Alexis is an amazing friend with an outstanding sense of humor, sick style and an all around general awesomeness that draws you in like a magnet. I’ve known her for years–you might too–she was an integral part of Castor & Pollux years ago, and she continues to amaze and inspire me. She just started Worthwhisland, a limited edition art website, with her husband, Jason and when she’s not deciding what is fantastic in the art world she keeps herself busy baking like an angel, cooking like a madwoman, caring for her little Eewok, Oliver and being a fantastic friend.

Photo by John von Pamer

Favorite recipe?
Sausages and grapes — adapted from Molly Steven’s All About Braising and the blog, Orangette.

Last great book you read?
The Magic Mountain, Thomas Mann.

Winter drink of choice?
I like a Kentucky Nightcap from Ft. Defiance.

Animals-names and breeds?
Oliver. Half poodle, half ewok.

Do you exercise? What do you do, if so?
I want to be a calm yogi, but I’m a runner and a spaz. I need loud music, and the chance to get my ya-ya’s out.

Salty or sweet?
I like my sweets with a good dose of salt.

Who inspires you and why?
Woody Allen, Sophie Calle and Julia Child, because they are storytellers.

Pool or ocean?
Ocean.

Favorite city?
New York, because it is familiar; and Los Angeles because it is still vague.

Last great vacation?
Most recently, a wedding in Brunswick, Maine while we waited for Hurricane Irene.
But the greatest trip I ever took was my honeymoon in Japan.

Favorite tv show?
Downton Abbey.

Weirdest job you’ve ever had?
Fashion PR, because they called me “the vegetarian”. I eat meat, but apparently I seemed quite bohemian with a Brooklyn address.

Favorite restaurant?
Walter Foods, Fort Defiance, and Prime Meats are my choices for consistently excellent food, plus a kind and generous atmosphere. Also, Marea for fine dining, and Yakitori and/or Soba Totto for meals I never want to end.

Favorite object in your home?
A picture of my mother on her wedding day; An eggplant colored Staub cocotte from Kerrilynn; and my man, although he is not an object, he is certainly the reason to come home.

Favorite piece of clothing?
A Green Rodebjer jacket from Castor & Pollux in it’s first season in Manhattan. I wore it to shreds, and still won’t put it away. Also, all my Stella McCartney jackets make me feel like a composed and significantly taller version of myself and that feeling is worth more money than I paid for them.

Favorite blog or website?
Persephone’s sense of humor is so dead on in her blog. She is an explorer, and unafraid of adventures I would never dare to take.
Also Saipua , where Sarah Ryhanen’s honesty & flowers get me out of bed on crap days.

Something you’re scared of?
Losing my memory(ies).

Favorite record?
Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska.

Favorite popsong?
This is the Day, The The.

Your Ideal day?
A day spent at home with my husband and dog, preparing a feast for friends. Or driving the California coast near Big Sur.

Favorite gift you’ve ever received?
A trip to Joshua Tree, when life felt out of control.

Favorite flower?
Dahlias.

Favorite scent (perfume)?
Late nineties NYC subway rides ruined my ability to wear perfume (I’m looking at you, Marc Jacobs).
But when I do it’s Byredo Palermo – I can’t say no to musk or rose, so it’s a happy time for me when they join so beautifully.

Astrological sign?
Aquarius with Pisces rising.

What do you do for a living?
Co-Founder of Worthwhisland.

Where do you live?
Brooklyn: I look out at shipping containers, cruise ships, water & the battery tunnel.

Your lucky number?
321.

What piece of art would you buy if you had no budget?
I’d commission a Yayoi Kusama infinity room. Realistically, more Sadie Laska paintings.

Anniversaries are celebrated by exchanging gifts made from a material that represents the years counted. First year is paper, second year is cotton, third year is linen. You get the idea.

I imagined that the ten year anniversary, which we are celebrating here at Castor & Pollux, would have something great to offer up. Not the case. Ten year anniversaries are commemorated with tin. Yes, tin. Maybe the car association of America sponsored this one, I’m not sure, but I wasn’t exactly excited about this “gift.”

So we decided to celebrate with something more glamorous and beautiful than tin, something fantastic to represent the last ten years here at Castor & Pollux. And what’s more fantastic than a super-model? Enter Helena Christensen.

Helena embraces the Castor & Pollux aesthetic perfectly. She indulges in life and lives it beautifully–from clothing to animals, food to music, fragrance to travel. She’s smart, gorgeous and kind and her style is evident in all that she touches. In short, she’s exactly our kind of Lady (and quite an upgrade from tin). Thanks, Helena for being a part of our anniversary. Cheers!

Photo by John von Pamer

Favorite recipe?
A good, hearty Tuscan pasta with lots of parmesan cheese on top and a lovely bottle of wine.

Last great book you read?
The Genius and the Goddess by Aldous Huxley. It is such an incredible book. I read it in a day and felt like a changed person afterwards.

Winter drink of choice?
Gloegg. It’s warm, cozy and gives you a pretty nice buzz.

Your Animals-names and breeds?
We have a bearded dragon lizard named Luna and a really old, grey baby hamster named Oliver.

Do you exercise? What do you do, if so?
I box, do some ballet and play tennis by the Hudson river.

Salty or sweet?
Salty.

Who inspires you and why?
So much inspires me. Movies, music and books more than individual people, though. Nature inspires me enormously too.

Pool or ocean?
Ocean and lakes. I love swimming in dark, cold lakes hidden away in forests. But the ocean, forget it, if I could I would live in there.

Favorite city?
New York and Copenhagen. I live in one and am from the other, how lucky is that?

Last great vacation?
Harbour Island with my son catching lizards.

Favorite tv show?
Spongebob, i-carly and Family Guy.

Weirdest job you’ve ever had?
How about my entire career?

Favorite restaurant?
My Mom’s kitchen. She is from Peru and is an awesome cook -  my family is obsessed with food!

Favorite object in your home?
My home is stuffed to the brim with a myriad of objects. There are literally no free surfaces left and I love every single one of them.

Favorite piece of clothing?
A little rainbow colored Sybilla dress.

Favorite blog or website?
None. I never go on any. But I do have a secret little blog with my girlfriend called Frankie Star. I guess it’s not so secret anymore.

Something you’re scared of?
My mind, sometimes… and cockroaches.

Favorite record?
Oh man, that is impossible to answer. Just impossible. But I do love jazz, classic music and the 80’s. Dépêche Mode rules and always will.
At the moment I have TV on the Radio’s ‘Forgotten’ and Panda Bear’s ‘Slowmotion’ playing quite a bit on my ipod.

Favorite popsong?
Is Toxic with Britney spears a popsong? Sweet Dreams with Beyonce? Both songs are such guilty pleasures.

Your Ideal day?
On the beach side in the north of Denmark. In a bikini all day with my son, a great book and lots of food and wine.

Favorite gift you’ve ever received?
An antique rose gold ring with lapis, diamonds and a flower insert.

Favorite flower?
Leper lily and peonies.

Favorite scent (perfume)
Rose 31 by Le Labo or most scents by Serge Lutens. I adore perfume bottles in and of themselves.

Astrological sign?
Capricorn. Born on Christmas day.

What do you do for a living?
Photography and modeling.

Where do you live?
New York.

Your lucky number?
19. But it isn’t a lucky number, it’s just the most beautiful number I know.

What piece of art would you buy if you had absolutely no budget?
An Egon Schiele painting or any piece by Picasso. Both truly magical artists that continue to amaze me with their otherworldly talents.

If I really go into detail right now about how much we love Becky Elliott here at Castor & Pollux, you might tune me out – I literally cannot say enough positive things about this spunky and hilarious beauty, who is also the mastermind behind the beautiful window displays that invigorate the store on a weekly basis. Becky first came to us (as many awesome things do) through our dear friends at Meredith Wendell. Most of you probably know the story of the colorful, prismatic sheet glass that adorns the buckles and hardware of many a Meredith Wendell creation: it’s made in a town called Kokomo, Indiana, in a factory founded in 1888, that famously supplied the master craftsman Louis Comfort Tiffany with glass for his iconic lamps. Becky’s family has been running the show at the Kokomo Opalescent Glass Factory since 1891, and when Meredith Wendell joined the long line of artisans and designers to utilize the lovingly made glass, Becky saw an opportunity to dive headfirst into the fashion world, securing an internship with Meredith Wendell upon finishing a visual merchandising degree at FIT. Then Becky came to us, offering to truck all over New York City, running back and forth between the West Village and the jewelry district (interspersed with the occasional pit stops at One Lucky Duck), and making the windows displays come alive with plants, paper airplanes, and even empty Doritos bags  (our Rockaway inspired window).She recently gave up her day-to-day duties to become an assistant buyer at Kate Spade, but she still comes in on Saturdays to engage the Castor & Pollux audience with her kooky and delightful knack for visual storytelling. She had some typically witty and extraordinarily eloquent answers to our 28 questions.

Photo by John von Pamer

Favorite Recipe?
My mother’s gingerbread cake. It tastes like Christmas.

Last great book you read?
Cleopatra: A Life, by Stacy Schiff. She was one spunky lady.

Summer drink of choice?
Gin and tonic.

Your animals: names and breeds?
No pets of my own, but I grew up with Labradors: Chaucer and Dickens. We name all of our pets after authors in the Elliott family. My parents currently have two Shih Tzu-Poodle mixes named Ernie (after Ernest Hemingway) and Riley (after the poet James Whitcomb Riley) .

Do you exercise? What do you do, if so?
I’m currently training for the Chicago marathon, which is in October! I also like Pilates.

Salty or sweet?
Both. At the same time. Ideally, chocolate covered pretzels.

Who inspires you and why?
I’ve had the tremendous privilege of knowing all four of my grandparents quite well. They are voracious readers, curious about the world, hopeful as to its possibilities, and as fierce in their convictions as they are in their love for family and loyalty to friends. I admire them very much.

Pool or ocean?
I’m partial to lakes.

Favorite city?
London or New York.

Last great vacation?
I spent Memorial Day weekend at my family’s summer home in northern Indiana. Lot’s of walking, biking, and sailing with delicious meals prepared on the grill. Perfection.

Favorite TV show?
Modern Family.

Weirdest job you’ve ever had?
I was a counselor at a military camp for three summers during college. It sounds much stranger than it actually was.

Favorite restaurant?
My mother’s kitchen.

Favorite object in your home?
I have a painting that belonged to my great grandparents. They loved to travel and purchased it during a trip to Paris. It hung in my room when I was a little girl and I brought it with me when I moved to New York. I decorated my entire apartment around it.

Favorite piece of clothing?
I have a now very worn pair of toffee-colored Ferragamo boots. They are my traveling companion of choice and have been inadvisably included on several trips in which a suede wedge boot was not in any way practical – such as a hiking tour of the Scottish Highlands. I can’t help it. I love them.

Favorite blog or website?
I read the New York Times style section religiously. Mainly because I have a minor obsession with Bill Cunningham. He sits at the head of the table in my favorite fantasy dinner party scenario. Diane Sawyer, Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt, Katherine Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Sidney Poitier are also in attendance.

Something you’re scared of?
Mice. And anything that scurries.

Favorite record?
Much too hard to choose.

Favorite pop song?
Any and all Miley Cyrus songs.

Your ideal day?
It would definitely involve a pretzel croissant from City Bakery and people-watching with my sister. Our favorite activity.

Favorite gift you’ve ever received?
Gone With the Wind is one of my very favorite books, and when I graduated from college my grandmother gave me the copy that she had as a little girl.

Favorite flower?
Hydrangeas, particularly the blue ones.

Favorite scent?
Clean laundry.

Astrological sign?
Pisces.

What do you do for a living?
I’m an assistant buyer at Kate Spade!

Where do you live?
Gramercy.

Your lucky number?
17

What piece of art would you buy if you had absolutely no budget?
I think I might just take up residence in the Sistine Chapel.

Most of us know Kate Jones as the 29-year-old designer of the subtle, impeccably detailed jewelry line Ursa Major, whose fall collection just landed at Castor & Pollux. We wanted to talk to Kate about the origins of her work. Does her story begin with her mother, a former hippie who attended Woodstock and worked as a curator at the California Academy of Sciences? Or does it begin with her “chronically adventurous” father, an Army physician and violinist who requested an assignment at San Francisco’s historic Presidio base in order to be closer to the city’s opera house? He is the source of her strong will, she says, a doctor whose passions (and itinerant profession) took him to Germany, San Francisco, Memphis, and then, when Kate was a little girl, all around the Caribbean on a boat called Ursa Major—the vessel for which her two-year-old line is named. She credits her mother—the “creative one” in the family—for informing her aesthetic sensibility. Kate refers to the sketchbooks that her mother kept in her twenties as eerily similar to drawings that Kate made at the same age—the oddest part being, Kate says, is that she “developed a similar style without ever having seen [her mother’s] work.” An art historian and museum curator, her mother amassed a collection of decorative objects as the family circumvented the globe: “Bedouin baskets and blankets in Saudi Arabia, jewels, and a lot of stuff from the Southwest”—the latter being a particularly strong influence on her Fall 2011 collection. (Now a jewelry designer herself, Kathleen Jones’ most recent work references the same Guatemalan milagros that inspired her daughter’s “Philippe” necklace – one of our favorite pieces from the Ursa Major collection.)

Kate strives to be the kind of designer that is known for her ability to create great and unexpected pieces season after season (“I want each collection to be distinct”), who appreciates “jewelry as an object, not a component of an outfit.” For the next collection, she is playing with archetypes of decay—“the sandstone lions in front of the library,” for example, slowly succumbing to the elements over hundreds or thousands of years. “I like the idea of eroding things turning into metal, which doesn’t erode.” We’re extremely pleased to present Kate’s answers to our 28 questions for the Ladies of Castor & Pollux!

Photo by John von Pamer

Last great book you read?
Kiss Me Like A Stranger. Gene Wilder’s autobiography.

“I will never complain about this heat in a million years!” exclaimed our dear friend Karyn Starr when she picked up the phone on this sweltering June day. “I’m like, bring it on. I feel a sense of freedom.” As one-half of the aesthetic consultation firm White-Starr, Karyn has worked hard to achieve that freedom. Seven years ago, at 25, she was busily logging six-day, eighty-hour weeks at a glitzy women’s apparel company, and watching her colleagues neglect their personal lives while spending endless hours at the office.   She was aghast. “I was like, ‘This is crazy. This is not the life I want.’” At her father’s encouragement, she left her job, pursued yoga with abandon, and thought hard about the direction her life was going to take. It was a painful time. “I sat on my kitchen floor bawling my eyes out, like, ‘Who am I? What am I doing?’”

During a short stint as a freelance stylist, the seed for her business was planted. As she styled subjects for editorials, her colleagues noticed her “spot-on” ability to read personal styles and assemble looks, and would ask if she’d ever done personal styling. “A lightbulb went off,” says Karyn, as she realized that “[styling] is important work. I never knew it was okay to make a career out of getting dressed.” Shortly after, she met Andrea Longacre-White, her business partner, who had a background in photography and design and shared Karyn’s love of fashion. The connection was instantaneous. “She’s a a Virgo; I’m a Capricorn. [Andrea] is my experience of love at first sight – we loved the way each other looked.” White-Starr, their aesthetic consultation firm, will celebrate its five-year anniversary in September.

Their diverse clientele is united by their love of fashion but a lack of downtime to wade through the ever-growing bog of resources on the subject. They are, says Karyn, “successful people who know to delegate. They have to get up, get dressed and look their best every day, and they just don’t have time. They had all the time in their world when they were in their 20s,” but later in life, devoted to families and careers, “it’s not the priority.” The strength of White-Starr lies in the partners’ desire to spread the good news, so to speak, about clothing and products that are going to enhance their clients’ lives. “Everything we love, we just want to share it,” Karyn says.

Check out Karyn’s blog and read her questionnaire below for more information about what makes the 31st Lady of Castor & Pollux tick.

Photo by John von Pamer

Favorite recipe?
Roasted chicken and roasted root vegetables with lots of sea salt, black pepper, fresh rosemary and butter.

Last great book you read?
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.

Summer drink of choice?
A gin or tequila gimlet from Diner in Brooklyn at sunset.

Your animals: names and breeds?
None at the moment. But I think of my horses William and Flynn that I had when I was young every single day. William was a Welsh Section B chestnut roan pony and Flynn was a Thoroughbred cob. I dream of having a horse again someday.

Do you exercise? What do you do, if so?
Yes. I love to exercise. I practice yoga and Pilates; I ski, ride my bike, swim, walk and carry my little boy all over the place. I have also tried every hard exercise class in New York City, except Tracy Anderson. (Anyone have a less expensive way to get in the door?)

Salty or sweet?
I like them best together.

Who inspires you and why?
My dear friend Gaines Peyton. She owns Sears-Peyton Gallery in Chelsea. Gaines works as hard as she plays and plays as hard as she works. She shows me all of the time that we are the only ones in charge of our own happiness. She is a wonderful mother, wife, artist and a total bad-ass.

Pool or ocean?
Ocean.

Favorite city?
New York and London have always tied in my heart, but I think New York just won.

Last great vacation?
Miami for three days with one of my dearest friends. Yoga, sunshine, cocktails, sleep.

Favorite TV show?
Friday Night Lights.

Weirdest job you’ve ever had?
Working at Out of the Fog, a coffee shop in Eugene, Oregon. Eugene is really weird.

Favorite restaurant?
Marlow and Sons, Diner and Roebling Tea Room (I can’t pick one; they’re all in Brooklyn) and Souen for lunch by myself.

Favorite object in your home?
A bright tartan blanket that belonged to my grandpa Starr.

Favorite piece of clothing?
Really? You’re making me choose!? AGH! Today, it’s my Givenchy leather pants. They are black and tight in all the right places: calf, at the ankle (with a zip up the back), but not too tight in the seat. If it was the middle of summer: my white Karen Walker button-down sack-like dress; it’s very thin and the shape is exquisite.

Favorite blog or website?
The Tumblr site of my dear old friend Jaime Johnson. The most beautiful thing on the internet.

Something you’re scared of?
A day alive without my family.

Favorite record?
Hmmmmm.

Favorite pop song?
“Empire State of Mind,” Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.

Your ideal day?
A tie between all day at the beach with my dearests, buying food from the farm stand with sand still on our feet, followed by cooking a big feast, or a day skiing with my husband and my brother.

Favorite gift you’ve ever received?
My baby boy Louis (pronounced Louie)!

Favorite flower?
Lilac.

Favorite scent (perfume)?
Le Labo Rose 31.

Astrological sign?
Capricorn. Earth.

What do you do for a living?
I love my job; I am a personal stylist.

Where do you live?
Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

Your lucky number?
3.

What piece of art would you buy if you had absolutely no budget?
An Alexander Calder mobile. There was one at my high school and I think of it often.

Here is how the conversation went between Kerrilynn and I yesterday:

EMILY

Which Lady are we going to post tomorrow?

KERRILYNN
(munching on kale chips)

My friend Nina Freudenberger.

EMILY

Have I met Nina?

KERRILYNN

Maybe? She’s really awesome; she owns Haus Interior -

EMILY
(interrupting, as usual)

Haus Interior?! On Elizabeth Street? Oh my God! I walk past it every day. I. Love. Her. Store!!!

KERRILYNN

It’s amazing, right?

EMILY
(jumping up and down, startling OTTO and causing BEBA to flee in terror)

Um, I definitely went in there the other day and like, accosted the store manager. She was showing me this really gorgeous platter – it was a piece of striped linen dipped into resin and then molded.  You could still see all the little fibers in the fabric. So nautical. I was obsessed.

KERRILYNN
(attempting to calm BEBA)

Well, you should go to her website to see some of the phenomenal interior design work she’s done! You’ll freak out.

(OTTO wanders out the front door. KERRILYNN and EMILY, rapt in conversation, are oblivious to his escape.)

(Author’s note: Some poetic license may have been taken in the re-telling of this tale, but, suffice it to say, we are very excited to knight interior design impresario Nina Freudenberger as the 30th Lady of Castor & Pollux. Cue the trumpets!)

Photo by John von Pamer

Favorite recipe?
Anything that involves a slow-cooker; I’m totally into mine.

Last great book you read?
I’m currently reading Pillars of the Earth – I feel like I’m a little late on this but I can’t put it down!

Summer drink of choice?
Rum punch.

Your animals: names and breeds?
Sophie – a long-haired miniature Dachshund.

Do you exercise? What do you do, if so?
Vinyasa yoga – 3-4 times a week.

Salty or sweet?
Definitely salty.

Who inspires you and why?
Kelly Wearstler – I love her personal style and the incredible interiors she creates.

Pool or ocean?
Pool, heated to about 85 degrees. I have a fear of cold water!

Favorite city?
Munich, Germany. It is my hometown and love it more every time I go.

Last great vacation?
Tulum – so incredibly relaxing.

Favorite TV show?
I just got hooked on the new AMC show The Killing; it’s definitely my new favorite!

Favorite restaurant?
I just went to What Happens When – the new pop-up in the city; it is brilliant. I
went to Movement No. 3, based on Impressionism.

Favorite object in your home?
This old sketch of a German Shepherd mounted with an aging purple velvet mat.

Favorite piece of clothing?
I have a Philip Lim black-and-white checkered blouse with a massive bow from two years ago that I still love wearing.

Favorite blog or website?
I love Stylelikeu, and of course Lonny magazine, Haw-lin, and JJJJound.

Something you’re scared of?
Big waves and cold water.

Favorite record?
Madonna – The Immaculate Collection.

Favorite pop song?
“Teach Me How to Dougie” by Cali Swag District.

Your ideal day?
A day full of reading and yoga.

Favorite gift you’ve ever received?
For my 30th birthday I received a trip to Japan from my parents. I haven’t used it yet, but I am beyond excited to go!

Favorite flower?
Lily of the Valley.

Favorite scent (perfume)?
Anything with the hint of cinnamon.

Astrological sign?
Aquarius.

What do you do for a living?
Interior designer and shop owner.

Where do you live?
Upper East Side, NYC.

Your lucky number?
22, always.

What piece of art would you buy if you had absolutely no budget?
A Candida Hofer or any one of Gerhard Richter’s Photo Paintings, I’m obsessed.

Hi everyone. Meet Lisa Oppenheim – artist, Jewess, Gemini; bridger of gaps in space and time, Petfinder lurker, roadside cafe-enthusiast. Born and raised in New York City, Lisa completed her undergraduate studies at Brown University, which she followed up with an MFA at Bard. After two years of living in converted cavalry barracks at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (Royal Academy of Visual Arts), an artists’ residency program in Amsterdam, she returned to New York, where she is currently represented by Harris Lieberman Gallery. Her work can be found in multiple Guggenheims (NYC and Bilbao!) and at the New Museum. (“Free,” which closed in January, featured one of her beautiful and totally mind-bending works of art.) We love her amazing photographic manipulations, her super-savvy style, and her willingness to answer our 28 probing questions as the 29th Lady of Castor & Pollux.

silk beaded necklace by Hacienda Montaecristo; photo by John von Pamer

Favorite recipe?
Rigatoni Pitti from Bar Pitti. I’ve spent all winter trying to master it from taste and memory.

Last great book you read?
Hmm… Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger. Celebrity gossip of the silent screen, the long dead and the forgotten.

Summer drink of choice?
Aperol and white wine spritzer.

Your animals—names and breeds?
Dogs, mutts. My Ethel.

Do you exercise? What do you do, if so?
Yes! I love Pilates when it’s not too athletic.

Salty or sweet?
Caramel with salt. A girl can have both.

Who inspires you and why?
This is a hard one. I think radical, free-spirited Jewish women of all kinds. Well, I guess that’s a pretty limited category. Maya Deren. Emma Goldman. “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be in your revolution.” How is that not the most inspiring one-liner of all time?

Pool or ocean?
Ocean for sure. Hard to get dreamy about chlorine.

Favorite city?
NYC, obviously. I’m a native New Yorker and function poorly anywhere else.

Last great vacation?
Naples!

Favorite tv show?
Big Mad love men.

Weirdest job you’ve ever had?
There have been plenty, but I guess nude modeling for motorcycle calendars.

Favorite restaurant?
Anything by the side of the road, on a road I want to be on. In Italy.

Favorite object in your home?
My friends’ art.

Favorite piece of clothing?
Ratty, steel-blue rabbit fur coat.

Favorite blog or website?
Petfinder.org. Artforum.com. Huffingtonpost.com. Wikis of all kinds.

Something you’re scared of?
The cold. Being cold. The potential of global cooling.

Favorite record?
Probably Speaking in Tongues. Or The Velvet Underground. Or Let It Bleed. Or Slanted and Enchanted—my favorite summer album.

Favorite pop song?
What exactly makes something a pop song? I guess it changes by the day. Today it’s still to early for me to have figured it out.

Your ideal day?
On Fire Island.

Favorite gift you’ve ever received?
Love.

Favorite flower?
Cannabis Sativa.

Favorite scent (perfume)?
Fresh’s Cannabis Santal.

Astrological sign?
Gemini.

What do you do for a living?
Make art and email.

Where do you live?
Jane Street!

Your lucky number?
27, although it was one of my least favorite years.

What piece of art would you buy if you had absolutely no budget?
A Vermeer. One that was not stolen or forged.

When Fashion’s Collective founder and editor Elizabeth Schofield was a denizen of the West Village, Castor & Pollux was “one of [her] favorite places to shop” – but it was only after she’d moved out of the neighborhood that we got to know her a little better. A recent piece Schofield wrote for the aforementioned site focused on what we like to think of as the Castor & Pollux specialty – our obsession with sharing the detailed back story behind every piece in the store with our customers. We were extraordinarily pleased to see that Schofield shared our enthusiasm for the history of objects, so we emailed her with a plea to join the expanding roster of hyper-genius beauties that comprise the Ladies of Castor & Pollux.

Fashion’s Collective was born just last year as a blog, when Schofield’s ad-agency job gave her an insight into the unique challenges that the free-for-all internet posed to luxury brands who had historically used their limited accessibility to build cache and attract customers. “Luxury is based on exclusivity,” says Schofield, “and the internet is the opposite of that. The way people interact online is so different – they want transparency,” and the mystique and corporate infrastructure of the older, more established brands does not easily translate. Compared to other industries, she points out, “fashion has been the slowest sector to embrace online and social media.”

The blog started out as many successful websites do – as a “personal project and a creative outlet” for Schofield’s observations about the industry. Fashion’s Collective is now a full-fledged, content-rich website with numerous contributors covering luxury brands, social media, and ecommerce, and is a full-time job for Schofield, who quit her 9-to-5 a week ago (!!) and is traveling to Bali to speak at a TEDx conference. She is also – drum roll please – the 28th Lady of Castor & Pollux!

Photo by John von Pamer

Favorite recipe?
This always changes, but right now it’s truffle mushroom risotto. It impresses guests and no one ever suspects I can make it in my rice cooker.

Last great book you read?
Freedom, though I think I may have been the only person who wasn’t a fan.

Summer drink of choice?
Anything sparkling, any time of year.

Your animals: names and breeds?
A butterscotch French bulldog named Luella. She’s not real yet, but she’s been
my “one day” dog for years. Maybe this will be the year we finally get her.

Do you exercise? What do you do, if so?
Yoga, pilates, dance class… Every so often I’ll hop on a treadmill, though I think that most gyms actually look like torture rooms.

Salty or sweet?
Sweet, without a doubt.

Who inspires you and why?
My parents because they are so different but both incredibly strong, smart and loving people. Female entrepreneurs, especially those on Bravo like Rachel Zoe and Patti from The Millionaire Matchmaker. The fact that they are confident doing what they love and that success only fuels their drive to work harder is really inspiring to me.

Pool or ocean?
Ocean.

Favorite city?
I have a love affair with New York. The only city I would every betray New York for is Rome.

Last great vacation?
Most recent was Italy and Spain, but I’m really excited about going to far away places like New Zealand and Bali. I’ve heard being somewhere that far away just feels different.

Favorite TV show?
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Weirdest job you’ve ever had?
I’m so embarrassed, but I worked at the Renaissance Fair in Sterling Forest, NY, as a garland girl when I was 13.

Favorite restaurant?
This is always changing, but right now I love Flex Mussels in the West Village; the Parma mussels and then the donuts for dessert… heaven.

Favorite object in your home?
Authentic Givenchy sketches that were a gift from my fiancé. So cool and inspiring.

Favorite piece of clothing?
This is always changing, too. Right now it’s a Risto knitwear piece. It has the most amazing colors that just make me happy.

Favorite blog or website?
I think The Man Repeller is brilliant. Svpply is always great for curated, on-trend items. I also love the The 99 Percent for inspiring productivity and ideas, NOTCOT for a mix of inspiring design and AHAlife for items that are truly special.

Something you’re scared of?
I’m super afraid of snakes.

Favorite record?
Right now it’s the new Adele album. She’s incredibly talented.

Favorite pop song?
Currently it’s “Firework” by Katy Perry.

Your ideal day?
Waking up at the beach, making coffee and reading in the morning. Easy lunch picnic with all of my family and friends, lounging on the beach and playing in the ocean. Everyone hangs out until a more formal dinner on the beach is magically prepared for us. Good wine.

Favorite gift you’ve ever received?
A bookmark that says “Happiness isn’t a destination, it’s a way of life.” It’s such a small thing, but it was the first gift my fiancé ever bought me a couple weeks after we started dating. I love it.

Favorite flower?
Lilac.

Favorite scent (perfume)?
Blonde tobacco.

Astrological sign?
Cancer.

What do you do for a living?
Founder and editor of a publication for fashion and luxury brand marketers called Fashion’s Collective.

Where do you live?
Long Island City.

Your lucky number?
21.

What piece of art would you buy if you had absolutely no budget?
A Robert Dutesco piece from Sable Island. They are these amazing photographs of wild horses that live on a small island off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Johanna Fateman wears many hats, all of them inspiring and intelligent, like so many Philip Treacy confections. As the co-owner of Seagull Salon on West 10th St., she is both our neighbor and West Village legacy holder – it’s said that the salon was the first unisex barbershop in the country, in addition to being a crucial locus of the Village’s thriving gay community during the 70s and 80s. As one-third of the feminist punkstravaganza Le Tigre, she is one of my favorite lady musicians of all time ever, and the auteur of many a roller skate jam. As a contributor to both Bookforum and Artforum, she is the author of scenic explanations: “The revolution belonged to all girls but couldn’t be owned or represented by any one,” she says of the Riot Grrrl movement in a recent book review. As the 27th Lady of Castor & Pollux, she is a chocolate-cake-maker, potential bunny rabbit-owner, and Laverne and Shirley fan.

Photo by John von Pamer – Necklace by Gabriela Artigas

Favorite recipe?
I have to give you two. One is the carrot bisque from Vegan with a Vengeance. It always works and is so comforting, energizing, and easy. The other is my grandmother’s chocolate cake – a recipe clipped from the New York Times in the sixties that became a family tradition – my uncle’s wedding cake, even! Now that I own a double-boiler, I can finally make it right.

Last great book you read?
King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes.

Summer drink of choice?
NYC tap water.

Your animals – names and breeds?
Heartbreakingly, I haven’t had any animals for a few years. I would like to have a pair of rescue rabbits. I just need to meet the right ones at the right time.

Do you exercise? What do you do, if so?
Yes. I do the elliptical glider thing and weights and some Pilates type stuff.

Salty or sweet?
Sweet.

Who inspires you and why?
People who appear to have balance in their lives.

Pool or ocean?
Ocean.

Favorite city?
NYC.

Last great vacation?
Istanbul.

Favorite TV show?
A long time ago it was Laverne & Shirley… Now I don’t know.

Weirdest job you’ve ever had?
Three way tie between phone psychic, member of the band Le Tigre, and co-owner of the Seagull Salon.

Favorite restaurant?
I just had an incredible dinner at Counter on First Avenue. Root vegetable pot pie, a basil martini. But maybe Pongsri on Baxter and Bayard is really my favorite. Or Chennai Garden on E. 27th.

Favorite object in your home?
Karen Finley’s psychic portrait of my late bunny Cobra? Or my sunshine window gate out to the fire escape. Or my baby blue glass tile bathroom floor.

Favorite piece of clothing?
Recently it has been L. L. Bean sweater tights and a scoop neck sweat-shirt dress. But I just messed that outfit up while painting shelves.

Favorite blog or website?
Molly McCommon’s column for SEAGULL and Castor & Pollux’s “Loving,” OF COURSE!

Something you’re scared of?
Tie between illness and accidents.

Favorite record?
The ones I always come back to: The Zombies—The Singles Collection; Jesus and Mary Chain—Psychocandy; ESG—A South Bronx Story; Neil Young—After the Gold Rush; Carol King—Tapestry.

Favorite pop song?
Right this minute, it is Diddy-Dirty Money & Usher’s “Looking for Love” and (this is a little old now) Shontelle’s “Impossible.”

Your ideal day?
The playground with my kid, and making the time to talk about ideas with my friends.

Favorite gift you’ve ever received?
So many wonderful gifts… I’ll cheat and say my daughter Goldie.

Favorite flower?
Peony.

Favorite scent (perfume)?
Tiger balm and deodorant.

Astrological sign?
Taurus.

What do you do for a living?
I am one of the proprietors of Seagull Salon, a freelance writer (most recently for Bookforum and Artforum), and I write songs. Also, I am getting more into pet portraiture and illustration.

Where do you live?
Harlem.

Your lucky number?
Ten or three.

What piece of art would you buy if you had absolutely no budget?
Something by Marlene McCarty or Mickalene Thomas.

Those of you who have visited the store in the past few weeks have probably noticed some oases of springy color – warm camel, lush jungle green – in the form of the Reece Hudson spring collection. Her innovative designs have the studied architecture of serious investment pieces and the cleverness and practicality of a fresh, young line – all made with leather so tender that we’ve heard customers gasp upon touching it. We’re very excited to add her to the growing roster of the Ladies of Castor & Pollux.

Designer Reece Solomon and her business partner, Max Stein, unveiled the first Reece Hudson collection just last spring. It didn’t take long for the internet to erupt in accolades at Reece’s simple and tactile luxury. The goal of the line, according to Reece, is to maximize the value of the bags without budging on quality and craftsmanship. Each New York-made piece is versatile, designed to be roomy enough for day while losing none of the sleek elegance appropriate for evening. Her current spring collection includes warm-toned riffs on the styles that first got our attention, with crocodile accents for some added rugged edge.

Read on to find out who – and what – inspires Reece.

Photo by John von Pamer

Favorite recipe?
My dad’s recipe for eggplant parmesan; my grandmother’s secret recipe for matzoh ball soup.

Last great book you read?
The Last of Her Kind, Little Bee, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series.

Winter drink of choice?
Basil Hayden’s on the rocks.

Your animals – names and breeds?
A black and white parti Pomeranian named Georgia.

Do you exercise? What do you do, if so?
Yoga and a little running on the treadmill.

Salty or sweet?
Both.

Who inspires you and why?
My grandmother was my earliest inspiration when I was growing up. Today I’m inspired mostly by stylists such as Carine Roitfeld, Katie Grand, and Alex White, who really cultivate their own aesthetics. Most celebrities today are just products of stylists, so I don’t really find them too inspiring. I’ve always loved Jane Birkin’s style, she’s probably one of my biggest fashion icons, and I also admire some of the very few truly original fashion eccentrics of today, such as Daphne Guinness, Anna Dello Russo, and Catherine Baba.

Pool or ocean?
Ocean.

Favorite city?
Paris, where I studied abroad in college.

Last great vacation?
My trip to Paris for Fashion Week!

Favorite TV show?
True Blood, Dexter, and 30 Rock, but really into Boardwalk Empire so far…

Weirdest job you’ve ever had?
Don’t think I ever had one…

Favorite restaurant?
In new york: Babbo, Bacaro, Café Gitane, Marlow and Sons, Bar Pitti, Marea, and Sushi of Gari. In Paris: Guy Savoy, Ferdi, and Les Papilles. In LA: Pinches Tacos, Gjelina and Yatai.

Favorite object in your home?
My vintage striped wood coffee table.

Favorite piece of clothing?
Rick Owens long leather and wool coat.

Favorite blog or website?
Jak and Jil, Style.com.

Something you’re scared of?
Spiders. I have a terrible arachnophobia.

Favorite record?
Radiohead’s OK Computer and The Bends, and The xx’s xx.

Favorite pop song?
George Harrison’s “Got My Mind Set on You.”

Your ideal day?
On the beach with all my friends, beers, and good music.

Favorite gift you’ve ever received?
A Donald Sultan “smoke rings” photograph, given by my parents for my college graduation, and a gold and diamond ring that my grandmother gave me, that was previously her mother’s, that I wear everyday.

Favorite flower?
Black Magic and Black Baccara roses.

Favorite scent (perfume)
Lavender gris.

Astrological sign?
Gemini.

What do you do for a living?
Fashion designer; owner of handbag line Reece Hudson.

Where do you live?
NoLIta.

Your lucky number?
6

What piece of art would you buy if you had absolutely no budget?
A Marilyn Minter enamel-on-metal painting, a Jackson Pollack black-and-white mural painting, and Richard Serra’s Sequence sculpture.