Inside The Square - A Day In The Life With Louisa Rechter of MESTIZA New York
WE LOVE TAKING YOU INSIDE THE STUDIOS OF SOME OF THE MOST INSPIRING EMERGING AND CONTEMPORARY DESIGNERS IN NYC AND LA… BUT WE’LL BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT OUR FAVORITES ARE A LITTLE CLOSER TO HOME. SO, WE’RE TAKING OUR INSIDE THE SQUARE SERIES ONE STEP FURTHER TO REALLY CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF WHAT GOES ON HERE FOR OUR TENANTS, TEAM AND VISITORS.
The end of April always provides us with a little downtime, but as we’ve learned in our recent interviews the work never really ends for our designers. Enter Louisa Rechter the co-founder and CEO of MESTIZA New York. We featured Louisa and her stylish co-founder Alessandra back in February, but we wanted to share her life in motion here at the Square. Here’s a look at our morning together where Louisa shares more on her day-to-day in and around the office.
WHAT DOES BEING IN THE BUSINESS OF FASHION MEAN TO YOU?
So I interact with all of our customers from the website and with all of our wholesale customers. I chase people for payment, I process orders, I show the collection, I’m also a merchant and a buyer, so Alessandra designs all of the clothes and I decide how many units I want to place behind every piece. I also price the collection. There are also day-to-day things like managing our Quickbooks account and tracking our sales - but I really love my job and love looking at the numbers and seeing results!
HOW WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE PEOPLE ON THE DESIGN SIDE OF THINGS TO GET EXCITED ABOUT THESE TASKS?
I think that when you design something and someone really loves it and embraces it and buys it and you see the numbers compile, that’s super rewarding and motivating! You want to keep going and understanding what the customer likes and designing for it.
DO YOU EVER WANT TO WORK ON THE DESIGN SIDE OF THINGS TOO?
Yeah! I do a little bit already. Alessandra comes up with a lot of the silhouettes but I will also help her source fabrics. I’m also designing my wedding dress with her so I kind of have the last say in all of those decisions, so that’s been really fun!
WHAT ARE YOUR DESK ESSENTIALS?
I absolutely love my (new rose gold) Macbook - it is life changing. I had a really bad computer before, so this is really light weight and I bring it with me everyday. I need my cell phone which also functions as my calculator, I need a notepad and I also need an inky pen so it’s fun to write notes during meetings! I also need a bottle of water and some tea.
WHEN YOU’RE NOT HERE AT YOUR NOOK WHERE ELSE IN THE SQUARE CAN WE FIND YOU?
Alessandra and I like to eat lunch and do some work near the windows to feel inspired and creative. When we have meetings we like to go in the conference room and dress it up to our vision when we’re entertaining potential investors or clients. Also of course you'll find us in the kitchen to take advantage of the free snacks!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING A NOOK TENANT?
I think it’s great because people are always passing by our nook and it’s very open door policy, so I get to interact with everyone who comes by. I’m also across from the Brand Assembly team so I get to talk to them and hear about their weekends which is all really fun. You never know who will walk by!
WHEN YOU’RE NOT IN THE OFFICE AT ALL, WHAT OTHER SPOTS IN THE FLATIRON NEIGHBORHOOD DO YOU LIKE TO GO TO?
We really like ABC Kitchen for lunch when we have some free time, I love Ashby’s - it’s where I get my eggs and bacon every morning, and also Cosme is a great place for after work drinks or margaritas!
LET’S TALK BA SQUARE (STREET) STYLE. WHAT IS YOUR ON-DUTY UNIFORM?
So it’s funny because we design really beautiful cocktail attire but everyday we’re running around so we need to be comfortable. I would say my favorite outfit this winter was my big oversized sweater with some ripped up boyfriend jeans and rag & bone leather tennis shoes! Not so glamorous but definitely comfortable and functional, and then of course when we have clients by the office we doll up in our clothes which is the most fun!
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