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Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur are the coauthors of Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses. They met at the University of Chicago in 2002 and founded Of a Kind in 2010. They have become known for discovering the next big things and launched a wildly popular weekly newsletter, 10 Things, and “A Few Things,” the podcast. Their book is yet another collaboration in their already rich history of being a team of "work wives," exploring the power of female friendship to build and power successful businesses not just from their own (super interesting!) lens but from the perspective of other profitable female partnerships.
Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur met as undergrads at the University of Chicago in 2002 and founded Of a Kind in 2010. They have developed a reputation as influential curators at the forefront of the maker movement, with a knack for identifying “the next big thing” when it’s still a small thing. In addition to unearthing America’s most talented up-and-coming designers for feature on their website, Cerulo and Mazur have also become known for their popular 10 Things newsletter and its podcast companion A Few Things, where they expand their enthusiasm for new discoveries across product and lifestyle categories. Accolades for Cerulo and Mazur have included being named to Forbes’s “30 Under 30,” InStyle’s “Best of the Web,” and Fashionista’s “Most Influential People in New York Fashion Right Now.” Show notes Of A Kind's website | Instagram | Newsletter | Twitter -Work Wife HQ Instagram | website -Claire's Instagram @clairemazur -Erica's Instagram @ericacerulo -20x200 -Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses by Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur -Of A Kind Podcast -Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb -Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy by Angela Garbes -Sania's Brow Bar Brow Pencil -Lily & Lolo Natural Mascara Likes & Learns -Newsletters (Of A Kind, Josh Radnor's Museletter, Crystal Fawn's Near Futures, Jessica Murnane's Newsletter, This Week In Scams) -Who Would Tavi Gevinson Be Without Instagram -Tik Tok app -Text a friend "Text me your right now" to keep in touch Cool Things To Check Out -Let A Podcast Out is now open for enrollment! If you're interested in starting your own podcast, try out the first few modules for free and see if our course is for you. You can also follow Let A Podcast Out on Instagram ~ -Last weekend at Empowered Voice was so amazing. I shared a little about it on Instagram here -Read my latest piece on The Fullest - Writing Doesn't Heal All Wounds But It Does Heal Some -Have you listened to my new podcast with Serena Wolf? Check out Spiraling Podcast. Episode six coming soon! -Follow @letitouttt on Instagram -Join our Secret Facebook Group -Support the podcast on Patreon If You Liked This Episode -Episode 224 with Kayleen Schafer -Episode 261 with Simi Botic
We’re revisiting some of our favorite episodes from the archive! Originally aired 1.18.19 What an ep! This week, Claire and Erica had the pleasure of chatting it up with Aminatou Sow, Ann Friedman, and Gina Delvac, the three long-distance work wives behind the gold standard in bestie podcasting, Call Your Girlfriend. They share their meet-cutes (Gossip Girl and poolside nail-painting were involved) as well as what makes their partnership work like it does. Hint: consistency, accountability, and having each other’s back. P.S. Claire and Erica’s book, Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, is coming March 5! Pre-order your signed copy stat, huh?
On this episode of A Few Things, Claire and Erica are having another food moment. As Claire puts it, 70 to 80% of these podcasts are 90% about food, and this week’s show features yummy things like Jon & Vinny’s (which Erica was craving before Hailey and Justin ordered it for date night, ok?). Tune in to hear how to amp up both your laptop security and your caramelized onion game (maybe not in that order). P.S. Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses is out, and it’s awesome. P.P.S. Our no-nonsense summer sale is currently in action, and all the scores in it are up to 70% off!
If you’ve been alive on this earth for the past few years, chances are you’ve heard of a little movie called Pitch Perfect. Well, you can thank today’s guest, Mickey Rapkin, for that—he wrote the original book the blockbuster series was based on. He also just wrote his first children’s book, It’s Not a Bed, It’s a Time Machine, to help nervous kids chill out (and to take his shot at making the hashtag #bossofbedtime happen). P.S. For grocery runs, gym trips, and everything between, look no further than these Net Baggus, 10% with the code AFEWTHINGS. P.P.S. Did you know that Claire and Erica also wrote a book? It’s called Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, and it rocks.
This week on A Few Things, Claire and Erica go deep on their favorite stuff that’s not exactly newsy but still worth plenty of attention. Listen in while they share their favorite random but wonderful faves, from the best dips to, well, the appeal of box cutters. Also, Thomas’ English Muffins, sponsor us. Pretty please! P.S. Have you snagged yourself a copy of Claire and Erica’s new book, Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses? Get it while it’s hot! P.P.S. Your phone wants a new summer look! Snag the new Moglea iPhone cases on our site: They’re 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS.
Settle in for an extra-delicious week of a A Few Things, why don’t you? We’re picking the brains of Jill Donenfeld and Tiana Tenet, the food-plus-business badasses behind The Culinistas, a New York-based in-home cooking service that connects busy people with private chefs who can stock their fridges, prepare meals for new parents, and even help host a party. Plus, they’re work wives who knew it was right from basically the instant they met. A lot to chew on! P.S. These Xenia Taler Bamboo Dinner Plates and Side Plates also make throwing a shindig a breeze—they’re cute, practically weightless, and 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS. P.P.S. Jill and Tiana cooked for the launch of Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses—and if you haven’t read it yet, you really should.
Two very important (and very different) topics coming at you hard this week: pelvic-floor strength and the power of putting women in charge of venture capital. Anu Duggal and Sutian Dong are the brilliant minds behind Female Founders Fund, an early-stage investment firm created to identify women-led companies that old-school (cough, male) venture capitalists often overlook. Clearly, you need to know more, right? P.S. This Binu Binu Seshin Korean Scrub Mitt will get you polished and smooth without leaving weird grit in the bottom of your shower. It’s also 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS. P.P.S. Do you know about Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses? Because you should!
We’re back with a banner best of 10 things week, featuring the cream of Claire and Erica’s recent 10 Things newsletter picks. If you love Diane Keaton, planking, and cool new ways to mend your jeans, this is truly the episode for you. P.S. And if you love great books, then Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses is the buy for you! P.P.S. Are they culottes? Are they shorts? These dreamy Devlyn Van Loon Culotte Shorts have all the answers, and they’re 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS.
If you’ve ever spent time in lifestyle-blog land, chances are you’ve stumbled across LaTonya Yvette—and that first encounter probably involved a gasp at how great her OOTD game is. But in addition to being a stellar stylist, she tackles weighty topics around parenting, illness, and identity. Listen in as she talks about the process of bringing her POV to her brand-new book, Woman of Color, that is, of course, as beautiful as it is compelling. P.S. You know who else wrote a great book recently? Claire and Erica! It’s called Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, and it’s available now. P.P.S. Make our crinkly-soft Permanent Collection by Of a Kind Short-Sleeve Shirtdress your own—it’s 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS.
Lean the F*ck Out | Fempreneurs | Women Entrepreneurs | Female Business Owners
In this episode of Lean the F*ck Out, we talk with Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur talk about building a business with a friend. Erica and Claire talk about their successful online store, Of A Kind, and their recently released book Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses. We discuss the many different ways partnering with a friend can make your business successful and how you can find the right friend to partner with, among other amazing tips from these friends who have kicked ass in their own business. Building a Business with a Friend Episode Highlights: Vulnerability and transparency is key to a strong partnership. When you start a business it becomes all encompassing to your life. What to look for and think about in a friend who could be a good partner: trust and respect in your relationship. similar work ethic and similarly high standards. Learning to fight/have constructive disagreements early on is really productive for any partnership. Get comfortable with conflict – the more you practice the easier it is. How to spot potential red flags in the friendship that should not become a partnership: If your friend is someone it is hard to plan something small with, they will likely be someone you can’t plan a business with. Go on a stressful trip together - see how people respond to difficult situations. Not every friend would make a good partner, be aware of red flags. Because of the history of workplace culture, we’ve only seen a patriarchal structure. The way women work is different. It is important to be passionate about it the business you are about to build. Trust your gut. If you made the rules behind your company, you can break those rules. Be open to evolving. You don’t have to know everything before you start your business. You will learn along the way, and there is always someone willing to help. Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur met as undergrads at the University of Chicago in 2002 and founded Of a Kind in 2010. They have developed a reputation as influential curators at the forefront of the maker movement, with a knack for identifying “the next big thing” when it’s still a small thing. In addition to unearthing America’s most talented up-and-coming designers for feature on their website, Cerulo and Mazur have also become known for their popular 10 Things newsletter and its podcast companion A Few Things, where they expand their enthusiasm for new discoveries across product and lifestyle categories. Accolades for Cerulo and Mazur have included being named to Forbes’s“30 Under 30,” InStyle’s “Best of the Web,” and Fashionista’s “Most Influential People in New York Fashion Right Now.” This is their first book. You can find Erica and Claire online at: Website - ofakind.com Instagram: instagram.com/ofakind Facebook: facebook.com/ofakind The book: Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses Download the FREE Lean the F*ck Out Launch Kit If you are thinking about starting a business or side hustle, check out our Lean the F*ck Out Launch Kit. The kit gives you tools and inspiration to start thinking like a fempreneur and start designing the life you want! You’ll receive a guided meditation to help you figure out your vision, a budget worksheet to see what you need financially to make a go of it, daily practices including printable worksheets and daily affirmations to help you keep your head up when your confidence is waning. Again, it’s free and it’s available at leanthef-ckout.com/launchkit. Music: Sunshine by The Icicles
If your sex ed was more than a little lacking, you’re not alone—but Erica Chidi Cohen and Quinn Lundberg are firm believers in a better-late-than-never mantra when it comes to learning more about their sexual and reproductive health. The pair runs Loom, a Los Angeles center that offers everything from doula services to period coaching, and just hearing them talk about that on this ep will make you feel like you know your body a little better. P.S. For even more empowering female duos, pick up a copy of Claire and Erica’s new book, Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, out now! P.P.S. Scope out our Permanent Collection by Of a Kind Short-Sleeve Oxford Shirt, which is 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS just in time for summer.
Today we’ve got a West Coast wellness dispatch from Elizabeth Kott and Stephanie Simbari, the hilarious work wives behind the podcast That’s So Retrograde (a.k.a. “the Ab Fab of new age”). It’s a crash course in the woo-woo—and in many cases, wonderful—new trends that’ll hit the rest of the country in, oh, about nine months. P.S. You know what other craze is sweeping the nation? Work wives! That’s the focus of Claire and Erica’s new book, Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, out now! P.P.S. Spice up your scent life with Maison Louis Marie candles in No. 2 Le Long Fond and No. 4 Bois de Balincourt—both 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS.
Today’s ep features our very first live taping, coming to you from sunny L.A.! Our guests kicked off their relationship on the job when Drybar co-founder Alli Webb hired Brittany Driscoll to work as the brand’s head of marketing. Fast forward to now, and the pair have co-created a whole new biz called Squeeze, a just-opened massage shop that aims to do for massages what Drybar did for blowouts. Listen in as they break down the evolution of their personal-professional bond. P.S. Alli and Brittany are all about that work-wife life—and so are the other amazing female partners featured in Claire and Erica’s new book, Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, which you can buy now!
Even if you’re not up on your celebrity gossip, you’ve probably seen a post from @commentsbybelebs, the now famous in its own right Instagram account that highlights all the hilarious chatter between, say, J-Lo and Ellen in the comments section. Today, Claire and Erica sit down with Emma Diamond and Julie Kramer, the pop-culture queens behind this brilliance, who dish on judging the merits of online clapbacks, DMing celebrities, and how building a brand brought them closer as friends. P.S. Claire and Erica’s book Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses is here, and it’s a total must read. Get your hands on a copy ASAP!
When Maiko Kyogoku decided to open Bessou, a ridiculously satisfying Japanese comfort-food restaurant in Manhattan’s Noho neighborhood, her former Boulud Sud co-worker Emily Yuen asked if she might need an executive chef. The rest is (delicious) work-wife history, and we’re getting into all of it—from their mutual excitement over ingredients to their extreme-fitness bonding sessions—on this week’s ep. P.S. You can now get Claire and Erica’s book Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses in your hands. Trust us, it’s a real page-turner!
You may not know them by name, but Sue Conley and Peggy Smith are the dairy mavens who founded Cowgirl Creamery, the famous Bay Area maker of such delicious cheeses as Mt Tam and Red Hawk. On this ep, Claire and Erica had the pleasure of hearing the full story, which involves a Steinbeckian post-college road trip, a stint at Chez Panisse, and—you guessed it—a thriving work-wife relationship. P.S. Hey, have you grabbed a copy of Claire and Erica’s book Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses? And, if not, what are you waiting for?!
On this Episode:Erica Cerulo & Claire Mazur, Co-Founders of Of a Kind and Co-Authors of "Work Wife" join Baily to talk about: What it’s like to start a business with a friend, and how to know if you’re the right professional fit for one another How to effectively communicate (and fight) with your co-founder and partners so nobody gets bitter or resentful The best way to pitch yourself when you’re early on in your business to brands and partners who are slightly out of your league Show Notes:Follow Of a Kind on Instagram at @OfaKind Follow Work Wife on Instagram at @WorkWifeHQ Get your copy of “Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses” - Published on March 5th by Random House Learn more about the “Tend and Befriend” study Join the Collaboration Coalition Facebook Group Submit a question for the Collaboration Q&A segment at the end of the show About Erica & Claire:Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur are the co-founders of Of a Kind, a website that sells the pieces and tells the stories of emerging designers. They launched Of a Kind in 2010 to give emerging designers a platform for exposure and to create a place for discovery-hungry consumers to find them. In 2015, Claire and Erica sold Of a Kind to Bed Bath & Beyond, where they continue to oversee and grow the company they built. Also, Claire and Erica’s book Work Wife, is being published on March 5, 2019 by Random House. It will explore the power of female friendship to fuel successful businesses. Claire holds a BA from the University of Chicago and an MA from Columbia University and has been named to Forbes’ “30 under 30,” Brooklyn Magazine’s “Who’s Who of Brooklyn Design,” and Fashionista’s “50 Most Influential People in New York Fashion.” Prior to launching the site, Erica worked as an editor at Details and Lucky, and she holds a BA from the University of Chicago. She’s passionate about editorial, voice, and discovery and has been included on Fashionista’s “50 Most Influential People in New York Fashion.”
Are you listening to the Cool Moms podcast? Because you should be. It’s hosted by Elise Peterson, an artist and illustrator, and Lizzy Okpo, co-founder of the fashion line William Okpo, and they both joined Claire and Erica on this ep to break down how they tackle motherhood, maintain their identities, and resolve conflicts between the two of ‘em (keeping their astrological signs in mind, of course). P.S. Want a signed copy of Claire and Erica’s book, Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses? Pre-order it today, and your wish is granted!
Today on the pod, Claire and Erica chat with two extraordinary sisters, Leah and Bea Koch, founders of The Ripped Bodice, the only romance-novel bookstore in all of the United States. But they’re up to even more than that—from landing a deal with Sony, to writing a novel, to promoting racial diversity in romance publishing—and manage to make it all happen without ruining family Thanksgiving. P.S. Speaking of books, pre-order Claire and Erica’s, Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, today for your very own signed copy!
What an ep! This week, Claire and Erica had the pleasure of chatting it up with Aminatou Sow, Ann Friedman, and Gina Delvac, the three long-distance work wives behind the gold standard in bestie podcasting, Call Your Girlfriend. They share their meet-cutes (Gossip Girl and poolside nail-painting were involved) as well as what makes their partnership work like it does. Hint: consistency, accountability, and having each other’s back. P.S. Claire and Erica’s book, Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, is coming March 5! Pre-order your signed copy stat, huh?
Hey, there, we missed ya! To celebrate our return from hiatus, we’re bringing you a meet-cute, a pseudo-breakup, and the full story of a thriving bi-coastal relationship on the podcast today. Who are we chatting with? That would be Andrea Oliveri and Nicole Vecchiarelli, co-founders of Special Projects, all-around work-wife powerhouses with tons of advice on making their professional relationship hum and juggling the tough stuff in between. P.S. Pre-order a signed copy of Claire and Erica’s book, Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, for so many great interviews and much intel.