SPLIT PERSONALITY

on dreams, designer vintage, and doing it all...in divine time

Hi kittens!

I feel like my columns (I love calling them columns, very SATC-coded) have been over-produced a bit lately. When I decided to make this a mostly paid publication, I suddenly felt a lot of self-imposed pressure to release a new “think piece” every Tuesday as if I could lose my job at THE NEW YORK STAR if I didn’t deliver.

But then I realized two things. One, I don’t work for a fictitious newspaper. And two, by pay-walling this entire publication I started to miss the energy of being widely-read. Not because I’m an attention whore, but because I love the vibe of you never know who’s gonna find this when she needs it most. You know, some Big Magic shit.

So there will absolutely be more paid posts, and those will be the deeper, more personal, behind-the-scenes entries. But the main story will be out in the open because I’m a connection whore. I love the masses!

Okay next order of business: I leave for New York on Wednesday. And this trip has taken on a life of its own. What I planned as a long weekend to celebrate Mother’s Day with my mom (and get my six-week root touch up, of course) has turned into a full-on agenda of vintage-sourcing and fashion events and I could not be more excited!

One of the perks of re-imagining your entire life is that you get to really think about how you want to spend your time. I am obsessed with being a writer and publisher. I live for stories — both writing them, shaping them, bringing them to life. And getting to help women authors publish their books is a literal dream.

But words are not the only way to tell a story.

In 2018, I launched a brand called Dagmar Rose. It was a curated vintage boutique born from an obsession with old Hollywood mixed with 80s and 90s glamour that began in my grandmother, Dagmar’s, jewelry box. As a little girl, I’d comb through her chunky pearl necklaces, oversized clip-on chandelier earrings, and sparkling 1950’s crystal brooches, adorning myself with anything and everything that caught my eye. After taking some fashion business courses at FIT and combining my education in vintage fashion with my entrepreneurial eye, I made it official.

Dagmar Rose began online and quickly expanded in-store throughout New York. First through a collective of female-founded boutiques in the East Village, then through my own pop-up events where I served champagne, played disco, and played dress up with the most fabulous women. It was fucking magic.

But I found it challenging to do it all in New York. The city demands a lot from you, energetically and otherwise, and for a long time, I was focused on building my coaching business and writing my books. Dagmar Rose was always there and I visited her in waves, but I never forced it. I knew she’d come back to me when the time was right.

Cut to this gorgeous, spacious, soft live I’ve created in Jacksonville. As I write this to you, a cool wind is making the ivory drapes in my studio dance and I can see the tops of the palm trees floating across a perfect blue sky. I live in a home that was built in 1940 that has a lot of its original fixtures including the most stunning brass chandeliers and art deco accents. It was only a matter of time until Dagmar came back into my consciousness.

Fun fact, Dagmar loved Florida. She bought a condo here once without telling my grandfather until she signed the paperwork (honestly iconic), and she’d escape here by herself whenever she needed a break from New York.

So it’s only fitting that this dream found me here again. I actually think this is way more spiritual than I even understand. Especially when I tell you about the insane alignment of it all. You will die.

life lately

In the meantime, you can find me reading manuscripts (shout out to Marianna Pease - we’re publishing her next work with Pink Ink Press and you guys it is so so good!), shooting vintage jewels and caftans, and maybe, just maybe, giving Dagmar Rose a permanent home in the South…

More soon.

PS if you want a peek at the new collection-in-progress, check it out here!

xx

Cara