Hello Again + A Call for Press Releases + A Major Life Update!
Well, well, well, look who decided to come crawling back to his dumb li’l Substack (me). I should have my tail between my legs, surely, but by now longtime readers will know that all I ever do here is bitch about how busy I am and then proceed to ignore this newsletter for a week or six weeks or four months and then the cycle repeats itself.
So, today, I won’t do that — well, at least, not entirely. Instead, I’m going to give you a few life updates (I save the most important for last, tbh, so read it all, damnit), a couple suggestions of what to buy or read, and I’ll throw in a couple other bits and bobs to remind you that a) you like me and b) distance makes the heart grow fonder.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (meaning: only through obligation and as something to do while the oven preheats).
PS - Next newsletter is an NYC recap with lots of fun brands and projects and all that good stuff in it - so stay tuned!
First, I clickbaited my way into some of your inboxes with my subject line, so for any PR people reading this — I’m working on a gift guide/Black Friday roundup of deals for Worn & Wound and would love for you to reach out if you have anything you’d like to share. This is the first of its kind, I believe, and they want it in the style of this newsletter, so I can have a bit of fun with it. Send what you have along regarding your clients’ BFCM items and I’ll see what I can do with it!
Right now, I’m having the best months of my freelance career ever and it’s a bit exhilarating and a bit exhausting and a bit unreal. I have had to sacrifice staying in touch with people a bit, and my fiction work is moving glacially to put it kindly, but it’s all temporary and I promise, if there is an unanswered text, I’m just as upset at myself as you are (that is, until it’s month-end and I’m invoicing, babyyy).
Next month, I head to Germany for a week with the Merz b. Schwanen team to see their factory in the Swabian Albs, and then attend a Christmas party in Berlin. I’m quite touched to be invited, if I’m being honest. I’ve only been freelancing with the company for about four months, so this is all feels a bit like Schicksal to be working with the brand so closely and feeling (for lack of a better term) like a member of the family.
Oh? You noticed a little bit of German up there? I’m going deep into studying the language now. I’m talking four different language learning apps and an online tutor. Truth be told, I find German to be incredibly hard (which is why I took the coward’s way and studied Norwegian instead). But between Montblanc, Leica, and now Merz b. Schwanen — have you noticed I’ve been to Germany four times in the last year and a half? — I think this can only benefit me and my career and give me a deeper appreciation for my semi-adopted professional home. And with that, if you have any recommendations, tips, tricks, or want to be my tutor, Ich bin ganz Ohr.
By the way, if you’re a writer/editor/well-connected fashion girlie: do hit me up. I’d love to discuss how we can work together for Merz. I’m slowly (but surely) making inroads with more press people, but it’s a two-way street, so don’t be shy,
mes amismeine Freunde.I’ve been reading some very good books lately, though quite slowly, I must admit, as I’m ready to drop dead by the time I brush my teeth at night. Right now, I’m reading Mrs March by Virginia Feito, which has been a welcomed relief to discover contemporary literature can still read like something from the mid-century (thank God). I also finished The Scapegoat, by Daphne du Maurier; The Murder on Via Belpoggio, by Italo Svevo; and An Unofficial Rose, by Iris Murdoch. All very good ones, indeed, and I might try to tackle The Magic Mountain again this Winter, though I did write a piece for Robb Report inspired by Thomas Mann’s novel earlier this year and that may be enough for me for a bit.
I suppose my Wellbutrin is working in spades these days, as I’ve also found myself very drawn to comedy lately. While historically not my primary genre of interest, I’ve been seeking out silly little nonsensical shows to throw on in the evening. The Chair Company on HBO with Tim Robinson has been cracking me up, as well as a rewatch of 30 Rock. And, of course, I can’t not mention seeing Oh, Mary on Broadway while in the city a couple weeks ago (an upcoming recap will undoubtedly fawn a bit more about Jane Krakowski then, I’d imagine).
I’m having quite a difficult time with stationery and pens lately. A bit of a whack-a-mole situation, as I like to say. I’m historically very loyal to Moleskine and even commissioned a leather company to make me a simple cover for my daily notebook. Unfortunately, I was gifted a beautiful little thing called a Pilot Vanishing Point by the brand and the inkiness of a fountain pen just eats into the Moleskine paper, bleeding through the pages something terrible. This, in turn, has meant I’ve had to switch notebooks and, in doing so, my leather cover is practically useless. And on top of all that I’m finding I need another notebook just for calls and one for Merz and one for my full-time job at the ol’ pen company. I guess it’s more of a whack-a-Moleskine situation, you could say (har har har).
Speaking of my job in pens, we officially launched our Peanuts collection! Can you believe it? This has been something I’ve been working on for two years and it’s finally come to life. My role was as the liaison with the licensing team, as well as handling the go-to-market strategy, all communication components, global retail strategy, and email rollout. While I understand certain criticism about the product design itself, I’m happy to say I’m proud of my part in the overall project and doubly happy to say that I secured a rather large contract for another global IP for an upcoming collaboration in Q4 2026. I’ll give you one hint: Pysy kuulolla!
The big news I’ve saved to the end is that, unofficially and with a lot of planning still to come, we’re selling the farm and moving to New York. Well, in a sense. Right now, if all goes according to plan, we will sell our five-acre farm in Pennsylvania and buy a smaller property closer to my husband’s work, which will be the main outpost. With the leftover money from the sale, we’ll either buy or (more likely) rent a flat in upstate New York, which will be my outpost for when I have work in the city. It’ll just be temporary until things shake out a bit with careers and licenses (my husband is a pharmacist, so needs to be able to practice in New York, too) and, of course, the animals. But, after eight (!!) years since being back in Pennsylvania, it’s the right direction. A few days here and there in New York twice a year simply aren’t enough for where my career is leading. I will forever be a farm boy at heart, but I can no longer deny that I’m losing money by being in rural Pennsylvania and not closer to the City and, by extension, Europe.
So, my last and most important bullet point of this newsletter: I’ll need your help. If you know of any towns we should be looking into, something that’s close to a train station, and can get me into the city within a couple hours (as I won’t commute every day while we have the flat versus a house), let me know. And it has to be New York versus, say, New Jersey or Connecticut for the time being, as it’ll be easier for driving the dogs from where we currently live. I know next to nothing about the area and I’m also quite dumb, so any help is, as always appreciated.
You can also help me out by continuing to read and support my work! If I’m moving all the way to New York for this patchwork little career and side hustle I have going on, I need to count on your LOVE AND SUPPORT (I’m only slightly kidding).
Check out Kingston & Hudson New York … both on the rail line into the city, both are gay friendly with neighbors who READ!
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