“Cassie is a writer and content strategist and currently the Vice President of Community Strategy at Kickstarter. She has built communities at Kickstarter, Google, and the Obama White House.”
Top: Vintage, Shorts: American Apparel, Boots: FRYE
ON HER MORNING ROUTINE
I work from home and I’m at my best in the AM, so I get up, make coffee, and down the first cup while catching up on email and laying out a “to do” list for the day. It’s nice to get in 2-3 solid hours of work or writing time, then take a break to make breakfast, run errands, or do whatever else. I’ve become very attached to morning work hours, sitting with my feet crossed up against our backyard-facing living room window.
on writing
Writing happened earlier than I remember, but I assume from my Grandmother sharing her love of books and reading with me. I just write as often as I can, about anything that comes to mind. I rarely publish it — there’s just something nice about the way writing organizes my mind/the world around me. It feels pleasurable. I’m inspired by a lot of things, but I will only find myself writing if I am courteous about giving myself the space and mental energy to do so. Sometimes that can be hard in NYC, where it is easy to go out every night and there are always friends to see. I think that’s why traveling becomes so nice. It’s a productive, solitary activity. I write a lot when I travel. (Cliche, I know.)
“I have never liked having a lot of stuff, even as a kid. I liked the idea of being extremely portable. It furnished me with an illusion of constant spontaneity, as it meant I could pick up and go anywhere, any minute, and be fine.
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on her skincare routine
I don’t wear make-up, but I do think skincare rituals are fun and I like doing them. When I was in California a few weeks ago, I bought green French clay in bulk, and I’ve been mixing my own face masks with them. (Apple cider vinegar has been the best so far.) Other than that, I like to use an oil-based cleanser and I’m a sucker for Aesop’s Fabulous Face Oil. I also use Earth Science Purifying Facial Masque, and Davine's Women's Love Conditioner
on the collection of essays loitering
‘Loitering’ is a remarkable collection of essays, recently re-issued with additional new material, by a writer named Charles D’ambrosia. I read it twice in a row, I was so hooked. The man has a remarkable knack for weaving personal experience with compelling, worldly insights. Rachel Cusk’s “Outline” felt similar — so many crushing observations, but in that very cathartic way. She has a way of articulating some of life’s very deep, personal miseries in a way that makes them part of something bigger than your own experience. That can be really refreshing. I’m also realizing now that a lot of these books are very depressed and cynical volumes.
on donating her stuff
A few years ago, I decided to take a long trip without a predetermined end point. I guess I could have kept my stuff in storage in NYC, and I did leave some things with friends (favorite books, an expensive winter jacket), but all of my other stuff... it felt like as big a mental weight as a physical one. So I gave 95% of it away to a charity called Housing Works. The things I kept were some clothes, a pair of boots, a few books I loved, and that’s about it.
Top: Vintage, Shorts: American Apparel, Boots: FRYE
Top: Vintage, Shorts: American Apparel, Boots: FRYE
cassie's favorite books
White Girls by Hilton Als, The Collected Stories by Grace Paley, Outline by Rachel Cusk, The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson, Loitering by Charles D'Ambrosio, Fat Art, Thin Art by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
cassie's favorite places IN new york city
Unnameable Books, right around the corner from my apartment, is one of my favorite places ever to spend time and browse for books. And, of course, the whole of Prospect Park is right there, as well.
Brklyn Larder has great, cheap breakfast and wonderful (quiet) morning vibes
Top: Anna & Frank, Jeans: Alexander Wang, Bag: American Apparel, Boots: FRYE