of quarantine, I’ve worked from home, cooked and cleaned far too many dishes, had Zoom and FaceTime happy hours and birthdays, worked out at home, had major emotional highs and lows, and took care of a cat I live 2 miles away from Elmhurst Hospital in the NYC borough most affected by the coronavirus and lately, I’ve been getting this itch that staying home has simply NOT been enough. When guidelines changed and we were asked to begin wearing cloth face coverings, I knew I wanted to figure out how to sustainably obtain my own masks, but also help those who may not have access or the ability to purchase masks that are in limited supply. Being someone lucky enough to have a livable wage in NYC and still eligible to receive a stimulus check, the stimulus check I’m expecting is definitely welcome, but I don’t necessarily NEED all of it.