Sarah Dorkin, a seasoned handbag designer, surprised us with a heaping plate of homemade dark chocolate peanut butter cups when we arrived for her interview on a muggy, rainy day. She gave us a detailed tour of her vintage-filled closet and tchotchke collection and opened up to us about losing her mother in her 20s.
Our stroll around Sarah’s apartment showed us how much she loves her family and definitely got her major style points.
This turn-of-the-century parasol sat in an urn by the door of Sarah’s grandparents’ house, “as if someone would use it, but who would use this?!”
Sarah has always slept with this picture of her creative, free-spirited, understanding mother next to the bed. One of many gems that Sarah learned from her mother: always trust your first instinct.
(Pick out your own pressed flower frame.)
This is Sarah’s beloved stuffed animal, Red. He was a gift from Sarah’s father on the day she was born. Red and Sarah have been around the world together. Sarah used to set up photo shoots with Red, and her friend Tony even created an original framed sketch of Red.
(Find your own Red look-a-like or make one.)
Sarah’s a DIY kind of lady. She was really feeling the color mint, so she mixed her own paint and created this ombre dresser.
Sarah always knew she wanted to go into fashion. She always knew she wanted to design handbags. Her vintage clothing collection includes a group of straw hats and furs, “of course.”
Sarah’s vintage shopping pro tip? Save your shekels for stores outside of big cities. As for NYC, she said, “I don’t love vintage shopping here. It’s so expensive and everything is already picked over. It’s also hard because everything is tiny and I’m a normal-sized person. Even the shoes are too small.”
Most of the artwork in Sarah’s home was created by her mother, a talented painter and businesswoman. “She did everything.”
The black-and-white painting at the top of the photo on the left morphs for its viewers. Sarah sees french fries, a hamburger, and 7-Up. What about you?
(Begin building your collection of hamburger-related art.)
Sarah’s art collection extends to pickle paintings, so, naturally, she makes her own canned treats. She bragged, “My favorite food is pickles. I love pickles so much. I will drink the brine. I’m not even ashamed.”
Sarah’s grandmother would make mandelbrot, but she’s more of a chocolate sour cream cake kind of baker herself. Sarah was devastated when she became allergic to almonds as an adult. Luckily, these homemade dark chocolate peanut butter cups still make the cut.
Photos by Bridget Badore
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