THE MIDEAST IN THE NEWS

Joey Wolffer’s Luxury Treasure Chest on Wheels

Covered from top to bottom with unique, limited-edition trinkets and baubles from around the globe, the StyleLiner has now made its way to the nation’s capital for a six-week stay (May 4th through June 17th) with its stylish entrepreneurial owner, Joey Wolffer at the wheel.

With a family lineage as impressive as the owner herself, Wolffer has design, style and entrepreneurship in her veins as the great-great granddaughter of Michael Marks, co-founder of one of UK’s leading retailers, Marks and Spencer.

Growing up in New York City and Long Island and later attending Vanderbilt University, Wolffer is always on the move. We got a chance to speak with her.

Elan: How did you come up with the idea of the Styleliner?

Joey Wolffer: I was traveling a lot for my job as Trend Director for the Jones Group and began to discover a vast array of unique pieces and designers that I knew would be a great success in the States that were yet to be discovered by the U.S. market.

That combined with the food truck craze and social media, it all just came together from there.

Elan: Since fashion is in your family, do you think you were born into it, or did you have other aspirations growing up?

JW: I was certainly born into a family full of entrepreneurs and yes, my great-great grandfather founded Marks and Spencer. He arrived in London with nothing, started his business as a peddler and grew it to be one of the most successful department stores in London.

My greatest inspiration is my late father who always took risks, including starting one of the first wineries on the South Fork of Long Island when it was still mostly potato fields! He always encouraged me to do whatever it was that made me the happiest and always have fun doing it.

Elan: Why did you decide to make DC your next destination? What’s so unique about the fashion sense here?

JW: Well, first of all we liked that there was nothing like the Styleliner in DC and the women here are hungry for fashion. There is an elegance to women in DC that I love. The style is a bit more traditional but in the month that we have been here I really love the way that women use accessories to add a spark to their look.

Elan: Back to the StyleLiner, where are your favorite fashion pieces from?

JW: I have found designers and pieces from so many amazing places but some of my favorites include Rio De Janeiro, Paris, Buenos Aires, Nairobi, Marrakech and London.

Elan: We’ve heard that you also do jewelry-designing as well. How would you define your style as a designer?

JW: Yes, I design jewelry and I am also designing a line of bags with Laetitia Stanfield of Roarke NYC. They are beaded in India and made in Brooklyn. It’s a combination of Moroccan tapestries, Peruvian throws, Italian leather and gorgeous embellishment; I’m really excited about these!

My style is and has always been a combination of bohemian and glam.

Elan: Where do you draw your inspiration from, as an artist and an entrepreneur?

JW: I honestly draw most of my inspiration from my travels; just putting yourself amongst different cultures enables you to start to think outside the box.

Elan: What’s next for the StyleLiner?

JW: We’re taking the truck home to New York for the Summer and Fall- the Hamptons for the Summer and then NYC for the Fall. We’re working on some big stuff for the future of the StyleLiner that should happen by 2013- more trucks, more web action, lots of pop-ups, cool partnerships, stay tuned and get excited… I am!!

Elan: So, how good are you really at driving your truck?

JW: Oh, after two years I am now a rock star driver. It did take at least a year of what we like to call “love taps” to really get the hang of it, but now I ease into truck stops with the rest of the truck drivers without missing a beat.

This content is provided courtesy of Elan Magazine

*Photo Credit: District Sparkle