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How did you start your quirky home goods brand, Staff?
Staff reimagines household essentials with bold colors, unique materials, and characters that are eager to help. We aim to pep up living spaces, create delightful moments out of mundanity, and add amusement to chores. Now anybody can have a house full of Staff.The idea came from spending an abundant amount of time in my tiny LES apartment during early Covid and daydreaming ways to make each day brighter. As lockdown was a universal experience, I figured other people would be interested in that as well.Our first product was The Plunger. In part to pay homage to my grandfather's career as a plumber and in part because it's the perfect example to showcase bringing joy to an overlooked item that everybody has in their home. If you need to use a plunger, it's probably not the best part of your day, so giving you a little extra happiness in that moment is what we're all about.
What's your favorite part about the New York creative community?
The bench is deeeeeep because there are no barriers to entry or limits to what can be accomplished. Whatever your creative thing is, there's a home for it in New York - just ask anybody who has been to The Box.This environment attracts an endless amount of people putting their work (themselves by extension) on display. That can be a scary thing to do. My experience is that there is a general empathy and an eagerness to help others in their pursuits.The result is an enormous, diverse, supportive community. Cool stuff.
What's inspiring you right now?
My 8-week old daughter, Romi Russell Weisman.She inspires me to be a better version of myself and instills a heightened sense of duty to improve the quality of life for the next generation.From a creative perspective, viewing the world from her lens has given literally everything a refreshed meaning. She has no baseline. Whereas I simply went about my day before, I now register every single item and every single interaction to comb for teachable moments. This hyperactive processing is involuntary, exhausting, and fascinating.It's also perfect inspiration for Staff because this deeper consideration extends to household items. Instead of accepting them for what they've always been, this moment of pause allows me to imagine what fun they could be.*** EDITORS NOTE: If we’re doing the math right, happy 16-week birthday, Romi!!! ***
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