Meet Erin Cohen | Content Creator & Travel

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Cohen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
My friends always say I’m full of surprises which happens to be really fitting because I was a surprise baby, or oopsie baby as I’ve heard it been called. My siblings are 12 and 14 years older than me so it was quite the dynamic between the 3 of us growing up in Pittsburgh. I was extremely outgoing as a little kid, singing, dancing, acting you name it, I was all about the stage. I was actually in a film when I was 9 years old with James Gardner and Joann Woodward. It’s interesting how things work out though. My dad passed away when I was 10 and overnight, I lost not only my father, but also a part of myself. After that I became quiet and reserved and never went back to the stage. Eventually I picked up tennis as a distraction. When I dedicate myself to something, I give it 120% so throwing myself into tennis was a great release for me and I became a top 20 ranked player in my age range and division. But during that time, and still struggling with the loss of my father, I developed a severe eating disorder. It’s one of those things I am extremely fortunate to have been able to move past and I recognize a lot of people aren’t as fortunate, but that was a very difficult time in my life as I became very frail and was eventually unable to compete in tennis. But I think if I’ve learned anything in my life, negatives often turn into positives – and when I was recovering from my ED, I started making jewelry because it was something, I could do that was creative and sedentary and it gave me the opportunity to recover both mentally and physically. I eventually got back to tennis but turned down the scholarships I was offered to follow a boy to Canada, which didn’t work out as I’d hoped. Another tough lesson to learn at an impressionable age but it brought me to FIT where I got my associates degree. The summer I was finishing up my degree, I interned at Liz Claiborne. And though I made another stupid, and in retrospect, immature, decision to pass up the opportunity to work for Liz Claiborne – who might I mention offered to pay for my bachelor’s degree in addition to a salary— I still went on to work for other major fashion houses as a jewelry designer. I had the opportunity to work for Joan Rivers and by 30, I became the design director at Miriam Haskell. As I recount my path I have to say again, things somehow have a way of working themselves out, even if you do take the dusty, rocky path as opposed to the clean smooth one. Even though I made some questionable choices as a young 20 something, I learned some really valuable lessons which helped me evolve into the person I am today. My father’s death was the single most defining moment of my life. I’ve had 2 broken engagements and enough heartbreaks, romantic and otherwise, to last 2 lifetimes, but losing my father, from a sudden heart attack, nonetheless, still impacts me in ways I don’t always understand. For me, that is a process and a journey I’ll always struggle with. The lack of control I felt as a child losing my father so suddenly made me susceptible to an eating disorder during my most impressionable teen years, and food was the one thing I could exert obsessive control over. Addiction/alcoholism followed later as I tried to mask the sadness, abandonment and lack of control I felt as a kid that continued to plague me as a young adult dealing with typical young adult issues and anxieties. I went to rehab to hit reset on my life. I had to clear my head, focus on my physical and mental health and just re-examine my life, my choices and my future path. We get this one very precious life, and I didn’t want to squander it which is why I started my Instagram account. When I got out of rehab, I realized how truly fortunate I was to be able to take that time off to focus on me and only me, and there are so many other people out there like me without the means and support to go to rehab. I had planned to use my Instagram platform to launch a jewelry line where a percent of the proceeds would go to providing financial assistance to those who are desperately seeking and in need of help, but can’t afford it. Though my Instagram business took on a life of its own organically, that is still something I plan to do in the near future because it is a cause very close to my heart. I was sober for 3 years and now I practice what my friend, Carly calls celibate sobriety. I go through periods or long stretches of time where I do not drink at all and others where I can have a single drink to toast a friend’s engagement or the birth of a baby. The truth is, I mostly do not drink. However, in learning about my addiction issues and alcoholic tendencies, I am able to have a glass of wine from time to time, but it’s all about right place, right time for me. There are still times when I’m having a bad day or I’m feeling a sinking sense of sadness I can’t describe and I want a drink, and those are the days, I do not drink. My celibate sobriety journey is mine and mine alone. This is my path and my life, and I have chosen to live it unapologetically. What is right for me and how I cope and make my life choices may not be right for someone else but I know what is right for me. My story, how I got to where I am today and how I became who I am today, is the sum of all these parts. It would be naïve of me to say my personal evolution is complete, but I can acknowledge that I have evolved tremendously over the course of the last 20+ years but I’m a work in progress. I’m proud of my story and in sharing these vulnerabilities and realities with others/my Instagram audience, I hope I can continue to make authentic and genuine, meaningful connections with the people I meet and the people I share my life with. I’m not perfect and my feed and stories show just that. I’m just a girl, with a passion for living, who doesn’t have a perfect body, or perfect features but every day, I’m finding new ways to be perfectly happy with myself and this beautiful life that I’ve been blessed with.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My friends always say I’m full of surprises which happens to be really fitting because I was a surprise baby, or oopsie baby as I’ve heard it been called. My siblings are 12 and 14 years older than me so it was quite the dynamic between the 3 of us growing up in Pittsburgh. I was extremely outgoing as a little kid, singing, dancing, acting you name it, I was all about the stage. I was actually in a film when I was 9 years old with James Gardner and Joann Woodward. It’s interesting how things work out though. My dad passed away when I was 10 and overnight, I lost not only my father, but also a part of myself. After that I became quiet and reserved and never went back to the stage. Eventually I picked up tennis as a distraction. When I dedicate myself to something, I give it 120% so throwing myself into tennis was a great release for me and I became a top 20 ranked player in my age range and division. But during that time, and still struggling with the loss of my father, I developed a severe eating disorder. It’s one of those things I am extremely fortunate to have been able to move past and I recognize a lot of people aren’t as fortunate, but that was a very difficult time in my life as I became very frail and was eventually unable to compete in tennis. But I think if I’ve learned anything in my life, negatives often turn into positives – and when I was recovering from my ED, I started making jewelry because it was something, I could do that was creative and sedentary and it gave me the opportunity to recover both mentally and physically. I eventually got back to tennis but turned down the scholarships I was offered to follow a boy to Canada, which didn’t work out as I’d hoped. Another tough lesson to learn at an impressionable age but it brought me to FIT where I got my associates degree. The summer I was finishing up my degree, I interned at Liz Claiborne. And though I made another stupid, and in retrospect, immature, decision to pass up the opportunity to work for Liz Claiborne – who might I mention offered to pay for my bachelor’s degree in addition to a salary— I still went on to work for other major fashion houses as a jewelry designer. I had the opportunity to work for Joan Rivers and by 30, I became the design director at Miriam Haskell. As I recount my path I have to say again, things somehow have a way of working themselves out, even if you do take the dusty, rocky path as opposed to the clean smooth one. Even though I made some questionable choices as a young 20 something, I learned some really valuable lessons which helped me evolve into the person I am today. My father’s death was the single most defining moment of my life. I’ve had 2 broken engagements and enough heartbreaks, romantic and otherwise, to last 2 lifetimes, but losing my father, from a sudden heart attack, nonetheless, still impacts me in ways I don’t always understand. For me, that is a process and a journey I’ll always struggle with. The lack of control I felt as a child losing my father so suddenly made me susceptible to an eating disorder during my most impressionable teen years, and food was the one thing I could exert obsessive control over. Addiction/alcoholism followed later as I tried to mask the sadness, abandonment and lack of control I felt as a kid that continued to plague me as a young adult dealing with typical young adult issues and anxieties. I went to rehab to hit reset on my life. I had to clear my head, focus on my physical and mental health and just re-examine my life, my choices and my future path. We get this one very precious life, and I didn’t want to squander it which is why I started my Instagram account. When I got out of rehab, I realized how truly fortunate I was to be able to take that time off to focus on me and only me, and there are so many other people out there like me without the means and support to go to rehab. I had planned to use my Instagram platform to launch a jewelry line where a percent of the proceeds would go to providing financial assistance to those who are desperately seeking and in need of help, but can’t afford it. Though my Instagram business took on a life of its own organically, that is still something I plan to do in the near future because it is a cause very close to my heart. I was sober for 3 years and now I practice what my friend, Carly calls celibate sobriety. I go through periods or long stretches of time where I do not drink at all and others where I can have a single drink to toast a friend’s engagement or the birth of a baby. The truth is, I mostly do not drink. However, in learning about my addiction issues and alcoholic tendencies, I am able to have a glass of wine from time to time, but it’s all about right place, right time for me. There are still times when I’m having a bad day or I’m feeling a sinking sense of sadness I can’t describe and I want a drink, and those are the days, I do not drink. My celibate sobriety journey is mine and mine alone. This is my path and my life, and I have chosen to live it unapologetically. What is right for me and how I cope and make my life choices may not be right for someone else but I know what is right for me. My story, how I got to where I am today and how I became who I am today, is the sum of all these parts. It would be naïve of me to say my personal evolution is complete, but I can acknowledge that I have evolved tremendously over the course of the last 20+ years but I’m a work in progress. I’m proud of my story and in sharing these vulnerabilities and realities with others/my Instagram audience, I hope I can continue to make authentic and genuine, meaningful connections with the people I meet and the people I share my life with. I’m not perfect and my feed and stories show just that. I’m just a girl, with a passion for living, who doesn’t have a perfect body, or perfect features but every day, I’m finding new ways to be perfectly happy with myself and this beautiful life that I’ve been blessed with.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
So I actually just moved down to South Florida permanently from NYC. It was one of those COVID relocations you’re hearing a lot about. Thanks Cuomo. My mom and her husband have a place in West Palm Beach but I took annual trips down to Miami for Art Basel which is probably why Wynwood is one of my favorite places to spend time. When I came down over the summer for a few days, a few days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and now I’m a Florida resident with a Florida driver’s license and I’m living that palm tree paradise lifestyle. With that being said, I still feel like I’m living and vacationing all at the same time so if a friend were to come visit, we’d definitely visit the Miami Beach Boardwalk and swing by the Broken Shaker. I don’t drink but this spot is a vibe. It feels so tropical yet cool and chic at the same time. A lover of the Wynwood walls, I’d make sure we spent some time over there just walking around and appreciating the beauty of the street art. Then we’d grab something to eat at Sugarcane, one of my favorite restaurants in that area. Covid times are weird so it’s hard to say what we might do or where we might go but these are some of my favorite things.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A special shoutout to my mom who is my biggest cheerleader and supporter. She’s been a major influence in my life as far as entrepreneurship and ambition is concerned. I watched her run a successful business for over 25 years and leading by example, she really inspired me to start something of my own. Which brings me to my sisters—one by blood and one by love. My older sister, Jan, has always been my person when it comes to the everyday trivial bull s**. We talk multiple times a day about just about anything and everything. She’s like a second mother to me and since the day I was born, she’s loved and supported me unconditionally. My sister by love is my forever friend, Meredith. Through every obstacle in my young adult life, Meredith has been there lifting me up. She is the one I call after every heartbreak, the one who wipes my tears and then causes them to roll again by making me laugh until I cry. These 3 women have helped shaped me and I don’t know where I’d be without them. I’d also like to give a special shoutout to my photographer and friend Jordan, who is the greatest audience for my photoshoot antics. We have so much fun together. And Carly, for always keeping it real for me.

Website: https://cohlab-nyc.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cohlab_nyc/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-cohen-2b761012/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cohlabNYC

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8L69-a20g0ZIxclWSdukow/videos

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/cohlabnyc

Image Credits:
two photographs were taken by Connor Miller
all photos Jordan Brennan Photography