In Conversation: Christy Rappold & Jenna Saraco

At the heart of Mary MacGill’s brand refresh lies a reverence for slowness, place, and the women who shape the world with their hands and stories. In this conversation, Art Director Christy Rappold and Photographer Jenna Saraco reflect on the collaboration behind Mary’s new visual identity, how they came together, what draws them to creative women, and how Mary’s world became a container for freedom, play, and meaningful work.

JENNA SARACO: Can you talk about how you and Mary met? It was so nice to work with you and her team. There’s so much magic there in where the brand has landed.

CHRISTY RAPPOLD: My dear friend Dasha Faires introduced us after Mary picked her brain for creative direction needs and I loved Mary from our first phone call. The original ask was to help plan and update general creative direction for shoots, but in the first deck I sent over, I included a new logo styling as a sort-of crazy hope to dig towards a deeper collaboration.

The rest is as we know it; and the synergy between myself, Mary and her team was absolutely the best part. An unexpected lesson I felt I learned was experiencing how Mary’s vision of “place,” —her strong ties with Upstate New York & Block Island— opened my eyes to the importance of being in-relationship with those environments that especially call to you.

CR: Your point of view, Jenna, is also reminiscent of being tied to “a” land. I can still very much picture you in Sardinia with the sweet little old ladies, their lace, their stories and culture. So much of that depth that you capture was the foundation of what I wanted to tie in with Mary’s identity.

What is it about titan-esque women, layered in cloth and history, that you (and we both) love? Neither of us grew up with this (I think?) but it’s something I feel we both look at and long for within these intersecting creative worlds.

JS: I love that so much, and I still think of Sardinia all of the time, almost daily. Growing up I was very close with both of my grandmothers, and they really left me with a reverence and curiosity for the wisdom older women hold. One of my grandmothers was a seamstress and the other had an impeccable sense of style. I think it’s led me to love and seek out a love for textiles and fabric, holding onto the things and understanding the significance of how something is made and what makes it come together.

CR: So beautiful. There’s a slowness there, a patience for sure.

CR: The jewelry we shot together for the team echoes so many similarities. And I’m reminded too of independence… this steady, present wave of a free spirited life. In Mary’s work, it’s always apparent that there’s elements of freedom & play. Do you relate to this in your own work?

JS: This resonates so strongly with me. There is for sure a slowness, or slowing down, which I feel deeply. I remember going to the beach one day in Sardinia and there was an older woman sitting outside her apartment overlooking the sea, just crocheting the most beautiful lace doily. Not sure how to connect these thoughts but it’s funny you say independence, because I’ve been thinking about how disconnecting and slowing down, and just living life at your own pace in your own way, is so hard to do these days, when you’re so online, connected and locked into social media. So I guess I believe there is an independence, freedom, and play that comes with slowing down. It’s so nice that Mary’s world can hold up these principles too, within herself & her inspirations, but also with her team.

CR: Definitely. Do you have any future projects or ideas that you’re cooking up as well?

JS: Honestly, I don’t! And I’m okay with that, because I trust myself that it’s coming and at the right time. My world for the last six months has been so life altering since the birth of my son, that I’m only now just beginning to feel like my creative self again, and giving myself the time and space to think about personal projects. I’ve known forever that becoming a mother is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I put it off for some time to prioritize learning about myself and developing my work. I also had a book published at the end of last year, “Altars”. It was a dream of mine to publish a book, and it took nearly two years for it to come to fruition. Mary, so generously, has it for sale at her shop, alongside some of my favorite artists.

CR: Love that — best answer ever. Taking notes! Waiting for the right work to come, and trusting in yourself. Something everyone needs reminders of every now and then. On some days, being in Warsaw—where I’ve just relocated—makes me feel I’m at the edge of the world. Your book, “Altars”, is beyond. It’s bewildering and transportative. I have seared in my memory how you displayed it, with the ribboned talismans keeping the pages open. I love seeing it in such good company at the storefront.

Before my husband and I relocated here, it was being able to have weekdays spent upstate with Mary and her team that kept me sane amidst life in NYC. I can’t forget walking into her old workroom (this beautiful, old train station ticket-house) and finding her team of women working; Beyonce blasting, chatting about life, pets, memories, inside jokes, all while small hammers give way to one-of-a-kind pieces.

It’s one of my favorite mental-portraits of working on this project, and it sums up so much of what we’ve described. A love for a place, for other people, for good things that take time— for memories. All of these elements are tenements in pursuit of world building— there’s been immense satisfaction in releasing that into the wild. So happy to have had you be a part.