No. 22: MD's Newsletter

I guess I'm still a true believer babe

Hello friends, and thank you for opening this today! It’s about two months since I’ve sent out a newsletter, as I’ve been busy with so many new ventures! But this means lots of links & tidbits to share, so I’m ready to edit and hit “send.”

There’s a saying I’ve heard around the startup world that’s been on mind lately, and that’s “building in public.” This essentially means sharing the behind-the-scenes of what you’re doing as you start your business or launch your enterprise with the wider public(versus tinkering away in secret and doing a big reveal). Social media makes this remarkably easy. You don’t have spend very long on LinkedIn to stumble across some founder journey. Pretty much every influencer is building in public, as they excitedly share their new brand sponsorships that dovetails as a group win for their followers. Cassey Ho of Popflex is a pro at this, and I love her many videos that walk through her thinking when she launches new or improved designs.

But lately, I feel like we’re all building in public — not just with our work enterprises, but our lives. We’re sharing our family highlight reels on social media. We’re updating the group texts, we’re reviewing products, we’re documenting real-time events to share with the broader world. We’re keeping each other posted on our latest wins, and often hiding the fails. Whether explicitly or implicitly, we’re constantly sending messages about who we are and what we need and how we feel.

I’m especially conscious of this lately because I find myself doing so many new things. New dance nonprofit! New choreography! New mom-life duties as my sweet child blossoms from baby into full-on kiddo! New podcast hosting duties, and oh yeah, new tariff policy! I’ll unpack more of this below. But in all this newness, it sometimes feels hard to find the ground beneath my feet. Am I “qualified?” Am I “good enough?” The vulnerability is palpable. I don’t always feel confident, let alone successful at these new experiences. And yet, I’m sharing it with the world anyway!

I try to remember that there is no panel of judges — no official ones anyway — who are marking our progress. And if we feel judged or criticized, how much of that is actually happening, versus a projection of our own insecurities? We’re all just growing and falling and grasping and trying in a messy, noisy public. And if something doesn’t land, if it doesn’t “work out,” you never know who is out there learning from your journey. And on the flip side, you never know who might be cheering you on.

Sure, it’s scary to be vulnerable. But it sure does feel better than the alternative.

From the world of commerce

The first 100 days of the Trump administration have meant wild things for the retail industry (which has been my beat for coming up on three years now!). The widespread tariffs on imports from China and other countries has thrown supply chains into the spotlight.

I’ve aimed to pull out some unique threads about what new tariff policy means for U.S. manufacturing, and overall consumer sentiment. But I’ve also been looking into the companies and strategies that are attempting to reform our consumption habits into something less destructive for the planet and its peoples. Some recent headlines include:

• Meet the growing crop of marketplaces monetizing excess apparel

• How refillable deodorant startup Wild scored a sale to Unilever

• Coyuchi shows why it’s so hard to source organic, U.S. cotton

I’m also one of our new podcast co-hosts at Modern Retail! Here’s a couple of our first episodes for your perusal — and I’d love it if you could listen/subscribe/review etc. This is definitely a new medium for me but one i’m already having a lot of fun with, and I see so much potential for us to share insights, information & updates in new ways. This week’s episode features a segment on the ripple effect of high egg prices in the retail industry, where I got to share some reporting I’ve done on the big business of the backyard chicken industry.

Closer to home

In late March, CV Independent ran a story I’d be working on for some time about a proposed equestrian-centered development in Thermal. I previously sent an excerpt to this mailing list, but you can read the full story here!

Much of my freelance work lately has focused on housing equity in our communities, especially with regard to those that are historically underserved. In the desert, which is so often a tale of haves and have-nots, we’re seeing this wtih a lack of affordable rentals or starter homes and a continued proliferation of new builds above median prices, as well as luxury estates. Developers will point to how they have to sell at certain price points to make the math work, but make no mistake — that math often includes someone taking a profit.

My hope is to published 3-5 more stories on housing between now and the end of the year. If you have any questions, thoughts or inquires about the state of housing and development in the Mojave Desert, please drop me a line!

On the stage again

As mentioned earlier, I’m in the throes of our second production with Dance Mojave. THE PLANETS is an immersive performance set to Gustav Holst’s original compositions plus original work from an amazing local musician whose compositions are truly blowing my mind. This is about as epic of a production as I’ve ever been in, due to both the amazing talent involved in its creation and the fantastical, wild landscape that we’re performing in. It’s surprisingly healing to dance again, and even more so to do so outside, in boots or sneakers, touching gravel, fighting the wind as we move. This production is also one of my favorite collaborations to date between my husband and I, and it’s been so rewarding to watch him experiment and create in the name of something bigger than us that we get to share with our community. Join us on May 9 and May 10 if you’re in town!

Eyes & ears

This is the part of the newsletter where I talk about books and music! I spent March on a Kristin Hannah kick, starting with “The Women,” which I really enjoyed. Historical fiction scratches a lot of itches for me, and I thought the character development/romance storylines were really well done. I also read “Magic Hour,” which I didn’t enjoy as much, too soap opera-y. Then I furthered my Richard Powers obsession with “Playground,” which I really liked until the end?? Felt like we were left hanging!

I keep trying to get into hyped nonfiction books like “Outlive” by Peter Attia and Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation” but the genre isn’t holding my attention like it used to. I need plot and action, I think. So recently I re-read “Frankenstein,” one of my top five books of all time, which was a nice literary change of form. Now I’m into “The Demon of Unrest” by Erik Larson. It’s sobering to read about the Civil War in any circumstances, let alone in this political climate. I also tend to read just before bed, when it’s probably not wise to fill my mind with distressing images. But I’m usually just so impressed by his detailed writing that I breeze through more than I think I could.

Musically, the Jason Isbell record “Foxes in the Snow” more than surpassed my expectations. As much as “Live at the Ryman Vol 2.” shows off how good he is at rocking out, this record shows how good he is at looking in. His storytelling is sharp, his melodies are beautiful, and the way he’s approached his career as someone whose life is now fodder for public consumption might be something to unpack in an essay of its own. Other frequent listens right now include the new Maren Morris tunes — “People Still Show Up” is becoming an anthem of sorts as I stumble through this year and somehow find myself surrounded by brilliant, funny & always down-for-a-hang kind of friends.

I also had a lot of fun watching Coachella from the youTube live stream this year. Getting to watch Jimmy Eat World sets live with my kid is now a core memory for me. Lady Gaga is a legend, duh, but I also liked the sets from Wisp, the LA Phil, Japanese Breakfast, Lola Young (how can you not like “Messy”?) and Sarah Landry (industrial techno gets a lot of play in this household for some reason).

I also liked watching clips from Sam Fender, whose new album sounds like something engineered in a lab specifically for my ears. His storytelling is raw, his riffs are crunchy as hell. It’s like The War on Drugs x The Killers x Springsteen all rolled up, with a little old-school Ryan Adams thrown in (you can really tell the moments led by co-producer Adam Granduciel). Fender is the latest artist added to my growing list of favorites that I call “dad rock for hot moms,” a term that I ought to trademark one of these days.

Thank you so much for reading, and sending joy and peace your way.

Onward, in perpetuity,

MD