Friend of the Week - Ariel Feldman

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Your City: New York, NYAri’s What– “Framebridge. Like a gallery curator for your home, Framebridge aims to make the process of choosing, framing and hanging art affordable, enjoyable and easy to figure out. Printing, framing and matting anything from your Instagrams to wedding photos to an image you found online, this company takes the headache out of “what should I put on these bare walls?” For $99, you can also get a personal gallery designer who will help you select art, choose frames and mats, and provide a step by step set of instructions on how to get things hanging."

FRIEND OF THE WEEK: 11 QUESTIONS
WEBSITE: FENIMORE LANE
INSTAGRAM: @ARIELSFELDMAN  |  @FENIMORELANE
FACEBOOK: FENIMORE LANE INTERIORS
PINTEREST: @ARIELSFELDMAN

1. Nickname: Ari2. What’s your short story? Raised in the suburbs of Philly but a city girl at heart, I’ve turned what was once a side passion – interior design - into a full fledged business. I own my own interior design company, Fenimore Lane Interiors, and I do freelance design work for Homepolish and Homee, two awesome and disruptive start ups in the home design space. I also write about design for Homepolish Magazine. During my 9-5, I run communications for a private school on the UWS of Manhattan. I wish I got more sleep.3. What’s your jam? Frank Sinatra, always. Or Beyoncé. (Duh.)4. What motivates you? I truly believe that every day is a blessing and you have to be immensely grateful for every opportunity - large or small - that come your way. I also believe a lot in trusting your gut, and that coincidences sometimes aren’t such a coincidence. My mother is the driving force behind my interest in interior design. A designer herself, she inspired me to go into the field and I am so proud of the work she’s done with her own company, Amy Joy Room Styling, where she specializes in home staging for luxury custom home builders and realtors in Florida and Pennsylvania.5. Who do you think you’d have great friend chemistry with? Nora Ephron, Meryl Streep, Rita Wilson, Jane Fonda, Mindy Kaling, Gloria Steinem, Joan Rivers, Nancy Meyers, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ina Garten, Diane Keaton…I am 65 inside. All I want to do is bake pies and drink Malbec with them.6. What qualities do your favorite friends have in common? Compassion, empathy, thoughtfulness, silliness, and a deep and distinct appreciation for one another. Also a very strong passion for food and cooking, and the innate ability to cheer someone up or surprise someone in the most perfect, unexpected ways. My girlfriends (and my fiancé and parents) are the backbone of my existence.7. What’s the smartest, most inspiring, awesome thing you’ve read, watched, or listened to? Recently, I read an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer by Dr. Marisa Porges, the new Head of School at my alma mater, The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, PA, about how all-girls’ education empowers young women take on leadership roles in every aspect of a school environment. I thought it was really inspiring and smart, just like our new head, and it made me proud to have experienced that agency to chase what interested me in school at such a young age. I’ve also found Headspace, an app that teaches you how to meditate, to be incredibly smart and inspiring. Andy Puddicombe’s snippets of wisdom on key subjects such as patience, acceptance and stress management are enlightening yet light hearted, and totally applicable to every day life. Plus, he has a very soothing British accent.8. What whets your appetite? I am big on home cooking, and any recipe by Julia Turshen (whose new cookbook, Small Victories, just came out and is absolutely fantastic), or Ina Garten, always whet my appetite. I love comfort food that’s simply prepared. One of my favorite days of the year is when I host an annual “Friendsgiving” in my apartment – my fiancé handles dishes, and I cook a full on Thanksgiving meal, a few weeks before thanksgiving, for my closest girlfriends. My dad’s sweet potato soufflé with mini marshmallows is always a hit.9. What’s next on your To Do List? Finish planning my wedding (this May at a historic mansion in Newport, RI) – and buy a wedding dress!10. How are you friends with Gina + Amy? Gina and Amy have been mentors of mine since I was 16 years old. When I was 15, the summer before my sophomore year of high school, I came down with mono, and started a fashion blog while I was stuck at home, bored. Gina came across my blog while searching for a pair of Louboutin boots, and the rest was history. Gina and Amy took me on as Splendora’s first Teen Editor, and I’ll never forget when they took me and my mother to Del Posto – at the height of Meatpacking’s days of chic – and treated me to the most luxurious dinner. I look up to them both immensely and trust their life and career advice implicitly.11. What's the single best piece of advice you've ever received? A mentor of mine told me once that while you can’t control what happens to you in life, you can control your reaction to it – and I’ve found that immensely empowering.MORE OF ARI'S WHAT'SGlossier. I’ve been a fan of standout beauty blog Into the Gloss since its inception, and CEO and Founder Emily Weiss’s spinoff makeup and beauty brand Glossier lives up to the hype. Luxurious products with chic packaging – and affordable to boot. Try their Haloscope highlighter stick – beats Nars’s The Multiple by a mile.SB Skin. A wonder woman facialist based in NYC and the Hamptons, Shamara Bondaroff has changed my skin (and bone structure) for the better. Micro-current facials (which feel like a lovely massage) are quickly becoming the cornerstone of my pre-wedding beauty prep.Everlane. Gorgeous and simple wardrobe basics cut perfectly for my (4’11!) body, at an affordable price. I particularly love their pricing transparency, showing the cost of factory markups for each product and how they keep those fees down and relationships with factories honest.Glenmere Mansion. A stunning boutique hotel and spa retreat located in upstate New York, Glenmere is home to a traditional Turkish style Hammam spa – one of only four in the US! Everything from the service (bellinis and homemade cookies with a handwritten note are placed in your room upon arrival) to the décor (gas fireplaces, marble bathrooms with claw footed tubs, and chic, eccentric furniture outfit each guest room), Glenmere is a great getaway, either romantic or with your girlfriends.Homepolish and Homee. Not to toot my own horn, but these disruptive, tech based start-ups are changing the game in the home design world. Full disclaimer, I freelance for both companies: but that doesn’t mean I’m biased. Both companies have done more for democratizing interior design than any other publication or organization in the past 20 years. Affordable, accessible interior design – in person or online, changing the way you feel about your home and live your life on a daily basis. Genius.