An ongoing interview series highlighting the wisdom, warmth, and joy from oldest and dearest loved ones, new friendships, and women I admire from near and far.
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Sarah Nsikak is a Nigerian-American artist and designer living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Her work draws from many influences that stem from the vibrant stories of the African diaspora, post colonial African art and photography, reclaimed beauty, identity, liberation, and ancestral connection.
Her love of textiles led her to working in the fashion industry after completing a Masters Degree in Art Therapy. The exorbitant waste generated in the fashion industry inspired a re-routing back to her art practice. Her brand, La Reunion Studio, is committed to handmade pieces that are created thoughtfully and through utilization of dead-stock, antique, and vintage textiles.
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What is your favorite season for dressing?
Fall is the best, I think this is just a fact. When it gets cold, you're not so oppressed by it. You still get to show your arms and legs a little if you feel like it. I love a loafer, a knee high boot, a vintage jacket, a 505 levi.
Fall is the best, I think this is just a fact. When it gets cold, you're not so oppressed by it. You still get to show your arms and legs a little if you feel like it. I love a loafer, a knee high boot, a vintage jacket, a 505 levi.
What did creativity look like in your youth? How does it show up in your life today?
I've been sewing since I was 9 and trying to make garments out of older garments, adding fabric to fabric and becoming obsessed with the gratification of 10 little things becoming one big thing. I'm still doing that.
I've been sewing since I was 9 and trying to make garments out of older garments, adding fabric to fabric and becoming obsessed with the gratification of 10 little things becoming one big thing. I'm still doing that.
Share a piece of advice you come back to often.
I share this one often. It's helped me to let go and trust what's happening in the now: "There are years that ask questions and years that answer." Zora Neale Hurston, "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
What is a memory you have of your closest friend growing up? How did that friendship shape you? I remember bus rides with my friend Gaby and talking about our crushes and the mean girls and feeling "othered" together as she was Mexican and I was one of the only black girls. It was a friendship filled with laughter and she had the best laugh and most interesting teeth...I guess that friendship taught me at a very young age that we all have "our people".
I share this one often. It's helped me to let go and trust what's happening in the now: "There are years that ask questions and years that answer." Zora Neale Hurston, "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
What is a memory you have of your closest friend growing up? How did that friendship shape you? I remember bus rides with my friend Gaby and talking about our crushes and the mean girls and feeling "othered" together as she was Mexican and I was one of the only black girls. It was a friendship filled with laughter and she had the best laugh and most interesting teeth...I guess that friendship taught me at a very young age that we all have "our people".
If you could tell your 10-year-old self something, what would it be?
Life is so much bigger and better than you can begin to know right now, it's true that anything is possible.
What is the last thing you do before going to bed at night?
Before skincare, I have been taking vitamins and drinking some pure aloe vera mixed with water. I really like how it tastes and I know it has digestion benefits. I have an alarm on my phone for around 9:30 that's just called "vitality" which helps me stick with it.
Life is so much bigger and better than you can begin to know right now, it's true that anything is possible.
What is the last thing you do before going to bed at night?
Before skincare, I have been taking vitamins and drinking some pure aloe vera mixed with water. I really like how it tastes and I know it has digestion benefits. I have an alarm on my phone for around 9:30 that's just called "vitality" which helps me stick with it.
If you were hosting a dinner party and you could invite anyone, deceased or alive, who would be at the table?
Wow, this question always paralyzes me. I think mine are Frieda Kahlo, Nina Simone, and Miuccia Prada. Ultimate girls room.
Which ER styles are you wearing!
The Nogu sweater in Rust– this is a sweater I've dreamt of for some time. It's made of organic cotton and has a beautiful and insulating warmth. I could talk about the nubby texture of the yarn for a long time, it has such depth and dimension. The color feels sophisticated while managing to be playful and effortless. The shape gives a feminine nod to the fisherman roll neck sweater which is a beautiful showcase of Emma's brilliant eye.
Wow, this question always paralyzes me. I think mine are Frieda Kahlo, Nina Simone, and Miuccia Prada. Ultimate girls room.
Which ER styles are you wearing!
The Nogu sweater in Rust– this is a sweater I've dreamt of for some time. It's made of organic cotton and has a beautiful and insulating warmth. I could talk about the nubby texture of the yarn for a long time, it has such depth and dimension. The color feels sophisticated while managing to be playful and effortless. The shape gives a feminine nod to the fisherman roll neck sweater which is a beautiful showcase of Emma's brilliant eye.
Reservoir, 2025 - A study on self sustaining community and the ways we can carry each other, centralizing the fortitude of mothers. Antique French cotton and assorted silk and cotton remnants.
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