Lisa Fine is one of those people born with an eye – and for the best part of her career, it’s been channelled through fashion. She cut her teeth in the industry working at magazines like In Style, YM, and finally, Vogue, before taking her current role as the styling director for one of the top American fashion brands (I can’t tell you the name, but trust me, it’s one of your favourites). In the last year though, she’s turned her eye to interiors, with the launch of Quiet Town, a line of thoughtfully designed, and ethically-sourced bath décor. Fortunately for us, she’s made it her mission to revamp all of those practical, but often ugly, pieces in your bathroom. First up was shower curtains and bath rugs and she has every intention of making radiators and other awkward things in your home look beautiful, too.
Between juggling the business with her full-time job and being mother to Indigo, 6, and Sunny, 4, Lisa is the ultimate multi-tasker. When we caught up in her Brooklyn home, we spoke about the lack of time and how she overcomes that in trying to balance it all. We also spoke about why building an ethical and sustainable business means so much to her, before taking a tour around her home and getting the 411 on the décor. Pinterest-board ready, we think so…
HOW SHE GOT INTO FASHION: I was a musical theater nerd and ballet dancer until high school when I broke free to ‘find myself’. I had always loved fashion and so instead of pursuing a career on the stage, I ran away to New York to become the next Anna Wintour. I went to school for journalism, interned at AARP and found myself working for Woman’s Day magazine after graduation. Not exactly the path to Vogue but I was grateful nonetheless. A few years, a move to San Francisco, two failed start-ups, and one magazine going under later, and I did end up at Vogue. But by that time, I had shed the naive girl from Miami and realized a few things about myself and the industry. Vogue was exhilarating and exciting and I was grateful for every day there, but I always felt like a visitor. I was offered a job by my mentor to travel the globe shopping and trend-forecasting and couldn’t say no. This was an incredible intro into the brand side of the business which led me to my current role as the director of styling for my dream-brand. I’ve been here for almost 11 years.
WHERE THE IDEA FOR QUIET TOWN CAME FROM: I couldn’t find anything for the bath that was both simple and thoughtful. Everything was either very contrived or very homogeneous and nothing like anything we’d ever consider putting anywhere else in our home. Why was there such a disconnect between home and bathroom decor? I loved everything about this problem: it was, A) super un-sexy and therefore might be an area that we could have unrivaled fun; B) completely analog; C) very focused; D) both functional and necessary and, E) maybe something I could do while holding down a full-time job and raising two small kids. After all, I just had to design into a static 72″x72″ spec, how hard could that be? Famous last words… I honestly have no idea why the bathroom is so ignored. We spend our first and last moments of each and every day there. We plan our day, solve our problems, get inspired, hide away, cry, soak, relax, feel our best, feel our worst… why would we not create a haven for all this?
ON THE BRAND’S STRONG STANCE AGAINST FAST, DISPOSABLE ITEMS: We started out using organic canvas imported from India but I always felt a little uneasy about shipping thousands of pounds of fabric overseas – the environmental footprint almost negated its organic virtues. Now, we are using a conventional canvas made here in the States. The quality is equal to the organic in terms of hand-feel and weight, and it only takes two days to get here as opposed to three months. Quality is at the core of what we do and we make our curtains to last a lifetime. We chose to work with canvas and denim construction techniques because of their rugged durability. And just like your favorite pair of jeans, the longer you use our curtain the more beautiful it becomes. I’m completely against fast fashion for adults and I could never put anything out there in the world that was as wasteful and disrespectful to the environment.
THE KEY STYLES & THEIR NEW CATEGORIES: The Orient curtain defines Quiet Town in every way. All of our thoughtful detailing is applied, like our brass grommets, reinforced and rounded corners, heavy-duty double-needle stitching, and embroidered QT patch. It’s simple, color-blocked styling incorporates our signature natural canvas back to a single color – some sun-faded and others ultra-bright. The first sample we ever made was our Orient in Sand which is our natural canvas back to optic white. It’s both the simplest style and one of our best sellers. There were two categories aside from shower curtains we knew we had to tackle right away: bath rugs, because they should look like any other cool rug in your home only scaled down and machine washable, and shower hooks, because taking a curtain on and off those ubiquitous roller hooks is a nightmare.
WHY BEING TOO SOON WITH A CONCEPT IS JUST AS BAD AS BEING TOO LATE: Creative people have no problem with instinct, it’s timing that we have to really recon with. Our eyes are ready for the strange but it might take a broader audience a little longer to get there. There’s a sweet spot to commercialize new ideas and you can’t double down too quickly or too late. Choosing partners is another instinctual muscle that is so important for entrepreneurs. My husband is a blood hound for integrity. He can sniff out the scoundrels and take to the good guys swiftly. I’ve fallen prey to bullies in the past but the more I learn, the stronger I’ve become.
ON JUGGLING HER DAY JOB WITH THE BUSINESS: My parents owned a small retail store and I saw how hard it was to make it on your own. Because of this I never planned on starting my own business, but after 11 years of learning from the best retailers at my current job, I guess things changed without my really noticing. Time, or lack thereof, has been the biggest challenge for me. There have been some really unexpected bonuses though. All of the research I’m doing for Quiet Town has opened my eyes to different visual references, ones that I might have missed as a stylist. To pursue a business on the side you have to really want it and be 110% committed in order to sacrifice all of your free time and money to the cause. I had been carrying around the idea for Quiet Town for 5 years before actually doing it. You also need support from the people around you to both cheer you on and help carry the load. I couldn’t have done it with out my husband, Michael. Not only did he believe in me but he picked up the reigns and is running the business with me.
ON PUSHING THROUGH SELF-DOUBT: There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t feel like an imposter or that I don’t belong in the manufacturing and design world…That somebody else could do this a million times better than me. And I’m sure that’s true! But I’ve only got one life, one shot, and if you really want something you’ve got to take risks. So what ever happens, happens. We’ll be ok.
HOW SHE FOUND HER CURRENT HOME: I think karma led us to our home. We bought an apartment at the height of the market, renovated, and sold at the lowest point because we were about to have a baby and needed more space. Michael saw an ad for a 1 bedroom apartment and called on it even though we needed at least 2 bedrooms. He just had a feeling about it. When he entered the place he saw a deck, backyard, 2 fire places, laundry, 2 bathrooms… and three bedrooms upstairs. We were the 1st people to see it and made sure we were the last. I remember dropping down to the ground at work when he called me about it. When I saw it for the first time I felt queasy with excitement. The house was like a dream with original crown molding and super high, parlour ceilings, marble fireplaces, A BACK YARD! It was all too much. And the most incredible thing was that we could afford it. Oh, New York real estate. It’s a total bitch. Until it’s not…
THE NOT-SO-DECORATING DECORATING PROCESS: It was less decorating, more cobbling. Back when we had the time, Michael and I were always looking for great vintage and we’d buy when we could. We’d take road trips just to go vintage furniture shopping. The Chelsea market was our weekend entertainment. There’d be a chair here, a Mexican blanket there, and then we’d combine our finds and do some reupholstering. When we commit to spending real money on something, like our bed, it could take us years to find the perfect thing. We didn’t do much to the house except paint Sunny’s room white from a tropical green. But we painted her radiator that same green as a nod to the room’s past life.
ON THEIR AESTHETIC: Our home is pretty neutral and eclectic. We love vintage Moroccan rugs, minimalist mid-century shapes, ethnic textiles. But we have kids so there are those ubiquitous things a house in the burbs can accommodate but a Brooklyn home has trouble with, like a toy kitchen, little red art table, toy bins from Ikea…lots of art made by friends, family and us.
ON HER FAVOURITE ART WORKS AND PIECES OF FURNITURE: We have a small sculpture made by Rebeca Raney that I love so much. It’s a little bulbous creature covered in bright lurex and intricate hand-done embroidery. My husband made me a photo of a pink ocean with an orange prism going through it. I have a nude drawing done by my mother in art school. And our close friends gave us a photo of Joni Mitchell and George Harrison for our wedding that I love. Our kids tell people that it’s Michael and I. That same friend made us this paper cut-out of two sweet rabbits and our other friend gave us an oil painting of a gritty skyline of San Francisco (we lived there for a brief period and hung almost daily with the artist, Gianluca Franzese and his wife Adrien). My favorite pieces of furniture are our American-made, mid-century inspired bed frame (that took us five years to find!) and a mod, white swivel chair we reupholstered with a vintage Mexican blanket.
ON HER FAVOURITE PIECES IN THE KIDS’ ROOMS: Indie has a collection of papier-mâché animal heads over his bed that we hung before he was born. But the thing I love most is his meticulous lineup of legos that go from biggest to smallest (son of a Virgo) that he spends many minutes (a lot for a 6 year old boy) organizing. Sunny’s room is very narrow and only one window wide but it’s bright and sweet and oddly contains a non-functioning French door between hers and Indie’s room. To create privacy, I covered it with this super-long panel of creamy voile covered in colorful hand-sewn polka dots with silver lurex ties. I also love how anal Sunny is about her room. No alien object can be left behind from the day or else she won’t go to sleep. Cleaning up is a passion (daughter of a Virgo).
WHAT MAKES HER NEIGHBOURHOOD SPECIAL & RAISING HER FAMILY IN BROOKLY: We’re sort of borderline Carroll Gardens and Gowanus. We love being just uphill from the Gowanus canal. There are tons of unique spots back there like a shuffleboard club, indoor rock climbing gym, a tennis clinic, community pool, Ample Hills ice cream, Pig Beach BBQ. We can walk to Red Hook, Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights. We’re so close to the East River and the waterfront parks. And our community is really tight. Tons of artists and creatives. So many families with young kids. There was always someone at the park pushing a baby in a swing at 6am with us So we never felt alone in our new roles. The empathy ran deep. We are around so many like-minded people in Brooklyn but they’re not mirror images of ourselves. My kids go to school with kids from every background you can imagine.