Editor's Note August 12, 2019: These photos were taken before we launched with our first samples sewn from a 100% sepia french terry. Due to the shorter staple length of the "coyote" brown cotton, this fabric is not commercially viable at this time, so we work with a 50/50 blend. Learn more here.
This is Morgan Vega, my childhood best friend. We met just before middle school and have shared countless adventures and misadventures together. A favorite pastime of ours was mu wallowing in rural countryside ponds. Head-to-toe covered in mud. We’ve shared hot pink friendship journals, many miles of running, numerous quarts, yes quarts, of late-night ice cream, dreams and secrets! As we’ve grown into adults, our friendship has flowed into our new interests and passions.
Morgan is a writer and has a booktube channel. You can follow her on instagram here.
Q&A
How do you feel when you are wearing Modern Nature?
I’m stepping out into the world as my best self when I’m wearing Modern Nature. I feel comfortable like I’m in the safety of my home yet confident, like I’m ready to explore outside my bubble.
Which piece is your favorite and why?
The pants! Ahh, they make me wonder why I ever wear jeans. From the waistline to the material to the cut, they give my legs freedom to move. I’m tired of not having permission to move from my clothes, and these pants aren’t just giving me permission—it’s as if they’re begging me to run and lunge and dance.
What does living in harmony with the earth mean to you?
Harmony with the earth is a friendship. You care for your friends, you show up for them when they need you, you are dependable. But friendship is not static. It changes, pulls, grows, deepens. Sometimes friends let you down, and sometimes you let them down. I had a strong friendship with the earth as a child, but it was one-sided. The earth was a better friend to me. Now, as I have more control and awareness of our friendship, I’m working towards being a better friend to the earth. I consider the products I buy. I recycle. I perform small acts of friendships and hope to make them large.
Where is home to you?
Home is the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Home is also my partner Kelvin, my sister-soulmates Susan and Allison, and my two fur-children Osito (little bear) and Piñita (little pineapple).
Can you tell me about your writing?
I am a writer of young adult novels, blog posts, songs, poems, and—at the moment—lots of research papers for graduate school.
Right now I’m working towards publishing two books: Sleeping Around, a young adult contemporary following violinist Cora Li as she transitions from foster care to college, and A Fortune for Stars, a young adult paranormal following high school student and fortune teller Luna when she foresees the death of her crush Stella.
How did you get started writing?
I’m going way back, but I started writing and considering myself a writer in first grade. Sometimes, instead of going to the playground, I would write and illustrate stories at our craft table. When I started writing songs in the third grade, I realized I needed to write and never stop. Turning my emotions into written words became a way I process the world. My creative writing evolved from there into short stories, poems, and then novels.
Why do you write?
Though I wouldn’t have put it in these terms back in elementary school, writing started as self-care for me. I processed not only my emotions but my social anxieties through writing. I still do this. But now I write for more than me. I write to connect and imagine with other people. I write for social justice, equality, understanding, and care.
How do you recharge yourself to stay inspired to create?
I’m finding it hard to recharge these days. I work full-time and attend graduate school part-time—while still trying to write, maintain my BookTube channel and my blog, and spend time with the people I love. Some days I drag my creative ideas on my back from work to class to home to my desk to bed. I finish my schoolwork and barely have energy to brush my teeth let alone create. But then there are days I go to the gym. I meditate. I take a bubble bath. I read a book. And I remember this chapter in my life is not forever. I don’t want to turn the page on this chapter yet anyway. So I doodle, explore a local shop, sing a verse for a new song. I walk my dogs, write another scene. I spend a morning with my childhood best friend taking photos for her new clothing line.
Where can people go to learn more about you?
Learn more about my bookish life over on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and my website!