Who's that Gal: Molly Allene, Founder + CEO, Brooklyn and Rye

Name: Molly Allene
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Age: 41
Occupation: Esthetician & Retail Maven
Currently living in: Concord, MA
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Currently reading: Black Walden by Elise Lemire
Favorite wellness ritual: Facial Massage with rollers and gua sha tools.
I never leave home without: CLE Cosmetics Lifting Mist, a Lamare journal, and a Bkr!

Let’s start with the basics. What or who inspired you to start Brooklyn + Rye? 

It’s a culmination of two different story arcs in my life. First, this is a collaboration between myself and my best friend of 20 years. The name itself was created 3 years ago and were our dog’s names at the time. Secondly, it’s a personal mission of mine to have a space in the beauty & wellness sphere that is inclusive, especially for plus-sized/fat women. We tend to not be made to feel welcome in traditional wellness & beauty spaces so I wanted to create my own.

What is it like running your business with a co-founder? How do you celebrate successes? How do you handle disagreements or differences in opinions or visions?

My co-founder Rachel is more of my strategic mind. She’s the wizard in the background helping me understand digital story-telling, website mechanics, and marketing analysis. She’s an expert at branding. She and I are literally polar opposites in about 80% of everything so that helps us always work together to meet in the middle. This helps us avoid conflict because we are already coming at things from different directions. But I think that Odd Couple vibe has been what has kept us friends for so long. 

We celebrate by going and getting good food together haha We are food tourists, so that’s our love language. Rachel balances me out quite a bit. I’m more emotional whereas she’s more rational. She grounds me and hopefully I add a little chaos to her life :) 

What does your typical day look like?

I get to the shop in the morning and wake up all my plant babies! Then I get to work on social media, networking, writing, and content creation. I do this all while helping customers when they come in. Days aren’t usually typical but that’s been what’s happened so far.

What is your favorite product Brooklyn + Rye is currently selling and why? 

Aeos Skincare!!! I actually yelled that as I typed. This line is from England and I am utterly OBSESSED. I’m one of just a couple of stockists in the US and it is my dream line. It smells divine and it makes your skin look 20 years younger. I would say that even if I didn’t sell it, that’s how good it is.

What’s next for your company? What’s next for you personally?

We have some exciting things coming up for B+R. We are working on a distribution deal for a line of Korean skincare products, so that will be exciting to see that come to fruition. And for me personally, I’ve been accepted to Boston University in the Fall and am continuing my studies. Because I apparently don’t have enough to do haha

Do you have any advice for budding entrepreneurs who are looking to launch their own beauty and wellness company?

Be kind. Don’t be nice, be kind. Go out of your way to research the facts and science around what you’re selling and then take that knowledge you’re armed with, and spread it with kindness. There’s a lot of mean in this field. It causes real damage to women, girls, and non-binary folks. So wrap every word and action in kindness and you’ll see incredible success in the future.

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Heather Finn is a clinical social worker living and working in North Carolina. You can follow Heather on Twitter @heatherlynnsw.

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