“I’ve always loved adding personal touches to my look. For me that’s what true style is all about. It wasn’t always jewellery focused—when I was a kid I used to change out my shoelaces, or draw on my clothing, cut the sleeves or neckline off… little things to make it my own. As I got older, I grew to appreciate the idea of jewellery and the sentiment behind having something special that is uniquely yours.”

Caroline wears vintage jeans, T-shirt, and vest, and BRVTVS jewellery.

“[BRVTVS] grew out of necessity, really. At the time I was working as a stylist and I was looking for a delicate piece of jewellery that I could afford. The trend then was larger costume-y pieces, and I couldn’t really afford any of the delicate gold pieces that I liked. So, I decided to just make my own and researched where to buy gold in NYC, figured out how to put it all together, and it grew very naturally from there. I found that I loved creating these little pieces, so after a few months I decided to focus my time and energy into creating a jewellery brand. Over time, what began as sort of a personal hobby grew into into something really special. Jewellery pieces are such amazing storytellers and that’s what makes each piece unique. It may be the same pair of earrings that someone else owns, but your story with them is completely your own.”

“Originally I started [designing for] myself, as selfish as that seems. I just created pieces that I wanted to wear and hoped that other people wanted to wear them too. I love making pieces that you don’t have to take off, that can integrate themselves into whatever jewellery collection you already have, or can be anchor pieces for a personal collection you are just building. For me, I always have to feel a certain way about something when I am designing it, that’s how I know to keep going. I may have a specific woman in mind when I am designing a new piece, but I also have to have some type of emotion tied to it too. It’s hard to explain, it’s somewhere between feeling the most excited I have ever felt about something, and being absolutely terrified to put it out there. When I feel that, I know I am headed in the right direction.”

Caroline wears vintage sailor pants, Anne Thomas oxfords, BLK Denim jacket, and BRVTVS jewellery.

“It can be tricky balancing [Calliope and BRVTVS], but they’re not really that different from one another. At the end of the day, both things are about special pieces that bring someone joy, whether it’s a diamond necklace or a table lamp. I’m so lucky that my work for both can take place in the same space, I don’t know how I would do it otherwise. I live above my store, but where I design for BRVTVS and where I work when I am focusing on Calliope are two separate spaces. Keeping them separate lets me focus on just one thing at a time, because I can get a bit ADD and want to jump back and forth between ten different things at once. I do have a small jewellery studio uptown in the Diamond District. That’s where all my pieces get made, but I design them all usually from my couch or dining table.”

Caroline wears vintage sailor pants, Anne Thomas oxfords, BLK Denim jacket, and BRVTVS jewellery.

“Ageing is a tough one, right? As women, we’re expected to do it gracefully, but we’re also bombarded with images of young girls in fashion magazines on a daily basis and it can be quite the mind fuck when you’re approaching a certain age and you no longer look like the woman who is trying to sell you the expensive product.”

Caroline wears vintage sailor pants, Anne Thomas oxfords, BLK Denim jacket, and BRVTVS jewellery.

“I wish we were much more upfront and open with the ageing process because then maybe it wouldn’t be such an emotional topic. Ageing shouldn’t be this thing we’re afraid of; we all get older, we all get wrinkled, we all die. As much as I would love to have the amount of collagen I had when I was 18, you couldn’t pay me to relive those years, because I love where I’m at in my life now, the age that I am (36), and even a few of the wrinkles that I have gained from living my life. And I hope that if you ask me the same question 15 years now from now, I will love being in my 50s and wouldn’t want to return to my 30s.”

“This is going to sound so cheesy, but I really find [inspiration] all around me. I was walking my dog the other day and I noticed this bike rack giving off a cool shadow, so I snapped a photo of it to maybe reference later for a drawing or something. There is definitely a certain aesthetic that I am drawn to, I like clean lines and simple shapes and colors, and living in a place like NYC, inspiration for that is all around. I listen to a lot of music to get me in the mood when I am designing or working on a piece of art. I find that music gets my brain buzzing in a really productive way.”

“We’re so lucky to have this space, it feels like a fairytale sometimes. The quick version is that my husband and I were looking for spaces to relocate his design studio, but we also wanted to live there, and potentially open a store all in the same space. We happened upon the building on a really rainy and dreary day; we had just found out that a space we fell in love with fell through, so I think we had gone out to get a beer to make ourselves feel better. We saw it was for rent, called the number, had a showing, and the pieces just fell into place. It came with its struggles of course, we had to really fight for this place and I have to give my husband and his team all the credit for that. But that’s what made it our own space. We put a lot of heart and soul into this place from the start. It’s from the mid-1800s and used to be a chandlery that sold ship supplies, and also repaired and made sails. The entire building had to be gutted, which was also a blessing in disguise because it allowed us to bring this space back to its original state as much as we could.”

Caroline wears vintage sailor pants, Anne Thomas oxfords, BLK Denim jacket, and BRVTVS jewellery.

“In the winter I usually just rinse my face with water, I don’t want to strip it with a cleanser. If I do cleanse with something other than water, I alternate between the Marie Veronique x Kristina Holey E.O. Free Oil Cleanser  and Peet Rivko’s Gentle Cleanser. Next I use Marie and Kristina’s Barrier Restore Serum. That guy is my desert island beauty thing, I would save him out of anything in my medicine cabinet if my house was on fire. After that I do a quick facial massage with the Barrier Lipid Complex—I like to do a little bit of lymph drainage to help with morning puffiness. I let that sink in a bit and then moisturize with CV Skinlabs Calming Moisture. This stuff makes my skin feel like a baby’s butt, and it really sinks in and never feels greasy.”

“I used to be a total face-oil-as-moisturizer girl, but in the last two years, I found a lot of oils to be really volatile for my skin. I don’t know specifically what I was reacting to, but some type of essential oil in what I was using was making me break out in ways I had never had before. I have been lucky to have pretty good skin for all of my life (I have my mom to thank for that, thanks mom!), and all of a sudden I was breaking out with these crazy bumps. So now I try to stay away from essential oils, which is why I love Marie’s collaboration with Kristina. Their products have really built my skin back up to a healthy state. I always had terribly dry and tight feeling skin in the winter and this year was the first year that I wasn’t itchy and tight feeling or flaky.”

Caroline wears vintage sailor pants, Anne Thomas oxfords, BLK Denim jacket, and BRVTVS jewellery.

“For night, my routine is basically the same, except I will cleanse with one of the cleansers I mentioned earlier instead of just water. In the summer I sub in Avene’s TriXera cleanser. I really like a cleanser that foams because psychologically it makes me feel like I’m cleansing my skin better. I know it’s not true, but sometimes we just have to appease our brains and move on. This one is great for sensitive or delicate skin because it’s soap-free but still foams, and it’s free of any fragrances. I had been searching FOREVER to find a simple gel cleanser that didn’t have fragrance in it. (Companies, why are you making your face wash smell like scented tampons by using fragrance?!?) After cleansing, it’s the Barrier Serum again, followed by the Soothing B3 Serum (sometimes I mix the two together and slap ‘em on at the same time if I’m being lazy), and then the same moisturizers I use in the morning. For my eye area I use the Firming Concentrate by MBR. It lasts a really long time—I’m going on six months now and I still have a little left.”

Caroline wears vintage sailor pants, Anne Thomas oxfords, BLK Denim jacket, and BRVTVS jewellery.

“Getting dressed entirely depends on what I have to do that day. Each day is different. I do have a pretty basic uniform, though, and then I’ll add in different shoes or accessories depending on what I have going on. Jeans and an old T-shirt are my go-tos. I also tend to wear the same thing until I get sick of it, so right now it’s the same jeans and a rotation of vintage shirts, and in a week or two, I’ll change it up slightly.”

“The last few years have been spent really learning to trust my gut and listen to my intuition. Advice from others is wonderful and absolutely is important, but I find following my gut is the best thing for me. Also, don’t sweat the small stuff. That is a hard one for me to follow, because I’m a perfectionist who loves little details, but really, the small stuff doesn’t matter in the end.”

Caroline wears vintage sailor pants, Anne Thomas oxfords, BLK Denim jacket, and BRVTVS jewellery.

Caroline wears vintage jeans, T-shirt, and vest, and BRVTVS jewellery.

“2018 hasn’t been the most uplifting year, has it? It’s so hard to turn on the news and feel hopeful, or feel like what I am doing is making a difference. There are some art projects that I’m working on that I’m excited to launch, mainly a small collection of new jewellery pieces. I’ve been working on other aspects of art, like sculpture and painting, so I’m looking forward to showing the world those things a bit later in the year.”

“I don’t think of “beauty” as like, how my face looks. I think finding things that are beautiful to you, whether it’s a pair of shoes, a lipstick, a bag, what you drink your coffee or tea out of in the morning… Whatever makes you feel something, that’s an important part of style to me. “

On how she unwinds:

“I hang with my dog. He’s excellent at making me forget all the stupid stuff I dwell on and just live in the moment with him. I love to take naps, too. Naps are great. In the summer I try to be outside as much as possible, even if it’s just walking to my jewellery studio uptown.”

“I try to do some dry brushing as often as I remember. I like to do it before my shower, and some mornings I forget or I’m in too much of a rush, but it’s a nice quick thing to do first thing. I also really love doing lymphatic massage on my face. I’ll do a quick massage (maybe three minutes) in the morning, but I’ll give myself a longer massage in the evening. I like to do a bit of aromatherapy too. In the morning sometimes I’ll take some deep breaths of peppermint or sage to wake me up, and in the evening I like chamomile or rose. When I’m sick I like to do some deep breaths of eucalyptus oil. There’s a wonderful essential oil shop in my neighborhood called Enfleurage that I love to go to.”

Caroline wears vintage jeans, T-shirt, and vest, and BRVTVS jewellery.

“I don’t really think that ‘nighttime’ should mean you have to get all glam in a dress and heels, so my routine is fairly the same. If I’m going out and I can’t get ready beforehand, I spray my face with some rosewater just to freshen it up (I like the one from Enfleurage—I know it’s pricey and there are other alternatives that are less expensive, but the shop is near my apartment and I like supporting them), and I’ll re-curl my lashes, and maybe throw on a lipstick. I like the Velvet Matte pencils from Nars. The Cruella shade is great because you can just do it lightly for more of a stain, or really lay it on for a full on lip. If I want something a little more natural, I’ll dab on RMS Lip2Cheek in Illusive, anything left over on my finger I dab on my cheeks for extra color too. Usually I stay away from anything dramatic on my eyes. I have heavy hooded lids and shadow or liner just don’t look great on me a lot of the time. If I do want to do a little something, I like a quick wash of color under my bottom lashes. My favorite is this coppery color called Khaki Pulse from Giorgio Armani’s Eyes To Kill.”

“My makeup has been pretty consistent for the last decade or so. I don’t like wearing a lot. I don’t think my face wears a ton of makeup well, and I like to actually see my skin, even if it’s not perfect and glowing. Right now I use Chantecaille Just Skin in the shade Glow if I want to put a very light coverage all over my face. I use this in the winter when my skin is more prone to redness. Otherwise I’ll use RMS “Un” Cover-Up on areas that are a little red (usually sides of my nose, and near my temples, as well as between my brows) or if I have a spot. I use it to even out the skin around my eyes too, and it just brightens my whole face when I do that. In the winter I use shade 22, shade 33 in the summer. These little pots are great because you can mix them to get a perfect shade.”

“Next I do my brows. If I had to only do one thing, this would be it. I grew up in the 90s when everyone was tweezing their brows within an inch of their life, so naturally I followed suit and ruined the beautiful Brooke Shields ones I had as a kid. I should have listened to my mother. They’ve grown back, but they’re definitely not as full and I have some sparse areas that need help. I brush them up and out with a little mascara spoolie (I just keep one from whatever mascara I used up last and wash it with soap to get all the old gunk off). I fill in any areas with a MAC eyebrow pencil in Spiked. Then I use a gel to keep them in place. I really love YSL’s Couture Brow in shade 1.”

Caroline wears La Garçonne dress and BRVTVS jewellery.

“Even though my hair is light, my eyebrows have always been naturally really dark. I’ve tried a few different brow gels but this one is my favorite because it’s a full mascara size, and it really brings out those little baby hairs to make your brows look full and stay in place. In a pinch I just use clear mascara to hold them, and sometimes I run it though after I’ve used the YSL just to blend everything together if they look too crazy. Next I do a bit of cream blush on the apple part of my cheeks. I love the new Milk Makeup in Perk for winter time. When my skin is a little more tanned, I’ll use a little Tata Harper cheek tint in Very Popular. Any color left on my fingers I dab onto my lips. I like to put a tiny bit of highlighter just at the top of my cheekbones and my favorite is RMS Eye Polish in Lunar. Last I’ll curl my lashes and then swipe on Bobbi Brown No Smudge Waterproof Mascara in Black. I don’t wear powder and this stuff doesn’t budge, but it washes off easily, even with a gentle face cleanser. I usually only put it on the outer corners of my lashes, and I like to wipe most of the product back into the tube, so there’s barely any on the wand. This sounds like a lot, but I slap all this stuff on in under three minutes.”

Caroline wears La Garçonne dress and BRVTVS jewellery.

On where she would take someone who had never visited NYC:

“Am I allowed to say my own store? If you need fun house stuff, or have to buy a gift for that person that is really hard to shop for, come visit! For non-house related shopping, I love MNZ. Her store is just full of really beautiful things, from clothes to jewellery, shoes, and art. Oroboro in Brooklyn is another good one, as well as Creatures of Comfort. One of my favorite things to do is eat, and my favorite restaurant here is Estela. They have a great wine list, and all their food is smaller portions so you can go and just have snacks, or a full on meal if you’re starving. (go starving though, because all their food is so good.) The team from Estela also opened the restaurant Flora Bar at the Met Breuer. It’s a bit fancier, but I love it for a night out to celebrate something. It’s also great to hit whatever exhibit is happening upstairs, and then get a glass of wine downstairs. My favorite museum here is the Neue Galerie. It’s small and intimate, but the artwork they have is incredible; my favorite piece is Gustav Klimt’s portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. I also really love heading up to the Cloisters, there’s a museum up there that is part of the Met, but it’s also wonderful to just walk around the park. I take my dog up there often to let him run around and it lets me feel like I’m escaping the city for a moment.”

Caroline wears La Garçonne dress and BRVTVS jewellery.

“Living where we work, and living above my store, the most important aspect to me is that my home feels completely separate and uniquely mine. That may sound silly, but having personal items in my home that I don’t sell in my store makes me appreciate and love all those things that much more. Beyond that, I really love the light our place gets throughout the day. In the morning it’s soft and low and perfect for easing into the day, in the evening it glows through the kitchen and just puts me in such a good mood at the end of the day.”

On the most revelatory book or documentary she’s come into contact with recently:

“Oooh, I just watched Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams. I can’t believe something like this cave existed in secret for so long and that those paintings inside have survived and been so well preserved, they’re just beautiful.”

Caroline wears La Garçonne dress and BRVTVS jewellery.

“I do enjoy eating potato chips that aren’t super healthy for you. And I love being in the sun. I always try to wear sunscreen, but I really do love being outside and feeling the sun on my skin. I grew up at the beach—it’s in my DNA.”

Caroline wears La Garçonne dress and BRVTVS jewellery.

“A wellness routine is more important to me than just straight up exercise, although I do need to get myself back in shape more… I was very lazy this winter. I do a lot of self-care: meditation, acupuncture, I try to eat well, I take breaks when I feel too stressed (even if it’s just a quick 15 minute break to take a walk). Wellness is all encompassing, and exercise is just a small part of it. I can hit the gym all I want, but if I’m not actively working on myself, trying to better myself, then what’s the point? In terms of actual exercise-exercise, I like to do Pilates at home, or a quick Ballet Beautiful session.”

“I try to not restrict what I eat, I just try to be smart about it. If I feel like a cheeseburger, I’m going to have a cheeseburger, but I don’t overdo it and I eat meat that is local and grass-fed. I try to eat real food—diet has become so complicated with all these fads and people saying ‘Don’t eat this, wait jk it’s ok!’ I just try to listen to my body. I know that if I have too much wheat or gluten, I’m going to feel sluggish. But if I’m going to eat pasta, I make sure it’s made from quality ingredients. I try not to overdo it on dairy, but I still allow myself to have ice cream if I want a little. I’ve found that the more I have cut out weird processed shit, the less I crave it. I try to eat seasonally too. I really really love food, and I love to enjoy what I eat, and have found that when I eat with the seasons, I appreciate those ingredients more because they’re not always readily available.”

“My hair routine is pretty simple. I see Tim Nolan at Serge Normant for color every few months. When I was younger I had beachy bleach blonde hair from growing up in California and he’s so good at getting it to look like that again, even though I now only see a beach like one week out of the year. I wash my hair every three days or so. Shampoo and conditioner are the only beauty products I’m not faithful to. I switch them up every time the bottle is empty. Right now I’m using a few different ones from Sachajuan. I like the Scalp Shampoo because it feels so good on my head. I don’t actually need it for dandruff, but it feels so good on your scalp. The Ocean Mist Volume Conditioner is great too. After I wash my hair I’ll spray in some type of beach spray. The one from Sachajuan is great because it’s not overly drying like some can be. I also make my own. I use one part sea salt to three parts water and I add in a drop of essential oil for a nice smell (just a drop, you don’t want it oily). My hair can stand a bit of drying, but if yours can’t you can also add a little bit of leave in conditioner and shake every time you use. I try to not blow dry my hair, if I do it’s just at the roots and I leave the rest to dry naturally. I sleep on my hair wet a lot, I love going straight to bed after a warm shower and then it’s nice and messy in the morning.”

“Scent is a big thing for me. I love it more than makeup actually. It’s such an amazing way to recall a memory. Whenever I travel, I try to buy a fragrance early on in my trip and wear it throughout, so that scent is now tied with that adventure. My favorite favorite favorite perfume is from a shop in Florence called Aquaflor. You can buy it online now through their website, but for a while you could only get it in Florence. They don’t sell to other stores around the world. I visited their shop four years ago and became obsessed with their Aoud scent. I couldn’t afford it at the time, so I went back and put it on every day for the ten days I was there because I loved it so much. My husband surprised me with a bottle for my birthday when I got back, and it’s been my go-to scent every since.”

Caroline wears La Garçonne dress and BRVTVS jewellery.