State of Feeling

For fifteen years, Piera Gelardi was the creative force behind Refinery29 and its iconic 29Rooms, so synonymous with the brand that "Piera from Refinery29" was practically her legal name. Then she sold the company just before the pandemic, became a new mom, and watched that identity dissolve almost overnight. When the emails stopped and no one needed anything from her, she called it what it was: a real identity death.
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What she built from that open space is the subject of this episode. Roanne and Piera have been friends for thirty years, since RISD summer, through a shared Tribeca office and a decade of legendary Pink Parties. That makes this an unusually intimate conversation. They go deep: on grief, motherhood, ADHD, depression, and the courage it takes to claim the word "artist" after being in business for so many years. Running through all of it is Piera's central belief: play isn't the reward for getting through the hard part. It's how you get through it. Her book The Playful Way and her practice NoomaLooma both grew out of that philosophy.

*Content note: this conversation includes a candid discussion of pregnancy loss.

Follow Piera: @pieraluisa
Follow State of Feeling: @state_of_feeling · stateoffeeling.com

Welcome to State of Feeling, a conversation series hosted by Roanne Adams with founders, creatives and visionaries walking the deeper path. New episodes coming soon.