Glenn Gissler Design, established in 1987, is an award-winning interior design firm providing exemplary service to a sophisticated and accomplished clientele. Owner Glenn Gissler integrates his training as an architect; a rich knowledge of fine art, design and decorative arts; and an extensive experience to create distinctive residential environments. The firm’s work is regularly featured in magazines, books, and digital platforms.

This month, Glenn Gissler Design is honored to be featured in William Norwich’s new book, Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century, and to have received a nomination for the prestigious Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards. We sat down with Glenn to learn a little bit more about his elegant yet livable style, as well as the design process that makes his work stand out.

At the age of 13, Glenn knew that he wanted to be an interior designer. He went on to study architecture, and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts & Bachelor of Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Glenn’s architectural training gives him an edge in the ultra-competitive interior design industry in New York City: He says that it allows him to devise ways to use space most effectively and naturally, while being responsible to history and maintaining integrity in his designs.

When asked to describe his style, Glenn began by insisting that despite his understanding of architecture and design history and his extensive vocabulary in these areas, it is difficult for him to describe his own work. In fact, he says that “style” is not the first thing that comes to mind. In his practice, it’s more about “life-style.” Glenn’s rooms are not showcases, they’re homes, and he believes that his clients are attracted to him for the livability of his designs.

Architecture and Livability

As a child, Glenn remembers looking at books full of pictures of the magnificent mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. He says that for him, they might as well have been palaces in Europe, and he was completely mesmerized. However, he says, “When I finally got to Newport and I went to all of those places, I was as interested in the servants’ quarters as I was in the grand rooms. In some ways, I was more interested because that’s where reality actually occurred and the rest was kind of a stage set.”

Glenn is not a designer that clients turn to for a stage set. “Every building, every home, every apartment has a spirit to it. You walk into a building, and it says something.” Glenn is not one to ignore that message. He believes that designs need to respond to their environment. A Venetian palace or a replica of Philip Johnson’s Glass House might be visually appealing, but when they are constructed without attention to their context, the experience of inhabiting them feels off in some way.

Elegance and livability are guiding principles in Glenn’s design process. Perhaps it is his architecture training, or just the way that his brain is wired, but he is always focused on how to use a space most effectively and naturally. To some extent this may also be because much of his work is in New York City, where he is often designing spaces that need to perform more than one function. He believes that people should be able to use all of the rooms in their homes as a part of the natural course of living their lives. He finds that often times, living rooms and dining rooms are anachronistic. Glenn wants to abandon the feeling of staged rooms, only there for display. When he sees designs that do not take into account how the inhabitants will actually be able to live in them, it baffles him. “In a lot of modern designs, everything is so sleek and bare. I walk in and immediately think, ‘where will these people put their stuff?’ Storage is a key to mental health, and if you don’t have storage, the style of the room doesn’t even matter because you can’t see it.”

Another hallmark of Glenn’s designs is what he identifies as a “half-empty, half-full” approach. “When architects are finished, they don’t want any furniture in the room, they just want pure volume. Many interior decorators, on the other hand, want to have every nook and cranny with something in it. I like to have space for the mind to rest so that the objects in the room actually have an opportunity to breathe and to have greater meaning.”

When Glenn is choosing objects to populate his designs, he makes sure to include a variety from different periods, different cultures, and what he calls “different valuations.” He finds that objects that are visually delightful are more exciting than objects that are simply expensive. Expensive things are not inherently better than inexpensive things and Glenn says that “when they’re together, they are actually in a kind of cultural and historical dialogue that makes each of them more interesting.” A fan of using fashion metaphors, Glenn compares this effect to that of wearing a Hanes t-shirt underneath an Armani suit. It is chic and elegant but more importantly, it is livable.

How Glenn Gissler Design Does It

Perhaps one of the most impressive things about Glenn’s practice is that after graduating from RISD, Glenn only spent four years working under other designers before founding his own firm. Not only has he taught himself the ins and outs of the interior design industry over the years, he has also independently developed his unique design process that helps him to achieve the desired results. While his architectural training gave him the solid historical, technical and theoretical basis that is so important to his design process, he has taught himself how to partially shake free from those confines all on his own. “It’s not a theoretical project. You actually have to bring reality into it in order to create something that’s relevant.”

The major key to Glenn’s design process is the relationship that he is able to create with his clients. “I tell my clients that they’re in charge. It’s their place. I don’t live there; I have my own place.” Although he may wrestle with them on certain points because he sees something that he thinks they might not notice, he is focused on making sure that they ultimately know that it is their choice. This means that his clients are involved in the design process every step of the way.

Glenn starts by looking at the floorplan and considering what the apartment can do to accommodate the lifestyle of the tenant. Everything depends on the particulars of the client. Do they have children? Do they entertain often? Do they have tons of books or art? All of these questions help Glenn come up with an idealized floorplan. From there, an artist who Glenn has worked with for years creates perspective drawings so that the client can imagine what the project will look like when it is complete.

Perhaps the most important aspect of these perspective drawings is that they are drafted by hand in pencil. “Today, so many people produce architectural drawings digitally to make it look like they’re real, and I think that’s a bad idea. The reason is, if it’s so real in the drawings, when it’s actually done, you feel like you’ve already seen it and been there. There’s something about our drawings being black and white that allows us to maintain the element of surprise.”

Once the client feels comfortable with the ideal floorplans and the perspective drawings, Glenn starts the process of proposing textiles, light fixtures, art and so on. To sum it up, Glenn says, “We start with the architecture, bring in the personality, add the colors, and make commitments to certain themes – it’s an ongoing process of love.”

Enduring Design for Client Living

Glenn’s ultimate hope is that the finished product is something enduring. He has an appreciation for all of the hard work that his clients do to be able to embark on these projects with him, and he is always conscious to make thoughtful decisions in terms of quality and value. “Some designers do really splashy, trendy projects, and it’s kind of like buying a party dress. Then when you want to wear something else, the party dress is all you have, and you end up feeling overdressed, wishing that you had something a little more understated.” Following his metaphor, Glenn is able to give his clients a closet full of clothes that will last, instead of one fancy ball gown with limited wearing potential.

Speaking of the enduring nature of Glenn’s designs, his work has recently been recognized in two major ways. First, a room that he designed in 1995 is featured in William Norwich’s new book, Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century. Additionally, he was nominated for the prestigious Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards. For Glenn both of these honors came as quite a surprise. Of Interiors, Glenn said that he was unaware that the book was in production, let alone that his project was going to be included. It was only when he was contacted regarding image rights from an on-line magazine reviewing the book that he found out.

The design project was commissioned by the then president of EMI Music Worldwide and his wife. At the time, it was featured on the cover of Interior Design magazine in 1995, along with a six-page spread featuring breathtaking pictures of the whole apartment. The living room, which is the room featured in Norwich’s book, has very grand dimensions: 26 ft. by 26 ft., with 20 ft. high ceilings. Aside from the imposing scale of the room, two key factors guided Glenn’s design process, both of which were specific to his clients’ needs. They loved to travel and needed an interior that would accommodate various cultural artifacts that they had begun to collect in the course of their travels. They also needed an appropriate stage for the frequent entertaining they did with various colleagues in the music industry.

The space was intimidating, but it had character, and Glenn’s clients loved the grandeur of the room. Without taking away from that feeling, Glenn was able to devise a unique furniture plan that optimized the livability of the space. The clients liked clean surfaces, so Glenn’s half-full, half-empty approach was perfect. The furniture had to be strong in order to handle the demands of the room, which allowed for amazing additions such as the ambitious window treatment, which would only be appropriate in a room of this scale. Ultimately, this Upper West Side project perfectly encapsulates the strengths of Glenn’s style and design process. The fact that it has been recognized again, nearly 25 years after its completion is a testament to the timelessness of Glenn’s work.

He does not take the use of that word lightly however. “It’s an enormous compliment to have my work thought of as ‘timeless’. People toss that word around, but for me, it’s less about timelessness and more about being responsible to history; the history of the space I am working in, historical precedent and being cognizant of the time we are living in” Glenn is not interested in novelty that does not stand the test of time, but he doesn’t necessarily believe that timelessness is achievable. “Whatever you build is going to be of the particular time in which it was built.” For Glenn, the most important thing is to maintain an integrity and an appropriateness in relation to the context of the project. This Upper West Side apartment is a clear manifestation of that mission.

Regarding his nomination for the Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards, Glenn was equally humble. His nomination is all the more impressive because the nomination process is completely anonymous. “It was a huge thrill and a huge honor. It’s great to have business and clients who appreciate what you do, but it’s also deeply satisfying to be recognized by your peers for your work. Just to know that they’re paying attention.”

What’s Next?

Although interior design is not the easiest profession in New York City, Glenn has fulfilled the dream he first had when he was 13 years old. “I did it, and I am doing it.” Looking forward, Glenn is more excited than ever about what is to come. He says that the reward for success is the opportunity to work harder. It’s a good news, bad news situation. If you are successful, people expect you to do better, and Glenn is up for the challenge. “At the end of the day, the accolades are fantastic, and being in magazines and books is deeply satisfying, but really it’s all about the next project. What’s the next project? What’s going to be deeply engaging? That’s what I’m always looking for.”

On his tenancy in the Townsend Building, Glenn could not be happier with the collegial feeling. He has many friends in the building and always enjoys seeing what his fellow tenants are up to. He’s been in the neighborhood for more than 25 years, and seeing the changes that have occurred over the years has been greatly inspiring to him. “When I first moved to New York, no one went into Madison Square Park. The neighborhood was just empty. Now there’s a spirit to the neighborhood which is very creative.” The sense of the community in the Townsend building is an added bonus, not to mention the breathtaking architecture. Working in a building with such historical significance is a constant inspiration and reminder of the lasting power of successful design. It keeps Glenn looking toward the future for that next engaging project. “It’s a cool building, and I love it even more because of the incredible stairwell. Overall, I think it’s quite remarkable.”

We think Glenn is quite remarkable, and we congratulate him again on his spectacular career and his achievements this year.

Glenn Gissler Design
1123 Broadway, Suite 1100
New York, NY 10010
(212) 228-9880
info@gissler.com
www.gissler.com

A tenant for more than 12 years, Cindy E. Levitz, L.Ac., Dipl OM, C.SMA, has been in private practice since 1996. She specializes in all types of Acute and Chronic Pain Treatment, Stress and Anxiety Reduction, and Women’s Health Issues.   

Priding herself on making a client’s whole system better, she doesn’t simply treat a particular condition but is committed to reading the symptoms so she can diagnose the internal problems they evidence—the internal problems that must be resolved to produce true healing.  Then she develops a treatment plan tailored to the client personally. 

We sat down with Cindy and we learned a lot about her incredible breadth of knowledge in natural medicine.  We think you will be astounded by some of the conditions acupuncture and programs of nutrients and herbs can treat.

An Unexpected Career Dedicated to Using the Best of Eastern and Western Medicine

As a young person, Cindy was interested in Eastern art, culture, and meditation, and as life happens, she became a painter and a dental hygienist.  Then, at about 30 years of age, something happened that was to change her life.  She began to experience a condition involving episodes of vertigo that occurred without warning and usually lasted twenty minutes to several hours.  The suddenness of the attacks of dizziness left her vulnerable on city streets and made her fearful of driving.  When Cindy had an onset of the condition, she could only correct it by sleeping for two days.  The doctors of Western medicine she sought out for treatment couldn’t be sure of the cause and didn’t have a cure, but categorized it as Meniere’s Syndrome.  None of the medications that they prescribed worked for her.

Finally, after five years of suffering, a friend referred her for acupuncture.  Within three months of treatment, acupuncture relieved the severe attacks, and she never experienced them again. The effectiveness of the treatment was a revelation.  Once cured, she decided to go back to school—weekends and nights—to become an acupuncturist.  That road would lead her further not only into acupuncture but also into the world of natural medicine.

Cindy’s journey has been continuing, resulting in an impressive list of credentials.  Most notably, she has an M.S. degree in Acupuncture and is a Licensed Acupuncturist in NYS, Nationally Certified in Chinese Herbal Medicine (Dipl. OM) and is one of only a small number of Certified Sports Medicine Acupuncture Specialists (C.SMA).  The full list of her impressive credentials can be found here.

The Powers of Acupuncture vs. the Myths

Acupuncture and Eastern medicine are increasingly recognized by an ever broader segment of the  public and Western medical doctors as effective, safe, and valid forms of treatment alongside mainstream Western medicine and other alternative therapies.  Yet, even today, many hold outdated, preconceived notions of acupuncture without really knowing much about it.  Many see it mainly as a “pain reliever,” but speaking to Cindy, we were surprised to find out how extensive its application is and how she uses it to treat a wide range of issues including women’s health, male and female fertility.  Yes, fertility.

Acupuncture is one of the oldest systems of medicine in the world —it was first practiced in China more than 3,000 years ago.  Basically, the principle of acupuncture is that human beings have a natural flow of energy, or Qi (pronounced “chee”), throughout the body. Good health of body and mind depends on the smooth flow of Qi circulating in energy pathways called meridians. Pain and disease occur when there is imbalance, deficiency, or blockage of the energy.

Acupuncture uses fine, hair-thin filaments at points along these pathways to help unblock and re-balance the body’s natural energy, reestablishing the flow of energy (Qi). It may often appear a bit magical, but the results are emphatically physiological—increasing blood flow and relaxing muscles, resulting in the reduction or elimination of pain and promoting your system’s natural healing abilities.

You’ll find a FAQ on Acupuncture here.

“I Have a Lot of Acupuncture Babies Running Around Out There.”

What a great legacy! Cindy told us that she has effectively used acupuncture, in combination with nutrients and herbs, to promote fertility in both women and men.   Who knew?

In women, she uses acupuncture to: balance hormones; regulate menstrual cycles; adjust irregular periods; encourage better quality egg production; build a proper bed in the uterus; and in general, increase the healthy functioning of the reproductive system to encourage conception, fertilization, and fetus development.  Treatments during the pregnancy reduce the fatigue, stress and back pain while promoting a smoother term. Some women come to Cindy before beginning IVF treatment to enhance IVF’s effectiveness or after they have had unsuccessful IVF cycles to maximize their chances of conception.

On the male side of the equation, Cindy told us that about 40% of the problems for couples conceiving is due to the male’s fertility issues.  Acupuncture can increase the number and motility of sperm as well as the morphology of the sperm cells themselves.

Acupuncture can also help with the issues around conception and birth, too.  In men, it can be used to address erectile dysfunction and libido and, in women, to treat post-partum depression, ease the process and pain during labor, and even correct the position of breech babies.

Women’s Health Issues

Few if any women see our current health system as anything other than a male-dominated, myopically dude industry.  As Cindy points out, Western medicine has basically two solutions to the entire range of women’s health issues: hormones or surgery, both immoderate and risky.

In her practice, she has targeted treatments that address: all types of menstrual issues such as cramps before or during menstruation, irregular cycles, PMS, mood swings, morning sickness, menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and insomnia, pain and heavy bleeding related to fibroids, cervical dysplasia, PCOS, abdominal distention and bloating, and breast tenderness, as well as back pain, fatigue and nausea during pregnancy.  She even works with midwives to guide them in acupressure methods to ease delivery.

Treating Pain Issues – from Acute and Chronic Back Pain to Serious Sports Injuries

Perhaps the most common reason people seek acupuncture treatment is for back pain, but it is very effective treatment for all types of pain including neck, shoulder, knee and headache pain – as well as the aching pain of arthritis.  Cindy’s approach combines her knowledge and experience of acupuncture and Chinese medicine with biomedical understanding.  As an herbalist and nutritional consultant, she may suggest herbal formulas or nutritionals when appropriate.

When it comes to serious pain from a sports injury, Cindy, as a Certified Sports Medicine Acupuncture Specialist (C.SMA), integrates advanced acupuncture techniques, tuina medical massage, Western orthopedic tests, evaluations and myofascial release bodywork skills to heal patients faster, get them back to their activity sooner, and prevent re-injury.

Addressing Stress, the Underappreciated Effects of Digestive Issues and Other Issues

Stress and Anxiety.  Cindy uses acupuncture, stress reduction exercises and often herbal formulas and nutritionals to successfully treat: stress, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, sleeplessness, and irritability.  Stress blocks the smooth flow of energy in our systems. When acupuncture opens up those blockages, healthy functioning is restored.   One of the things that research has shown is that endorphins, your body’s feel-good bio-chemicals, are released during acupuncture. The effects are cumulative and lasting, which means that acupuncture reduces not only the symptoms of stress, but the stress itself!

Digestive Issues.   We are seeing many more auto-immune problems than ever before; and now we understand that good gut health is key to immunity.  One reason is that we aren’t getting the nutrients we need to help our mind and body get and stay healthy.  In our discussion, Cindy touched on the problems with our food source.  “We try to eat healthy, but our food is coming from depleted soil and much is treated with pesticides and highly toxic chemicals, which we are ingesting. Quite simply, the American diet has greatly compromised gut health and immunity.

If your system isn’t strong, because it doesn’t have sufficient resources, it cannot fight all of the foreign invaders or prevent cell necrosis and inflammation.  And, if in addition to that, the body is already fighting so many toxic elements from the food chain, the body’s immune system can’t deal with all of this, and is overwhelmed.

With acupuncture, diet, exercise, and lifestyle modifications she can treat the whole system – body and mind.  Cindy helps guide her patients so they can heal, feel better now, and achieve even greater health as time goes on. Taking just diet as one example: Cindy helps her clients eat better, and recommends specific nutritionals and herbs from an organic farm with replenished soil, thereby supplementing the clients’ diet with nutrients that are missing in our produce.  Such steps combined with acupuncture and lifestyle modifications have been highly successful in improving gut health for her clients.

Other Issues.  There are many other disorders that Cindy treats, including weight loss and smoking cessation, gastrointestinal problems, respiratory conditions and more serious diseases such as auto-immune problems.  You can find a full description of these here.

She even has a certification in acupuncture facial rejuvenation, which is a less costly, safe, comfortable, and a no-risk-of-disfigurement alternative to surgery.  The benefits of Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture can be found here.

How Cindy’s Client Base is Evolving 

Cindy points out that over the past 10 to 15 years, more people are aware that acupuncture and Chinese medicine are viable options for treatment, and have seen the success of these therapies.  “People don’t want to get into the cycle that Western medicine so often starts.” Cindy described the cycle, “You begin to go from one doctor to another.  The medications prescribed mainly mask a symptom and often cause side effects leading to other medications.  Before long, a person is taking a list of medications—all the time filling the body with toxins.  There is also an inclination with many doctors, to perform surgery and other invasive procedures, which can often be avoided. People just don’t want to start down that path. They would rather take steps to prevent problems and try natural approaches first – and that’s great.”

Cindy knows that as we get older, more illnesses can develop.  That is why she is happy that she is seeing lots of patients in their 30s, to prevent health problems and treat issues early, before they get on lots of medications.  They are more open to acupuncture and natural medicine than many older people are. She loves the opportunity to help them with their immediate problems, and help them live a longer, healthier, and more rewarding life.

A Special Offer in Appreciation of 12 Wonderful Years Here

Cindy told us, “Over the years that I have been a tenant, I have seen so many great changes to the neighborhood.  Clients love coming to my office, because they can visit Eataly on the way, go to local restaurants, or sit in the park for a while.  I love the building, too – and my fellow tenants, so many of whom have been patients over the past decade.”

And as a sign of her appreciation, Cindy is offering a complimentary consultation to Kew tenants and 10% reduction on the first treatment to tenants and clients referred by tenants.

Cindy E. Levitz
Licensed Acupuncturist, PLLC
1123 Broadway at 25th Street, Suite 418
New York, NY 10010
(212) 924-8034

www.AcupunctureAndHealth.com

CinAcup@aol.com

Finery is a great example of the type of innovative, bold, energetic spirit we see in so many Kew tenants. 

Growing out of personal need, Finery is the brainchild of Whitney Casey and Brooklyn Decker.  Faced with a real issue that they knew affected many women — assembling looks from their closets, they resourcefully found the app technologies to solve the problem.  That wasn’t enough for them; they moved on to expand their product offering to allow users of the app to catalog their closet easily, get suggested combinations, and to find new clothes from retailers online to augment what they have.

Recently they gave us an insight into this exciting concept.

We use our smartphones for nearly everything these days—from ordering clothes to ordering takeout; from monitoring our body fat to monitoring our pets when we’re away; from adjusting our thermostats to chasing down little cartoon monsters in Central Park. It seems we should be able to use our phones to organize the messiest space in most people’s homes—the closet.

Now, there’s an app for that—Finery.

“Finery is a digital wardrobe,” explains Whitney Casey, one of the company’s co-founders. “We like to say it’s like your closet in your pocket.”

Finery is an app that helps users:

• Keep track of the clothes in their closet;
• Create looks and styles from those items based on how others are wearing them;
• Fill in styling gaps with recommendations and wish-list picks; and
• Connect seamlessly with their favorite online sources to buy those new items.

How this Exciting Business was Born and Evolved

Whitney says the seed idea for the company came out of personal experience. “My best friend Brooklyn Decker and I used to send each other pretty much all of the items in our closets,” she says. “She would take a screenshot of something she just bought, and be like ‘Do you think I should wear this?’ And pretty soon, I started having so many images from her closet and she had so many from mine that we thought, ‘This is so crazy that we don’t have our closets on our phone. How is that possible?’ We both shop mainly online, so we looked into what kind of technologies exist that are not in this space but are used in other spaces.

“At the time, I was using an app called TripIt, which basically organizes all your travel plans in one place using your confirmation e-mails. So, we thought, if that could exist, then something like it could be made for retail.”

“After starting small, Finery evolved quickly over the next few years. “The look of it has completely changed,” Whitney says. “When we first had no money, Brooklyn and I were just drawing it ourselves, and we would have one graphic designer take what we were imagining and make it. After we raised some money, we hired a professional team and we built our team to 19 people. The functionality of the app is a lot better, too. At first, it took eight minutes to upload your closet. And now it takes 30 seconds. I imagine, will be even faster as we scale.”

“One of the greatest advantages of the company’s growth,” Whitney says, “is that we could move Finery out of the coworking space into our own permanent offices as a Kew tenant. “Once you make it out of a coworking space, you feel like a real company,” she says. “You have a real home, this is a real lease. We graduated. When you go to a coworking space, you try to have your brand-new company, but you’re really in their culture. It feels like our culture is here now. That’s what’s so cool about being here. We have our own little mini-fiefdom in here.”

Simplifying the Process of Cataloging Your Closet

While there are other fashion and wardrobe apps out there, Whitney says one of the key differentiators of Finery is the technology they developed to help users populate their digital closet in seconds using e-mail receipts, rather than painstakingly, entering one item at a time.

“It’s great to think of having your closet on your phone,” she says, “but if you have to take a picture of everything in your closet, and then write what it is, and where you got it, and what the price was, and what size it is, it is overwhelming.   We knew there had to be a better solution.

Three years ago, we started working on this, and we got a patent on how we actually get the data into your closet via e-receipts and merging your store accounts. You sign up with Finery using whatever e-mail you shop with, and within 15 seconds, everything you’ve ever purchased online from that e-mail address gets populated into your closet. And you can add multiple e-mails.”

Helping You Choose Styles and Suggesting Additions to Better Use What You Have

Whitney points out that Finery not only manages your wardrobe, but it helps you make style choices using the clothes you own—a function that is set to expand greatly in the next few months with a new feature called “Unlimited Styling.”

“We basically took every feature that you would possibly use on a bunch of different products and put them into one,” she says. “So not only do we get all of your items into the digital closet, we also let you style them, and then we style them for you.

“The new product that we’re about to release, which is really cool, is Unlimited Styling. So, if I buy a sweater online, it immediately is put into my closet. I can use our styler to create outfits from it on myself.  I can also see how influencers wear the sweater. But with Unlimited Styling, we will take this sweater and put it with all combinations in your closet and with items that you could potentially own or you could buy. It’s really great to be able to see this sweater and have unlimited ideas on how to wear it.”

How does the app “know” how to create styles at this level? Whitney says it’s a combination of human experience and an advanced algorithm.

“For the past three years, we’ve looked at 2.8 million outfits that were made by humans on our platform,” she says. We’ve been basically trying to figure out how you put items together, and what patterns go best together, and essentially, how women decide what to wear. One, we look at the weather. Two, we look at what are we doing that day. Three, we look at comfort. Four, we look at how we’re feeling that day. Figuring all that out at first seems daunting, but we spent all this time gathering that data from women using the platform. So, humans built it, and now an algorithm will take it and scale it.”

An Idea that Women Needed to Conceive and Make Happen

Whitney feels one of the best things about Finery is its universal appeal, especially for women on the go. “A lot of people think apps like this are for really fashionable people, but our drive was to build something that everyone can use,” she says. “Every woman gets dressed, and the average woman will spend eight years of her life shopping, and two years deciding what to wear. Two years! And that’s even if you don’t care that much. If you do care, it’s so much more. Your closet should be on your phone.”

Since the challenge of choosing what to wear is so universal, the question is why no one has utilized technology to solve the problem before now. “It’s most likely because there are hardly any women in tech,” Whitney surmises. “If you are a man in tech, chances are you don’t necessarily really care about your closet. So, it really takes that kind of magical moment where a woman, maybe who isn’t in tech, decides that there is a pain point and a problem that women really need solved, and then finds people who can solve it. And that’s what we did.