We Are The Cools: Meet Mara!

Mara Meinhofer, Operations and Finance Manager

What can’t you live without?
My BlackBerry, MacBook, Kindle and Bose headphones.

What are your favorite go-to blogs?
Business of Fashion (BoF). The founder Imran Amed, is a genius. BoF fills the void for analytical, informed, opinionated fashion. I say: ‘Bring It On!’

What’s currently on repeat on your playlist?
Experimental dance, electronica, Adele, Rock en Español, and very loud music that’s best to listen to while driving.

What’s your favorite thing about working at The Cools?
The team! They’re all SO COOL, it makes finance FUN.

Where do you look for inspiration?
People’s experiences. I enjoy forgetting the world as I know it, putting myself in other people’s shoes and getting inspired by their stories.

Finish this sentence:
In 10 years, I see myself… enjoying the successes of The Cools, advising/consulting new entrepreneurs, continue to work with fellow creatives to alleviate poverty (Creatives Against Poverty) and nurturing my loving family; husband and kids included. There you go, I said it––a husband and kids!

We Are The Cools: Meet Kyla Rae!

Kyla Rae Polanco, social media team

What can’t you live without?
70’s soul music, vintage boots and Stella Artois.

What are your favorite go-to blogs?
Topshop’s Inside-Out, The Man Repeller, and I look to the Cool Hunter for all things abstract and modern.

What’s currently on repeat on your playlist?
Juveniles, due to our secret love affair; Metronomy, because they get me; Bill Withers, when I’m having a lovely day; Al Green, for soul; Nicos Gun, for the weekends! 

What’s your favorite thing about working at The Cools?
It’s the best feeling to get up in the morning and go to work! Every day is different, and it’s exciting to see what is next! Plus, I love the international team, it creates an eclectic vibe in the office.

Where do you look for inspiration?
I look out the window for inspiration, just wandering the streets, riding the subway, overhearing conversations, talking to the crazies - you never know who or what will inspire you.

Name your favorite item ever sold on our site?
I want the Gary Fisher bicycle!

Finish this sentence:
In 10 years, I see myself…having a space odyssey with Alexa Chung.

We Are The Cools: Meet Polina!

Polina Ikonsky, business development team

What can’t you live without?
My Blackberry, MacBook, venti red eye coffee, cigs, friends.

What are your favorite go-to blogs?
I’m constantly reading Refinery29, Gawker and HauteNights.com.

What’s currently on repeat on your playlist?
Some classics that will always have a special place on my iPod are Ghostland Observatory, Jay Z, Kanye and LCD Soundsystem. Recent additions that I can’t stop listening to are Cults, M83, Two Door Cinema Club.

What’s your favorite thing about working at The Cools?
NO DRESS CODE! Everyday is kind of like a fashion show. Oh! and talking about “tweeting”.

Where do you look for inspiration?
I love looking at runway shows and pretty girls on tumblr.

Name your favorite item ever sold on our site?
The “Sex, Pot and Acid” T-shirt I bought from Hillary Bankz.

Finish this sentence:
In 10 years, I see myself… 32, (WOW!) a successful PR gal with an impressive Louboutin collection, a walk-in closet in a beautiful apartment, with high ceilings and big windows.

Grey Era owner, Sierra Fromberg 

Get to know one of the newest sellers on The Cools, Sierra Fromberg of Grey Era, a vintage boutique that focuses on high-quality, staple wardrobe items.

What inspires you?
Everything early 90s - Seattle grunge, layering, Portland, San Francisco’s mission district, alternative music, Kurt Cobain & Courtney Love, androgeny, contemporary minimalist designers, early 90’s Calvin Klein, old Levi’s jeans, vintage Betsey Johnson, Basquiat.

When did you decide to open a vintage store?
Opening a vintage store has always been the end-goal in my fashion career. In the last few years, I was noticing I could no longer afford to shop at the places I liked, nor were those shops carrying the types of pieces I was looking for. I decided that I would open my own shop with price-points that reflected what I believe is fair, as well as pieces that I would want to own for myself. 

Describe what a first-timer would find in your boutique:
One of the main concepts behind Grey Era is “seasonless shopping”.  With the exception of heavy winter jackets or thick wool sweaters, you can wear almost everything in my shop throughout the changing seasons.

Who is your typical customer?
My typical customer is cool and fun, doesn’t take fashion too seriously, isn’t trying too hard, and wants to walk out of a shop with an entire outfit—of the highest vintage quality—for under $200.

A peek inside Sierra’s vintage boutique. Grey Era products now available on The Cools.

It’s only fitting that the staff of The Cools, be run by a cool group of people. Every week, we’ll introduce a member of our team, so you can see the inner workings of our startup and all the cool things happening at The Cools. Meet Andrew!

Andrew Weiser, development team                                  

What can’t you live without?                               
My iPhone and Diet Coke

What are your favorite go-to blogs?                  
Techcrunch, for the latest scoop on tech/startups. Engadget, to satiate my “technolust.” And, Mashable, for a quick overview of what’s happening across the Internet and beyond.

What’s currently on repeat on your playlist?                   
I’ve played the Viola since I was in 3rd grade, and that has me on a recent binge of classical music. More specifically, I’ve been listening to violinist Hilary Hahn and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra perform “I. Allegro molto appassionato from Concerto in E minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 64 - Instrumental.” Spotify it, you won’t be disappointed.

What’s your favorite thing about working at The Cools?            
Change. Being that we are a startup, things are shifting constantly. While change can often be nerve-racking and accompanied by uncertainty, for me, I find it exciting. You have to learn to adapt and run with ideas. I’m a proprietor of the fact that complacency is the root of all evil — to coin a phrase. Change is at the opposite end of that spectrum and seeing changes payoff, when you have a personal investment in advancing it, is extremely rewarding.

Where do you look for inspiration?
I’m a huge fan of typography, so I often find myself browsing different fonts for inspiration. I believe fonts can capture a person’s style, which maybe explains why I appreciate a good font, and likewise, hate a bad one. Or, maybe I’ve just seen one too many articles of clothing that abuse the “Old English” font.

Name your favorite item ever sold on The Cools
This is easy. I’m passionate about the movie “Top Gun”, so the Oliver Peoples’ Aviator Sunglasses pull at my inner pilot — because I’ve never ‘lost that lovin’ feelin’.

Finish this sentence:
In 10 years, I see myself… not using Facebook.