My Story
New Jersey-based with a global reach.
An Irish Jew with Canadian descendants.
Left-brain knack for numbers with a right-brain drive for creative exploration.
When I think about the origin of my own story, it always begins with Oscar. Oscar was my mother's father, who was born in Russia and raised his family in Latvia before fleeing to Israel when my mom was 11. My Saba (Grandpa, in Hebrew) wore many hats (both literally and figuratively), including textile engineer, professor, and creative polymath with a penchant for collecting (read: hoarding) objets and well-made fashions. He was a fastidious man who demanded only the best.
One of my favorite stories of him was when he and my mom were at a clothing store when she was young, and a garment was mislabeled and marked up as a higher quality fabric. He brought it to the attention of a sales associate who, mistakenly, assured him it was the proclaimed high-quality design. They argued back and forth until he ripped off a loose thread of the garment and lit it on fire. 'See how it burns?' he asked, and instructed her that if it were indeed silk (or whatever the fabric was), it would have burned and smelled differently.
To take a glance around his former apartment is to catch just a single stroke of what the inside of his mind must have looked like.
Holon, Israel
Growing up, my bedroom was my canvas. I probably repainted the walls eight or nine times, but it wouldn't really matter because I would eventually end up covering every inch in magazine pages that caught my eye, tags and labels with typography I liked, Saba's paintings and sculptures, mirrors, wall lights, and anything else I could get my hands on and a nail in.
The furniture in my room must have been rearranged three times the amount. It wasn't dissimilar to a convention center. Each time a new scheme was completed, I felt the same rush of achievement and gratification that I get today when embarking on a DIY upgrade. And every time I hang a new vintage print or restyle a shelf I restyled the week prior, or obsess over the visual composition of a planned Instagram grid, or spend all day hanging peel and stick wallpaper in our 'cat room', I chuckle at the inescapable influence he had on my personal passions and professional pursuits.
Chatham, New Jersey
Oscar's wife, Sarah, my grandmother, was a celebrated classical composer and pianist. She was awarded the keys to her city by the mayor, and her music has been performed on international stages. Her music gene was also passed down to me via my mom, making her proud by earning seats in advanced and regional bands in school. While I do not regularly practice music outside of shower solos, I am still able to pick up virtually any instrument and play a tune or two, thanks to her enduring influence.
Pair art, textiles, and music with my mother's gift for teaching and cooking, a path in the creative field was fated. Enter: the left-brain O'Flaherty's.
Thomas O'Flaherty, Sr. was born and raised in County Kerry, Ireland, and arrived via Ellis Island to New York City during the Great Depression. He opened and successfully ran his own liquor store in Harlem, where he generously sponsored over 100 people who had immigrated from Ireland. He provided them with housing, employment opportunities, and even took responsibility for their legal troubles. My father later joined him in working at the liquor store in Harlem, commuting alone as a young pre-teen from his home in New Jersey to open the shop in the early hours of the morning, before eventually climbing the corporate latter to become the Chief Financial Officer of several reputable corporations.
I get my work ethic from my dad, Thomas O'Flaherty, Jr.. An enviably precise gift for dates, times, and details, a calculator-like quickness with numbers, and an unrelenting discipline for planning and preparedness. He can recall the precise minute I was born and calculate an accounts projected accrued interest using mental math. A quiet man at times, he is quick with a joke and would do anything for his family. Traits I am grateful to have had passed down to me.
And then there is my mom Carmela. When I was a little girl my mom asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up. "A mommy, a teacher, and a cooker", I replied (well, obviously, because that's what she was). One of my most vivid memories of my childhood is siting at our kitchen table, apron on, and a cookie sheet containing a layer of salt. 4 + 4 = 8, I wrote in the salt with my little pointer finger, the dark contrast of the cookie sheet underneath exposing the formula. M - A - X (our dogs name at the time). I was probably not even in Kindergarten yet and already learning math and drawing letters like someone twice my age. It's not because she was some crazy strict educator enforcer, but because she made it FUN. She didn't sit me in front of mindless TV all day or send me off with a nanny but she made learning, creativity, and fun all feel like leaves of the same tree. Feeling the tiny grains of salt against my skin and watching my creation come to life before my eyes felt like some wonderful game that had no rules or limits. No losers and no ending.
After serving in the Israeli army and a brief stint touring as a classical pianist, my mom left Oscar and Sarah's to move to New York at the age of 21. No money, no English language, and no job. Fast forward to the present day, she has multiple high-level degrees and certifications, has contributed her work to some of the top organizations around the world, and has built a business with a niche in empowering clear and effective communication for non-native English speakers. Talk about full-circle.
Ever since I could remember, our annual Thanksgiving dinner at the O'Flaherty's has, without fail, hosted an international guest for the meal. Between her community college students who were not able to be with their families in India during the school break, or a corporate client in the states for extended business from Japan, I was constantly surrounded by the opportunities to experience and appreciate other cultures and lifestyles.
Some say you can't be a big-picture creative while also being detail-oriented, but through this blended upbringing I have found a confidence in strumming a unique combination of left and right-side chords tailored to the task at hand. With artistic, innovative approaches to problem solving and a deeply rooted entrepreneurial drive, my experiences have taught me to have a multi-dimensional view on every challenge and opportunity.