(Photo: Spencer Heyfron)

What are you two doing today?
I’m picking Bridget up from her art lesson at the Arts Students League. She’s homeschooled.

Do homeschooled kids get to go back-to-school shopping?
No, we’re not on that cycle, because the rhythm is so different. Bridget’s mother is peripherally in fashion and makes clothes, so Bridget makes some of her own clothes. She’s learning the machines, she’ll make a skirt for herself, she knits, she embroiders.

What did you do before you retired?
I worked in philosophy, furniture-making, general contracting, architectural design, and engineering.

That’s quite a list.
I knew that I had a wide range of gifts and abilities. I found it was easy to try it all if you didn’t get stuck in a job.

Interview by Emma Rosenblum

Related:

• Archive: “Look Book”
• Table of Contents: Aug 24, 2009 issue of New York | Subscribe!