Melissa Goldstein and Natalia Rachlin
Melissa and Natalia are co-founders of the forthcoming biannual print magazine, Mother Tongue, which interrogates and celebrates what it means to be a mother in the modern world.
Melissa Goldstein is a freelance journalist and editor based in Los Angeles who writes about people through their passions. Her work has appeared in WSJ., T Magazine, ELLE, Spin, British GQ, The Economist and others. Previously she worked on staff as senior editor at C Magazine, editor at Nowness and MyDomaine, and editor-at-large for Lonny Magazine. She also co-authored the Abrams title Abode, and contributed to the Artisan title Ikebana Unbound. Most recently, she is the co-founder and co-editor of the forthcoming biannual print magazine, Mother Tongue.
Natalia Rachlin is freelance journalist and editor who writes about art, architecture, design and interiors for outlets including WSJ., The Wall Street Journal, T Magazine, The New York Times, Elle Décor, Wallpaper*, Architectural Digest, ARK Journal, and CNN Style, among others. She is a Contributing Editor to NOWNESS and CLOAKROOM magazine. Most recently, she is the co-founder and co-editor of the forthcoming biannual print magazine, Mother Tongue. She is much to her surprise currently based in Houston, Texas.
Website: nataliarachlin.com | melissa-goldstein.com |mothertonguemagazine.com
Instagram: @mother_tongue_magazine
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
MG: Room service coffee and fresh orange juice in a king size hotel bed.
NR: Cheese, wine, sunshine, old friends, and well-behaved children in the distance.
What is your greatest extravagance?
MG: Adding avocado for an extra charge, without hesitation.
NR: Sleep, when it’s available.
What is your current state of mind?
MG: More coffee.
NR: Completely overwhelmed yet energized.
What words do you most overuse?
MG: Totally. Absolutely. Sorry.
NR: Right? / F*ck / Sorry.
What is a talent you’d like to have?
MG: Impeccable organizational skills.
NR: Public speaking without fear. Patience.
Where would you most like to live?
NR: Not Texas.
What is your most marked characteristic?
MG: People tell me things.
NR: Bushy eyebrows and an occasional sharp tongue.
What do you most value in friends?
MG: Humor, an appreciation for atmosphere, a healthy amount of skepticism, listening and validating (and meaning it).
NR: Integrity and a sense of humor.
Who are your favourite writers?
MG: There are too many! The women who have written the things I've loved the most (and felt most jealous about not having written) recently are Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Kiley Reid, Ann Pachett and Kimberly Harrington.
NR: Contemporary: Judith Thurman, Andrew O’Hagan, Zadie Smith. Past: a couple of dead Russian men.
What is it you most dislike?
MG: Lack of personal space, germs, being lectured about appreciating every moment.
NR: Violence. Greed. Entitlement.
What is your greatest regret?
MG: Letting anxiety stand in the way.
NR: I have many, and I’m constantly trying to reframe them as mistakes along the way.
What is your personal motto?
MG: I know that something good is going to happen.
Just saying it could even make it happen. [Kate Bush via my friend Sean Yashar]
NR: Easy, tiger (stolen from a good friend).