Meet Louisa - Westport Moms

How old are your kids and how long have you lived in the area? My kids are 12 (Henry), 10 (Luke) and 6 going on 25! (Fiona). The idea for Rowan was born just after Fiona was born – and I started wondering where I would take her to get her ears pierced. We have lived in Larchmont for 7 years.

How did you end up where you are now? My background professionally is in finance. I worked in investment banking and trading and I ran the Value Investing program at Columbia Business School. I was always interested in entrepreneurship and the consumer. I helped trade the IPO of Lulu lemon and always covered retail and consumer. Most recently, I was working at a hedge fund that was shorting brick and mortar malls. I was studying the in line retailers in those malls, and Claire’s was in every one! The anomoly with Claire’s was that it continued to drive foot traffic, because there was no where else to go. People were literally saying they had gone to the mall once in their life, to get their ears pierced. When my daughter was born, I was on the road traveling for the hedge fund and had to give up breast feeding much earlier than I wanted to. I was sacrificing a lot for career. I was simultaneously thinking about starting my own business. Specifically, I couldn’t get out of my head that Claire’s had not invested in brand or experience in decades, that I certainly wouldn’t take my own daughter there, I wanted something safe, that I could trust but also something fun that merited the importance of this milestone. I began talking to family (most of my aunts and my parents/siblings are nurses and doctors). Many of them had pierced ears as part of their work and they loved doing it. I was confident that if we brought together safety and celebration we could reinvent the ear piercing experience and build a brand worthy of today’s customer. We are having a blast doing just that! Today we are in over 250 locations across the country and have hired hundreds of creative, talented and caring nurses and are making hypoallergenic jewelry for all ages.

What are you most looking forward to in 2021? In 2021, we are launching more stand alone stores, and I am most looking forward to cutting the ribbons on those stores and seeing our happy guests get pierced. I am emotional about every piercing. Each one is a story, and it really makes me feel a tremendous sense of pride in my team and in our vision to see families having a better, safer experience at Rowan than they ever would have had elsewhere!

What is the best show you have recently (binge) watched? I lived in France and speak French and try to keep up by watching french shows. i recently binge watched LUPIN and I highly recommend it! He is an amazing hero, similar to Robin Hood but present day, and filmed mostly in Paris. It’s fun and fast-paced.

What is one food you could not live without? My favorite food is french fries. When my husband and I were dating, I always ordered a side of fries, no matter the meal. He confided in me years later that that was one of the early things about me that convinced him, I was the one. He never hesitated to eat a few himself!

If you weren’t doing what you are today, what do you think your career path might have been? When I met my husband a friend had recently moved to LA to reinvigorate Manduka. He asked me to come out and help him. I think if I had been single at the time, I would have done it and taught yoga. Aside from Rowan and family, yoga is my passion. I love practicing wherever I go and think that I would have been a professional teacher if I had not pursued Rowan.

If you had 24 hours to do whatever you wanted to do, what would it be? The best date my husband and I ever went on was a service date. We took a group of inner city kids ice skating.  More recently I had the opportunity to participate (as a paddle boarder) in Swim Across America in the Long Island Sound. If I had an entire day, I would love to do something for others (with family or friends) and then have some alone time practicing yoga. I’d finish the day with an outdoor meal with family (homemade by my husband!) and a beautiful sunset!

What thing has surprised you most about being in the suburbs? When we moved from the city, I was worried that I would be the only working Mom. I couldn’t have been more wrong! In fact, most of my friends in Larchmont and nearby suburbs not only work, but they are leaders in their fields, be it private equity, marketing. entertainment, healthcare…I am inspried by my female friends who are all rockstars!

QUICK THIS OR THAT:
Cake or Pie? Cake! Sheetcake from the grocery store, always!
At a movie: Candy or Popcorn? BOTH, milk duds mixed in.
Pancakes or Waffles? Belgian waffles
Iced Coffee or Hot Coffee? HOT
Beach or Mountains? BEACH
Puzzle or Board Game? Board game
Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
Reading or writing? writing
Ketchup or mustard? mustard
Watch or play sports?  play
Winter or summer? Summer
Comedy or Drama? Depends on the mood

Rowan in Westport is now OPEN! Head down to Main St to check It out!

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