What Schmatta is this?

Schmatta is a Yiddish term meaning a gross, rag-like, or dirty piece of clothing. Your wrinkled bed top is a schmatta. Your picked-at Wet n Wild blue nailpolish is schmatta-adjacent. Everything you wore/bought in the ‘90s was schmatta-worthy. Most design is schmatta. The above picture of my eighth grade bedroom is decidedly schmatta thanks to some utterly annoying mosquito netting and a Pikachu stuffed animal.

Yet schmatta is also a state of mind, one that is embracing of imperfection.

This newsletter is mostly about design — we talk about it in a way that is both curious and chaotic.

Hi, I’m Leo (or Leonora if we are being fancy). I went to an all-ladies college. Prior to this I was editor-in-chief of a design/decor site called Hunker [which has since been sold and has been totally rebranded as an SEO farm]. I also co-wrote a book about Gen X/Gen Y amazingness called X vs. Y: A Culture War, a Love Story.

You can find me at @_leonoraepstein on Insta. Or, visit my *~professional website~* to get in touch.