Meet Our Founder: Jillian Scheinfeld
Well, here we go! It’s time to meet Jillian Scheinfeld, the founder of The Dandy.
How are you doing mentally?
Every day is a different story, but considering all that’s going on in the world I feel pretty fortunate. I love my family and friends. I feel like my work is going well. I get kind of depressed 1-2 times a week and feel heavy energy and find it hard to motivate. On those days I just do what I can to get through the day and try not to feel guilty about it. I typically workout and meditate and that helps, and then I make up for the loss of productivity on the days I feel good! I also always like having things to look forward to, and that’s been tough with the pandemic (a privilege to say)—but I’m going to spend the winter in Miami and I’m excited about that.
Where did you grow up? When did you become interested in writing?
I grew up in the Catskills in upstate NY. I never woke up one day and said “I’m going to be a writer!” It sort of just happened naturally because it was the easiest way for me to express all that I was feeling and seeing. I’ve kept a journal since I was 8 years old and always loved English class the most. In college, I majored in cultural analysis, so it was a lot of analyzing historical trends, reading cultural criticism, and mostly deconstructing everything and anything connected to American culture.
Why and how did you start The Dandy?
To preface this story, I had always wanted to build a platform of my own. Something that felt relatable and interesting to women in their 20s and 30s navigating the weirdness and wonders of existence. I also did not see a space where interesting women were highlighted in a multidimensional way. I thought it would be nice to see the light and dark moments, side by side. But how I gained the drive and positive feedback I needed to get it going happened one night in the winter of last year when I was out to dinner with my friend Dana. We were talking about how people just make the decision to start something. That sounds really simple, but it’s not. There’s this mystifying layer that surrounds people who build things of their own; and at the end of the day, they’re all just figuring shit out too. They just made the decision to follow through with their ideas. She knew I wanted to create an interview platform for years and was like, “you can totally do this.” And I was like, you know what, I totally can.
You’ve done interviews with a lot of different kinds of people. Who were the most memorable in-person?
I’d have to say it was the first interview I ever did. When I was an intern at the now defunct Jewcy Magazine, I had the idea to create an interview column to modernize their content and highlight some cool Jews doing cool things. This was around the height of Girls and I cold emailed Alex Karpovsky aka Ray and asked if I could interview him. He responded pretty quickly and we met in Williamsburg (of course) at a bar in the middle of the day. I was hoping he’d order alcohol just for the story, but he didn’t. He got a papaya salad and was super chill. Also, I spent a day with the Fat Jew and it was honestly the most fun and bizarre time spent with an interviewee. We conducted the interview at a DMV in NYC and then got kicked out and got drinks at some weird bar.
What’s one of the biggest insecurities you’ve had to overcome?
That something is innately wrong with me. I’ve never really fit a mold, and when you’re young, insecure and critical your mind can go to some dark places. All of this to say, I am a prime example of someone who worked on her shit (still works on her shit) and has built confidence rooted in my talents, tastes, and sense of humor. Knowing your worth is so important and it took me a long time to get there.
What are your five essential beauty products?
Ooooh. I love products. I’d say:
Dr. Dennis Jart Peel Pads—I honestly just discovered them but holy shit, where have they been all my life. They are STRONG and make your skin glow.
Ursa Major Essential Toner—I love toners. I have yet to find a face wash that takes off ALL of the dirt and makeup (or maybe I’m just not washing my face correctly) but this toner takes everything off and exfoliates. Big fan.
Witchey Handmade Athena Dry Body Oil—Almost every night I apply some sort of oil or cream on my hands/legs/bod. This is my favorite of all body oils. It smells amazing and it’s super hydrating.
Skyn Iceland Hydro Cooling Gels—I get dark circles like nobody’s business. I’m very sensitive to sodium and can look like a diff person overnight. Thanks mom & dad. These gels do help though, in combination with cucumber slices and a gua sha.
Amika The Kure Hair Mask—I’ve always had fine, straight hair and never really paid much attention to hair products. But my day job is writing for a hair brand and so I’ve learned a lot about haircare! This mask is legit!!! It makes my hair more voluminous and shiny. For reals.
What have you been listening to/reading/watching this past week?
This Brazilian guitar playlist when I work, Kanye West when I workout, Dax Sheppard’s Armchair Expert literally anytime, Pen15 is the most genius and hilarious thing I’ve seen as of late, and I just started The Golden Eighties by Chantal Akerman. I got a Criterion Collection account and it’s so enjoyable to tune out of this shit hole of a world and watch something beautiful.
How are you feeling about the world right now? The election. The pandemic. The natural disasters. Systemic racism. Anti-semitism. There’s so much horror.
For starters, I think that anyone who doesn’t hold socially democratic beliefs is bogus and frankly irrelevant. Yet, as far as the election goes I feel repelled by the entire process. Both main party candidates couldn’t be more nauseating as men, as humans. I think there is a deep amount of programming and propaganda coming from the left and right that leaves little room for nuance. There is a major dumbing down of political discourse and news analysis that’s contributing to a lot of unrest, subversion and confusion. Among other things.
The natural disasters scare the shit out of me. We have to start investing in clean energy. We need police reform. We have to start putting people before corporate interests. But with this two-party system that’s deeply entangled in corruption and greed, I don’t know if it’s possible. We need some BIG changes. I am not educated enough to know how to go about this, but I know that something is truly wrong with our culture and society on a fundamental level. This sounds simplistic, but I think it’s important to work on being the best version of ourselves, read more, question more, and keep an open mind.
In a past life, you were probably a:
Royal. LOL. No joke though. When I lived in Los Angeles, I went to this astrologer/psychic in Topanga Canyon. She did a bit of past life regression with me and was like, “you know you were royal in a past life, right?” And I was like NO, but thank you for validating everything I’ve ever thought.
What else do you write besides Dandy articles? What would you want to write or do?
By day, I work for a creative agency where I write copy for a beauty brand. I also am always taking on freelance writing projects! I write comedy sketches. Articles on people for this magazine DVEIGHT. And you can see other things I’ve done here. Ideally, I would like to take my interviews on camera and incorporate comedy sketches and funny brand commercials into it. The Dandy Show!
If someone were to visit the Catskills, where would you tell them to go?
This is one of my favorite topics! I love where I grew up and kind of hated it when I was a kid. Now there’s just so much to do and a really cool creative community blossoming. I would say to get beer at Upward Brewing and Catskill Brewery, eat and drink at High Voltage, shop at Nest and The Velvet Maple, eat at The Launderette, drink at Sunshine Colony, pizza at Benji & Jake’s, hike/walk Tusten Mountain and Rails to Trails, swim in the Neversink, stay at The DeBruce. I have more reccs for anyone interested, so just ask whenever!
You relate most to people who are:
Open-minded, warm, and sarcastic.
You are happiest when:
I’m driving around blasting all different kinds of music. Rap, soul, classic rock, emo shit, Motown, my indie girls.
Your vices:
Biting off my nail polish, juuling, binge eating snacks at night, mindless scrolling.