Chelsy & Melissa Mitchell | Part 2

Mel, tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do, and your background.

I've been in NYC for over a decade now. I have an environmental science background with an MBA in sustainability. I’ve been working in the fashion industry for a few years now, but prior to that, I worked for environmental nonprofits and local farms. I currently spend my time working for a women’s contemporary label called VEDA as their e-commerce and operations manager. We’re known for our leather jackets and I’m part of a team of super hardworking females (sound familiar IK team? 😘). It's quite inspiring to say the very least!

When I’m not working, I’ve got the radio on... I’m drinking coffee... simultaneously thumbing through a book of poems at my kitchen table. I picked up the guitar about a year ago - mainly because I wanted to be able to speak to music (which I’m constantly listening to) in a new way. It’s challenging but refreshing to jump into something with zero expectation.

We know you're a music fanatic, any favorite venues here or shows coming up you're excited about?

My favorite venues are Park Church Co-op and Mrrmrr. They are such magically intimate spaces. Something about seeing live music in places of worship gets my brain going, not to mention the acoustics are impeccable. My weekly live music venue is [Skinny Dennis](https://www.skinnydennisbar.com/) in Williamsburg. I’m an avid promoter of Merle Haggard night on Tuesdays with The Last Roundup Boys. Nothing like a whiskey neat and a mid-week two-step! Both the shows I wanted to see this spring sold out before I could snag a ticket - Jessica Pratt and Aldous Harding - wish I was going BUT the fact that my two favorite artists are both playing sold out shows... well, I certainly can’t be mad at that.

What are you reading right now? Any books you're excited to take to the beach this summer?

I oscillate between one or two poetry books at any given time. I pick them up, I put them down... I come back to them a week, a month, a year later. The funny thing is I started off studying poetry in undergrad but I was so overwhelmed and intimidated that I switched majors. As I turn 30 this year, it feels good to have picked it back up without any pressure. I’ve been carrying Louise Bogan’s, Blue Estuaries, with everywhere lately. How one can write so objectively and make it feel so personal is beyond me. Poems aside my ‘fun summer beach read’ will be a Brian Jones’ biography - he’s my lost connection.