MINI LETTER: this may be the *one* marketplace I can actually get behind...

All that glitters is gold.

Famously, I started a marketplace and parted ways with it because I no longer believed a DTC marketplace model could succeed in this macroeconomic/retail environment. I’ve written at length about the details of that, as well as my thoughts on the space in general. See here and here, if you’re a new reader.

I’ve seen many influencers and writers link At Present, and I’ve clicked through here and there, thought, “oh, that’s nice.” I never really gave it a full go of things, mostly because I love jewelry.

I love jewelry so much. I am always coveting more jewelry. And I actively need to try to restrain myself from encountering more jewelry, because it is my kryptonite. If I ever come into money, I will be quitting my job and starting a jewelry line with a companion boutique. My phone is littered with screenshots of strangers hands— signet ring inspo— along with hundreds of folders of saved pieces or vintage Etsy sources or super zoomed in photos of something I saw and coveted through a gla…