Ep 12 – Kerin Rose Gold – Artist, Designer and Entrepreneur

Kerin Rose Gold is an artist who designs bespoke eyewear and costume pieces for pop culture’s leading icons, runs an online business, A-Morir, and writes for Nylon Magazine. Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Missy Elliot and even Snoop Dog are among the many worn her pieces. We talk about her creative and academic childhood growing up in New York, her health struggles,and her evolution into a creative entrepreneur. She was encouraged as a child to explore all of her interests, creatively but never thought she could make a living as an artist. From her teenage years through early twenties, she suffered with ulcerative colitis, hindering her ability to live freely and causing severe pain on a daily basis. When a treatment finally worked in her early twenties, she was given a second chance at life. This led to an existential crisis, and a lack of satisfaction with her marketing job. She started thinking about her future meaningfully. Kerin reconnected with her creativity, and got a 3 day a week job at Patricia Field, a well known fashion boutique. One day she got a new pair of sunglasses, and added crystals for fun. When Kerin wore them into the store next day everyone freaked and loved them.  Patricia Field started selling them, Mariah Carey wore them in a music video a few months later, and the rest is history. Outside of her art and business, she wants to help people by sharing her story, struggles and perspective. Highlights include: * Her second chance at life with remission of her ulcerative colitis * Best advice a boss has ever given her – take time to rediscover what it is that you love, and figure out how to make it your life * How her sunglasses started to sell at Patricia Field * How Rihanna became an advocate for her work * Evolution as an entrepreneur * Decision to not to scale her business * Her definition of success, satisfaction and fulfillment * Biggest piece for Missy Elliot “I’m better”  featuring 36,000 crystals * Design process from conception to delivery * Her most popular Nylon articles * Her tips for living a purposeful life Kerin Rose Gold Bio: Kerin Rose Gold has been pushing boundaries since 2009 with her luxury artisanal eyewear line A-Morir. As seen on the world’s biggest pop stars and sold in high-end boutiques across the globe, A-Morir sets itself apart with rebellious designs and impeccable, hand-crafted execution. Yet this trendsetting brand is just one outlet for Kerin’s irreverent and unique spirit. An upstart creator since childhood, this native New Yorker graduated with honors from NYU with a degree in Pop Culture History, linking her loves of art, music, and costuming while delving deep into the French existentialist concept of the “spectacle.” Kerin continues to connect far-flung creative dots in her adult career, whether designing the first women’s sneaker for SUPRA, starring in ad campaigns for Sebastian Professional (as their Visionary Brand Ambassador, leading to a glasses collaboration distributed in hundreds of salons around the world), writing a bi-monthly column for Nylon, or representing the US as Vogue Italia’s New Talent and Emerging Designer. Becoming an eyewear icon was never part of the plan for this multi-faceted artist, but it fits: no one sees the world quite like her. Links: * Kerin Rose Gold * A-Morir * Kerin’s Nylon Articles * Miguel Angel Rios – A Morir  * Missy Elliot “I’m Better”