Where should I start??? Kerin Rose is by far one of the most eclectic, talented, and most devoted indvidual friend I’ve come across in my short lifetime. I instantly fell in love with her charisma and style! A few days ago, I dragged Suzette out with me to pay Kerin a visit at her apartment to take some photos of her products… I was in AWE of her self-proclaimed decorations. Bright colors splashed every wall, a HUGE work/living space with in-progress accessories and jewels and crystals and feathers all over the place… It was EXACTLY how I’d imagined her life at home to be: bright and colorful! (she’s also a Fatlace blogger!)

I now introduce you to Kerin Rose…

so mamacita, this has got to be one of the most difficult q/a sessions i have had thus far… i don’t even know where to begin! ok, let’s see… you are a proud long island jew, do you think your bringing up has shaped you in all of your endeavors of most recent? if so, how?
you know, i’d normally say “no”, because it doesn’t appear to be that way. but it has probably shaped me in two different ways; first, i grew up 3 miles away from the 2nd most ostentatious strip mall in the country (the americana, right behind rodeo drive.) everything there was of high quality and a lot of money. that environment gave me an early education on the luxury goods market and i work hard to provide a quality good to everyone who spends their hard earned money on my product. second, i didn’t grow up with a ‘crew’ or a group of friends that i dressed like, or did everything with, or related to. not saying that i’m ’special’, i just didn’t know anyone like me in my young adult-hood. so i was forced to make my own culture, which is what i’m aiming to do with a-morir.

it seems you know alllll of ny – from the skateboard kid to the tranny to the upper east side socialite – how in the world did this happen? was it from working with the record label or just being totally awesome?
why i know e’eryone: It comes from a myriad of reasons. I am obsessed with people’s personal juxtapositions, and have a dozen or so myself. Gym rat & junk foodie. Punk and opera enthusiast. Glamour and grime, and I like surrounding myself with people who share my interests, even if it’s just one. But I’m also a workaholic, and for my entire tenure at NYU I held 2 part time jobs and interned on top of that. I worked at a gay gym, and at record labels doing college marketing (SONY and UMVD), interned at heatherette, paper mag, Complex, and MTVU. I am also a fan of being nice to people, and in a city like new york that can be very impactful.

(PS. Kerin, i TOTALLY need this!!!)

how did you get into art/design/painting and how would you describe your artistry?
what most people don’t know about me is that i’ve been an acrylic painter since i was 5. when i was a teenager i made a lot of deconstructed shirts, but am always first and foremost a painter. i moved from action painting to pop-realism when i was 18 and started painting lips when i was 20 – which is where my logo comes from. i’ve always been very involved in the creative process, which can be blamed on painting, so even when i made teeshirts for a minute, i hand screened and hand painted every shirt. out of respect for the craft.

a-morir, what’s the history and where’s the future?
a-morir has been around as an idea for a while, but has only been in existence as an accessory line since mid october. i always knew i wanted to have my own brand, and started with teeshirts, but never took it anywhere because i knew i wasn’t going to revolutionize the streetwear market. i also had other issues in my life that needed my attention and the timing wasn’t right. fast forward to this fall, i had just left the marketing industry and everything just fell into place. it was a very serendipitous start. i’m excited to keep creating “supercute” pieces that push girl’s boundaries, work on special projects, and keep creating. i’m already in patricia field (store and online) and have just gotten into the awesome wonderland beauty parlour  www.wonderlandbeautyparlour.com) in the meatpacking district, and will soon be in cultistshop.com! i am determined to get my ass into more boutiques and e-commerce stores both nationally and internationally by the beginning of the summer. additionally, i just finished a collab with my friend sam simon (www.samsimonprojects) and we’re showing a baby version of my amadeus shades and baby hi-top converse at the bubble tradeshow right now. hopefully i can work with converse in the future, get sponsored by swarovski, and eventually find time to get my painting portfolio together and show my lips to a brand like MAC.

name 5 brands or people you’d like to work with…
oooooof! i was friendly with thierry mugler for a few years, but didn’t know it was him (he goes by manfred now). i kick myself every day for not trying to turn that into being his work bitch. that man is beyond. i silently thank hellz for making streetwear interesting and would love to do a headpiece or collab for them (my fuscia and green feather topper wound up in their lookbook to my surprise!) if i EVER got to do anything for bob mackie and/or cher i would literally commit suicide afterwards because there would be no topping that kind of creative work. i want t get inside the collective brain of the rodarte sisters because they are breathtakingly edgy. and my god. philip treacy. the ultimate master of millinery. actually, i don’t think i’d ever want to work with him because it would just make me realize how much i actually suck. and i just started working together on a design/styling project with my friend valissa, one half of manslaughter for MISHKA, for the amazing princess superstar. if you haven’t seen her custom women’s pieces for MISHKA yet you’re severely missing out.

you currently work at patricia field, how’d you land that gig and what drew you to work there? do you have any favorite stories you’d like to share?
the pat field gig was totally a fluke, and i couldn’t be happier. i went to the pat field runway show with a friend, and unbeknownst to me, was standing next to one of the buyers. i was holding a vintage clutch i bedazzled, she told me she liked it, and i told her i made it. she told me to get in touch about putting my stuff in patricia field. this was around the time i left the marketing industry to figure out my life after being sick with colitis for so long, and was looking for work. turns out they needed some part time help – and that’s all she wrote. as for my favourite story? definitely the time ice-t and coco came in, and i chatted him up about dissing souldja boy. he came back to the store with a signed picture of coco for me that now resides in my bathroom. the whole company has been unbelievably supportive of what i’m doing and i’m forever grateful. *(photo of COCO’s bootay below LOL)

this next question/topic you can feel free to not answer, but i know you were sick for a very long time, would you mind sharing with us your experience and how you managed to work through it and survive?
with pleasure. i was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in november of ‘99 and i have officially been in remission for a year – i was actively sick every day for 9 years. ulcerative colitis is a chronic intestinal disease that causes ulcer-like legions on your colon leading to massive swelling and internal hemorrhaging. sexy. on more than one occasion i was homebound for weeks because i was too sick and too weak to move, and 2 days before i was to start my first job out of college i drove myself to the ER for a possible emergency blood transfusion but had no top half of my vision because there wasn’t enough blood in my body to circulate to my eyes. true story. throughout all of this i graduated from high school and college with honors, and in college held 2 part time jobs and internships on top of it. i hid how i felt not because i was embarrassed, but because when you’re sick every day it becomes your every day and you’re forced to suck it up and deal with it. and now that i’m okay, i take advantage of every day and attempt to make up for all the opportunities i lost or fucked up because i was in such a horrible condition for so long. i wake up every day humbled and greatful that i can wake up and function like a normal person because 18 months ago my insides were bleeding and i couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs. and i’ve begun fundraising for a half marathon i’m running in june to support the chrons and colitis foundation of america - www.weloveyourguts.org !!

is there anything else you’d like to share with us? anything at all?
yes. i have made a number of bad decisions in my life (i’ve taken many a risk with the dudes i’ve made out with and the outfits i’ve worn) and i’ve done them all completely sober. because kids, i just don’t need the help. but i’ll be the first to grab you a beer at the open bar.

jerry lewis quoted william penn recently who said: “I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.” and i can’t think of a truer statement. i may be in the business of making pretty things, but if i’m not a good person i don’t think any of that matters.

where can we find your products and what do your fans have to look forward to next??
you can find my line, limited editions, one offs, and random shits on my site: www.a-morir.com – i also sell in patricia field and the wonderland beauty parlor in nyc. i will soon carry the remainder of my collection on patriciafield.com and at the end of this week will be able to brag about being added to the badass cultistshop.com… as for what’s next? bigger and better. baby converse and amadeus rayban collab with sam simon projects (mini shoes! mini shades!). as for next: bigger and better.

LINKS:
www.a-morir.com : the website for my accessory line. PS: I’m currently looking for web and sales interns! Email  kerin.rose at a-morir.com if you want to help me take over the world!!
www.thesavantguard.org : The Savant Guard + is a record label out of Brooklyn that my friends founded. I’m the den mother and the clothing designer.
www.weloveyourguts.org : new blog promoting my fundraising efforts for chrons and colitis foundation of america