Four years ago, I was looking for an out from the restaurant industry after six or seven years of making pastries professionally, so I went to work at my boyfriend’s mom’s vintage home goods store.
It wasn’t my dream job. It was just an opportunity to reset my nervous system, work close to home (the shop was literally next door to our apartment) and give myself some space to figure out what I really wanted to do (which turned out to be writing this newsletter!).
I didn’t know much about sourcing vintage at the time, but I was constantly in awe of the amazing pieces Brigid would find—ceramic panthers the size of a small child, beautiful old rattan magazine holders, Eames-style lounge chairs and on and on.
When she passed away in the spring, the shop sadly closed and Max and I eventually decided to move to a different part of LA for a fresh start. If you’ve been reading extra honey since the early days, you know this newsletter played an important role in helping me process her passing and the pain of watching my partner grieve such an immeasurable loss. Brigid was a force and much of what I now cherish in my life is thanks to her.
Unfortunately, my newsletter wasn’t exactly paying the bills at the time (or now lol) and I had to start looking for a real job. With my retail experience, I was able to procure a new gig at another vintage/home goods store on the west side of LA.
Over the course of 2+ years I worked my way up from sales associate to online fulfillment to social media management and eventually to my current role as the store manager.
I like my job. The hours are great. My coworkers are sweet. I actually like the stuff we sell. The pay is good enough (relative to small biz retail jobs). The commute is admittedly a beast. But beyond that, even though I’m the one that places the orders and merchandises the store and manages the day-to-day goings on, I don’t actually have any creative control over the items we buy or the overall aesthetic of the store.
Ever since Max and I first started dating, I thought it would be fun for us to open some kind of shop together. At the time, I was still baking and imagined it would be some kind of tattoo bakery which isn’t the worst idea but also doesn’t totally make sense (especially because my passion for baking was waning and in no way could I see it as a longterm gig).
What I actually enjoyed most about my pastry days was writing the blog posts for my baking blog, decorating and sharing photos of finished cakes and hanging out with the array of creative folks I met in the industry.
As I’ve been mulling over my next move, I’ve wondered how I could bring all of these elements together into one cohesive vision. It actually hasn’t been a conscious effort so much as a natural impulse to go towards whatever brings me closer to artists and beautiful things.
There’s this scene in season 5 of Mad Men where Megan’s very French mother tells her, “You have the temperament of an artist, but you are not an artist. Not every little girl gets to do what they want. The world could not support that many ballerinas.”
On a subconscious level, I think that’s what I’ve been telling myself over the past decade. I have this lust and longing for some kind of bohemian artistic existence without believing that a life like that is possible for me or that I can even call myself an artist. Obviously, I enjoy writing, but I can’t draw for shit and for all intents and purposes my cake decorating career was a bust.
But, artistry comes in many forms.
Curation is an art form. Bringing people together in a meaningful way is an art form. Starting a business that values human craft and artistic integrity over endless growth feels like an art form.
So, with Max by my side, I’m opening a shop.
It’s called Almost Blue.
It’s an online shop with a mix of new and vintage pieces, including books, art prints, jewelry and objects that feel worn in, lived in and loved well. We’ll have monthly pop-up events so you can come hang out, get a piece of tattoo flash and check out the goods.
In the next few weeks, I’ll be announcing the first pop up and the official launch of the website. So stay tuned!!
So what does this mean for extra honey? I considered integrating Almost Blue fully with this newsletter, but ultimately decided that extra honey should remain my own little piece of the internet where I can word vomit and share poetry. While I will share some info about the new shop here, I have created new pages for all things Almost Blue!
Substack — almostbluela.substack.com
Instagram — @almostblue.la
Tiktok — @almostbluela
Follow all three for sneak peeks and pop up announcements!
How to support:
Subscribe to the newsletter
Tell your friends
Upgrade to paid (every bit helps!)
Come to our events, get a tat & shop the store when it opens
I can’t wait. More soon.
Love, Jenny
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