I met Isa Kriegeskotte in the summer of 2020. We were on a boat. The day had unfurled like the most beautiful bloom of the season. I was instantly charmed. Isa and I had so much in common. We both grew up in Westchester, about a 20 minute drive from each other's houses. We are each career creatives, passionate about fashion, art and design, and indelibly shaped by our relationships with our grandmothers. Most notably we met each other at the base of the same precipice, joined by the question, is it possible to build our careers out of Essex, NY?

After the economy shutdown due to COVID-19 it took some time for the effects on my social and professional life to sink in. Slowly I came to understand that our lives hadn’t paused, they had changed. I know I’m in good company when I say that this change has left me with a boatload of uncertainty. Before the shutdown my professional life was centered on large events and jewelry sales. Demand for my skillset does not look the same as it did a few months ago. If I want my work to remain relevant I need to adapt.

I recently heard a quote by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” Nietzsche’s words are simultaneously sensible and mind-blowing in that remarkable way that important revelations often are. Nietzsche’s words are strong. By now I have stumbled through my career long enough to know that defining my “why” is the first step in a successful business plan, and the importance of this step cannot be underestimated.

A brief introduction, in 2018 I moved to Essex, NY to pursue work at Essex Farm. A common origin story for most “young” people who lay down roots in the area after falling in love with the Champlain Valley. If you and I have never met, you should know, I am an Essex, NY evangelist. I love this place like I have loved no other. I currently rent year-round, right in town on Essex Road, and I hope to remain there until I hit my 5 year goal, which is to purchase my “dream space,” a dual commercial and residential building right in the center of town.