Carla Rockmore: Fashion Influencer and Designer

24:26And I just thought, let me just get a paycheck again and a drink and a new city, a new experience. So I moved to Toronto because that's where the company was. And I did that for a very short while because we kind of hit it off. I'll say. And I wasn't sleeping with the boss. So it was like, okay, well, what do we do now? So I quit. It happened very quickly for Michael and I.

24:54Carla Rockmore:When you know, you know. And you know, he and I had been friends for 15 years. So you really knew. Wow. Yeah. I feel like this is like when Harry met Sally. Well, I really was. I mean, the girl that I went to Europe with, I was still in Amsterdam, and she came back to Toronto. And she said, I met my husband in a bar. And I said, settle down, sister, you're 23 years old. You did not meet your husband in a bar. She said, oh, no, this is the guy. And I met yours too. It's his best friend. For 15 years, they tried to get us together, but he was just Kramer on the couch. But then it worked out. And then it worked out.

25:28Carla Rockmore:So after you realized we're in love, I'm not going to work here anymore. You went off again on your own, but this time with jewelry. Talk to me about the evolution from clothing to jewelry. And I'm wondering how much overlap is there in terms of skillset? a lot. I think the impetus to getting into jewelry was after we were married, I had my kids. And I loved being a mom, but it was not all I wanted. So I knew that I wasn't going to go back to clothing manufacturing because there was no way I was housing inventory. And I just wanted something more small and more manageable with two kids. And I decided to just go to Canadian Tire, which is the Lowe's of Canada.

26:17And I didn't know what I was doing. So I literally went to, you know, the rolls of chain they have. I cut a bunch of chain and I bought pliers and I started just sort of weaving chain necklaces together. So I slowly figured it out. I just kind of learned as I went along because I didn't know any better. And a few years later, I was doing a trunk show. I had sold Intermix. Yeah. And there was Danny Joe, I think it was the company. So we were like in that same sort of spot in Canada. So there would be this overlap of the retailers that carried my line. And then I was settled now. You know, my kids were in elementary school and I had this little business, all good in the world.

27:07And then Michael says,

27:09Carla Rockmore:Dallas, we're moving to Dallas. What was that like? I mean, there had to have been a not insignificant amount of culture shock, right? My line is I would have had an easier time navigating the bowels of Jaipur, India than I do the - Than Highland Park Village? That's right. That's right. It's a foreign, foreign place. Yes. Look, it was a shocker. The heat is still a killer. I was lucky that my kids were in schools and they were in second and fifth grade. So I kind of found a group of compadres, other moms through the school programs. But it was very difficult for me to find my fashion people. Not because they're not here, but because there's no manufacturing here.

28:05And so there's sales and there's luxury retail, but you're not going to find a components factory. I had a hard time.

28:15Carla Rockmore:So at a certain point in time, you started working on a fine jewelry line with the amazing company, Stanley Korshak, which I got to visit when I was an assistant at Elle magazine. And I was assigned a story to live like a Southern debutante for a weekend. And I was sent to Dallas to stay at the mansion on Turtle Creek and to go to Stanley Korshak. I had like a diamond class and I did all of these like amazing things, but I was just blown away by what an institution that is. Oh, 100%. Now, I didn't do a line for them. I ended up placing my line there. But it is a jewel, almost hidden. It's a small little store, but it's so cultivated.

29:04And Melissa, who runs the jewelry, when I showed her the line, she brought it in right away. So I was very thankful for that. But that all didn't happen until after the kids sort of set me free because they got their driver's licenses. And I said, okay, now that I know a little bit about the jewelry business from when I left Canada, I'm now going to go to Jaipur and do a fine jewelry collection.

29:32Carla Rockmore:That is unbelievable. Talk to me about that. Well, I was lucky that I had met some friends who were from there. I said, I have to find something to do or I'm going to have a breakdown. And they said, well, come with us. We're going to see our folks. They're all in the jewelry business. So I said, okay. So I tagged along and I started meeting suppliers and manufacturers and stone cutters. I mean, it was the most unbelievable experience. It was also a very slow experience. Things happen much more relaxed over there. And it takes a long time if you're just starting out to find your peeps. So it was three years back and forth.

30:10Carla Rockmore:Wow. Oh, yeah. I would go about two times a year and then I would work with them through email and video and all that kind of stuff in between. But it really took three years to come out with a cohesive jewelry line. I remember I finally called Michael and I said, OK, I'm coming back and I'm going to see who we're going to place it with. Yeah. He said, okay, but we have a little problem. I said, well, he goes, you have to get on the next plane out. And I said, what are you talking about? I have another two weeks here. I'm almost there. No, no, no. There's going to be a global pandemic. I said, what's that?

30:48I wasn't paying attention at all. That's a little disruptive. Oh yeah. Just a little. I mean, there were a lot of disruptions because of the move and the kids. And so I left everything there and I flew all the way home and pick me up at the airport and we went straight into lockdown.

31:05Carla Rockmore:So during quarantine, you started creating content and sharing it on YouTube. What was the impetus for that? Just wanting to connect? It was a completely selfish endeavor. No, you know what? My kids begged me not to. Because they thought it was cringe? Oh, yes. They didn't want me doing any kind of social media. Like I didn't have social media before 2020, other than to say happy birthday once or twice. And I never looked at it. I didn't even know that you should be doing short form. So my girlfriends up in Canada were very much locked down and I was the funny one. And they kind of said, do something.

31:44I'm bored. And I said, okay, I'm bored too. And if I don't create something, I tank. And I had this camera and I had this closet. This is all the collection of what I've been living for all these years in the industry. And I remember my first video was about 15 minutes long. I didn't know to make a shorter one. I had a whole 91 followers for about a year from March 2020 to April 21, but it got me through. I was entertaining myself. I was making my friends laugh. I was coming up with new ideas. And more importantly, I was editing. That saved my life. And then Ivy said, you know what, mom, let's put you on TikTok.

32:25Carla Rockmore:that's a good pivot though that she went from don't do this to let's put you on tiktok well because she saw that i was actually committed to this thing yeah i wasn't working anywhere near as often as i do now but i would put out a video every two weeks you know she said the challenge is you have to get it down to a minute so i did that and then we put it up and it went viral. So you launched in April of 2021 and gained 250 ,000 followers your first week on the platform. Yeah. Which is wild. Why do you think it worked? It was nothing. I mean, it was literally just me getting dressed. And I remember that I wore this fuchsia coat over top, a very neutral look.

33:10And it was exciting to me because it made the whole thing a little a little more interesting. And I explained why. And then I left to go for dinner. I put it up the next day and boom, it was cuckoo. And so it was such a funny thing because everybody was like, oh, maybe it went viral. How funny. How novel. Isn't that funny? Like that was it. We didn't think it was going to happen again, but then it kept happening.

33:36Carla Rockmore:And so a new career was born. At what point in the early days did you realize like, oh, I think this is my next chapter. This is obviously connecting. Almost immediately, but before I went viral. Got it. So when you were just creating content essentially for your friends, like in that moment, you're like, this is satisfying something in me. This feels good. It feels right. Yeah. You know, the three converging circles, your education, your hobby and the hole in the market is your sweet spot for both happiness and also for success in work. That's what it was for me because it came full circle. All of a sudden, I was an actress.

34:20There you go.

34:21Carla Rockmore:So were you comfortable on camera? I love that you had had like your soft launch for a year of like working the kinks out and figuring it out and understanding the beats and all of that. But did you feel comfortable instantly? Or did it take some time to sort of figure out like what you like to do and how you wanted to do it? Oh, well, that's always an evolution, I guess. But I didn't ever feel uncomfortable, because I never think about anyone watching me when I shoot. Right. I just talked to the same friends that I was talking to back in 2000. I love the community, And I love the people who converse with me, my followers, the comments, the whole thing.

35:05It just juices me up. It gives me more energy to see, oh, what am I going to do next? But if I were to think that, oh, my God, I've got 250 ,000 people watching me right now, I wouldn't be able to say boo.

35:20Carla Rockmore:Yeah. You also mentioned that you were enjoying the editing process, that that saved you. What was that learning curve like? How did you figure it out? It was iMovie and I can basically clip and I can move something around. I can speed up and slow down and I can add music. That is my repertoire of editing. All you need. Right. But it was working with my hands again. And so the video was fun. But then the best part was like washing all my makeup off, putting my hair in a screen sheet, getting a cup of tea, sitting at the kitchen table, downloading the footage and start playing with it and seeing what I could make out of it.

36:03That was the most fun.

36:05Carla Rockmore:Well, that's a little bit like making jewelry. I would imagine that you have all the raw materials and then it's how you arrange them and sort them and create something with existing material. Yeah, exactly. It's very, very similar. I never thought about that. You know, once you know how to make something, It's basically the same process. So in the background of all of this, you are still working on your jewelry line, correct? Yes. And talk to me about going from being ripped out of the process because of a global pandemic to actually launching in 2022. Well, I'm lucky because it was much easier for people to want to invest the time in Carla Rockmore and Align.

36:52So yay for me. Yeah.

36:54Carla Rockmore:You built a whole platform in the meantime. All of a sudden, instead of me going from this retailer or that retailer, Stanley Korshak was very happy to cultivate a relationship. So that was great. I would imagine having 2.7 million followers across platforms is really helpful when you think about marketing any product. Right. Absolutely. I can't emphasize that enough. And I also love that it was like almost an accident. It was totally an accident. I'm 58 years old. I mean, I remember back in 2012 when Instagram started. That was the same year I moved to Dallas. And my girlfriend was saying, well, what are you going to do?

37:36And I said, I don't know. She said, why don't you start this Instagram? You're always good at like styling. I said, are you kidding? You're too old to do Instagram. I was 48. Okay.

37:46Carla Rockmore:Like how stupid. Well, you got there. Yeah, I did. So how did the launch go? How did it feel after having worked on this project and had some stops and starts due to global issues? Was it what you wanted the debut to be? Was it fulfilling? Did it feel different because you now had a whole separate business going on as well? What was that like? It did. It felt different. It's funny because all through my design career, I was fulfilling a certain part of me, but I wasn't fulfilling all of me because that other bit of expression was missing. There was the tangible expression. There was the expression of the raincoat or expression of the earrings, but the connection with people, you cannot beat it.

38:33Social media, there's nothing else. It's immediate. You know, immediately, as soon as you upload something, are you entertained? Do you like Is the information valuable in any way to you? And being a Gemini, that was very fulfilling to me. It was this immediate creative business that I couldn't get bored by because it was forever shifting and I could react much more quickly than percolating on the trend reports, working on something at least a year in advance. You know, by the time everything gets in the showroom, you're on to the next thing.

39:13Carla Rockmore:Yeah. Whereas with this social media, it's immediate and you're able to really explore in the moment. So I had a hard time balancing the two. I also realized that, well, gee, I'm doing very expensive, fine jewelry, and my market is not that anymore because my reach is much larger. Right. And people really like what I do. so I'm not being helpful to myself nor them. Well, there's a disconnect. Right. There's a disconnect. If high-end jewelry would have satisfied all the parts of me, I would have stayed there, but it didn't. It wasn't doing it right then. So talk to me about the next move, the Carla Rockmore collection that you launched in 2024, which is also now sold on QVC.

40:01Carla Rockmore:Talk about stepping into some alignment and like a really great partnership. Walk me through that. Well, at first I was very reticent. I have to say when QVC came a calling, I was like, no way, Jose, am I going back into mass? Right. The last time I did that was when I was 32. I'm not doing that again. I understand the environment. I understand the structure and I wanted to be more free and fluid with what I do. But then they invited me to their offices And I have to tell you, these are the nicest people you'll ever meet. And they listen and they want you to be comfortable selling your vision.

40:45They're not trying to put me in a box because of what their market needs. Right. That's the beautiful thing about QVC. So it wasn't initially a big time suck because it was like one collection.

41:01Carla Rockmore:Yep. And we were going to see how it went. I loved working with a big team again. I love working with people who can print design and people who can communicate overseas with makers. All the heavy lift. All the heavy lift. And I understood it all. It's not like I needed to learn how the garment industry works. No, you just had all of that at the tip of your fingers from all of your experience. It's like everything had been building for this. Right. So it just really came together and the line did really, really well. And we've just increased it quite a bit. So when you're thinking through that design process, are you thinking of the QVC customer or are you thinking about yourself and like your friends?

41:47Carla Rockmore:Like, how do you think through that piece of it? Yes, yes, and yes. So it's this happy medium. Right. And that's what the fashion world is. It's a business, unless you're editorial. So it's this happy medium where I have got to put in 75 % of the Carla Rockmore DNA at all times. Yep. But I also have to service the customer. Right. But if it's not you, there's no value proposition. So you have to be protective of that. Absolutely. I don't consider it a detriment or that I'm squashing my vision if I am making somebody happy because I'm giving them the same pair of pants in a different fabrication and a different color that they loved last year or the year before.

42:34I actually am of the ilk that trends are fun and should be dabbled in. But great pants are forever.

42:42Carla Rockmore:Great pants are forever. And like I have 62 pairs of the same, you know, Neely Loeb tan chrons. Like I just do. Same. I mean, that's a great fan. It's nice to have a uniform. That's it. But you know, what's also great is now with QVC, their resources are so broad that I am able to take all the bits that I love and have loved out of my closet and recreate them with little bits of tweaks, permutations, and combinations for the QVC customer. I love it. So you had five drops last year, and this year you are set to launch seven collections with QVC, which feels enormous. What are you most excited about about these collections?

43:31Carla Rockmore:Can you give us any hints of what to look for? Well, I mean, this one coming up, I'm really excited by. I'm a very practical person, And I like to make clothing that is both very, very classic, but they don't go out of style. You know, they're chic quality pieces that I tend to gravitate towards season after season. But because my life has also become planes, trains, and automobiles, I'm very into active wear right now and comfort. So there's these two points of interest for me. So that's where I see the line going at this point. That's exciting. So are there any other projects that you're working on that you can share?

44:20Carla Rockmore:Because I've read that you're dipping your toes into writing and also working on a way to share your mother's art with the world. Anything you can or would like to share about that? I've been dabbling again in writing. I love, love, love to write. I just never had the time for it. And with my mom, you know, I've been thinking a lot. It's her birthday soon and she's going to be 88. Now, 88 is an accomplishment. Sure is. Right. And she has been very, very creative, industrious and active. She's an incredible artist. And yet she has not ever launched her collection. And she said to me, Carla, the one thing I want before I go is I'd love a show.

45:10I'd love people to see what I do and have done. And I thought, okay, well, you're going to get that. But also how many other women, how many other Octarians have had to make choices to put their talents aside for their whole lives. Accomplished women who never got their day in the light. And I've been thinking a lot about that and how it needs to be looked upon much more intentionally. I love that.

45:41Carla Rockmore:So we wrap up this podcast with the same three questions. Oh, good. The first one is about mistakes, because everyone makes them over the course of their career, but we don't always talk about them. We talk about the successes and that's natural. Everyone wants the Instagram highlight reel, but I think it's really important to acknowledge the hardships or the mistakes because one, it teaches women that we can be resilient, we can overcome things. And two, it's just human and interesting. So I'm hoping that you can tell me about a mistake that you've made at any point in your career and what you've learned from it.

46:15I think the biggest mistake I ever made is restricting myself because of time, thinking that I was too old to do this thing, whatever it was, and waiting to get it done or to even explore it. Fair.

46:35Carla Rockmore:So a lot of the folks who listen to this podcast are in their first lives, and they know that they want to do something different, whether that's staying in the same industry and going from one aspect to another or changing industries altogether. But they're scared. They are standing on the precipice thinking about making that leap, and they just haven't done it yet. What advice would you give someone who's thinking about making a career shift but just hasn't done it quite yet? If they're like in their 20s, I'd say 20s and 30s, early 30s, this is the time. Yeah. This is the time to make mistakes.

47:11This is the time to explore yourself. I'm not saying jump off a cliff without looking, but you're only going to get this time back never. Okay. And if you don't have commitments like dependence at this early stage, I would suggest you working towards it by taking a little bit of it on, even if it's a little uncomfortable. Like when I was doing that club kit line, I was still working for about six months. I was just working a lot harder. So I know that there's going to be some pain or else there's no gain.

47:52Carla Rockmore:So my last question is, if you could get into a time machine and go back and visit your younger self and give your younger self some career advice, what would you say? I would tell my younger self that I was good enough to compete and not to hold myself back. I would also tell myself to listen more rather than talk, talk, talk. You learn a lot by being quiet and listening. I would also tell myself to have patience. It's not going to come all at once and you need to work for a while, but it will come if you enjoy it. You have to enjoy it enough that even the really hard stuff that you hate to do sort of refreshes itself while it's done so that the next day you wake up and you feel better to do it again.

48:53Carla Rockmore:I love that. Yeah. Carla, thank you so much. This has been such an absolute pleasure. I have admired your career from afar for a while, and I am so glad that we had a chance to sit down. Thank you for taking the time today. Thank you, Hillary. I loved it. It was a pleasure.

49:19Carla Rockmore:That was fashion influencer and designer, Carla Rockmore. For more inspiring interviews with women like Carla, head on over to secondlifepod.com where we have so many more for you to peruse. If you like today's show, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget to rate and review us. We love seeing you spread the word on social. And now you can tag us in your posts. We are at Second Life Pod on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. We always want to know who you're interested in hearing from on the show. So send in your requests to hello at secondlifepod.com, or you can DM us on Instagram.

50:00Carla Rockmore:I'm at Hillary Kerr. The show is at Second Life Pod. Our DMs are always open. I'm Hilary Kerr and you've been listening to Second Life This episode was produced by Hilary Kerr, Summer Hammeris, and Natalie Thurman Our production assistant is Raven Yamamoto Our audio engineers are at Treehouse Recording in Los Angeles, California And our music is by Jonathan Leahy