Nora Holzinger

  Source: Voice of Fashion He came home with a second-hand dress, excitedly holding it up like a fresh caught fish. “I thought you might like it!” I thanked him and inspected the dress. The dress’s AI-generated SEO item listing title from Hell would read: “Aztec Southwest Dress Linen Knee Length Sundress Summer Tribal XL”.  Daunted by the thought of cutting down an XL to an M, I thought it would be easier to make the dress into something else entirely.  I plopped down on my couch and began unpicking the stitches to disassemble the dress. The straight stitches, the overlocking, the gathers, the hems, the lining.  Each thread popped gently as it was cut.  I stopped when I came to the garment tag. MADE IN INDIA I sat for a minute with the new knowledge that had just emerged from the depths of my consciousness.  Every stitch that I had just unpicked was put into the fabric by a person.  Who are they? I imagine she’s a young woman, long braid down her back,...

Debt freedom is more than just being rid of monthly payments. Over a flight of kombucha, Joanne and I get to talking about our finances. Friends for three years now, our easy conversation ranges across all the domains of our lives – love, money, work, creative pursuits. Sometimes, these take the form of PowerPoint presentations when a few weeks have lapsed between meetings. This day’s PowerPoint had exciting news. My student loan balances are now below $10,000 and I’m projected to pay that off in less than a year. Shocked, Joanne asks how that’s possible. She confides in me that she feels like she’s drowning in her debt and doesn’t know where all her money goes every month. She has medical debt, owes money to the IRS, and a five-figure credit card balance. She lamented that her list of debts only seems to grow – debts she feels like she’ll never be able to pay back.  By the time we leave the kombucha bar we’ve struck a deal. I will analyze her finances from the last year and help h...