Facialist and Founder Sofie Pavitt on Career Pivots, Locking In, and Building a Skincare Brand
DEEP READING LISTS are available at phoebe.substack.com
Sofie Pavitt is one of New York’s most in-demand facialists and the founder of Sofie Pavitt Face.
If you’re considering a career pivot, this episode will hopefully inspire you. After fifteen years working in fashion for brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, River Island, Gap, and Michael Kors, Sofie left her corporate job, retrained as an esthetician, and built a business from scratch — one client and one facial at a time.
This is a fun, business-focussed interview that explores the nuts of bolds of launching a skincare brand from scratch. Sofie shares how she transitioned from designer to entrepreneur, the reality of building a brand in the age of social media, and why her mission is to make effective skincare accessible and uncomplicated. We also talk about work ethic, motherhood, beauty standards, and what it means to build something that lasts in a culture obsessed with the new.
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@phoebelovatt
@deepread.phoebelovatt
@sofiepavitt
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Professor Sophie Bishop on Influencer Creep, Authenticity, and The Future of Creative Work
Deep Reading lists for each episode can be found at phoebe.substack.com
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Today's conversation is with Sophie Bishop, an associate professor at the University of Leeds, whose new book Influencer Creep: How Optimization, Authenticity and Self-Branding Transform Creative Culture is out now.
Sophie shares how her early work on beauty bloggers led her to coin the phrase “influencer creep,” why artists now face the same anxieties as influencers about constant visibility, and how these dynamics connect to broader questions about labour rights, AI, and the future of cultural work.
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@phoebelovatt
@deepread.phoebelovatt
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The Cut's EIC Lindsay Peoples on Style, Politics, and Editing with Intention
Deep Reading Lists are available at phoebe.substack.com
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Something a little different this week: Episode #42 of Deep Read is a live conversation with Lindsay Peoples, Editor-in-Chief, recorded in London during Fashion Week.
We spoke about making intentional work in a noisy media landscape, why fashion and politics are inseparable, and how she balances the heaviness of the job with joy.
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@phoebelovatt
@deepread.phoebelovatt
@lrpeoples
@thecut
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Novelist Angela Flournoy on Friendship, Time, and the Wilderness of Contemporary Adulthood
Deep Reading lists for each episode can be found at phoebe.substack.com
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Today I’m joined by New York-based novelist Angela Flournoy, whose highly anticipated second book The Wilderness explores the evolving friendships of four Black women over the span of two decades.
In our conversation, Angela and I discuss what it means to come of age in uncertain times, how friendship can serve as a strategy for survival, and why Los Angeles and New York — the twin backdrops of her novel — carry such symbolic weight. We also talk about writing through motherhood, the shifting markers of adulthood, and the influence of writers like Toni Morrison and Mike Davis on Angela’s work.
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Deep Read Salon LIVE: Multidisciplinary Artist Ronan Mckenzie on Seasons, Sacred Spaces, and the Importance of Creative Longevity
Deep Reading lists for each episode can be found at phoebe.substack.com
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A special episode recorded live in London, June 2025. Ronan and I spoke about:
How she recovered from creative, professional, and financial burnout
Interning in her late 20s
Having hobbies!!
Protecting sacred spaces
Her physical movement practice
Different moods for different months
Managing the pressure to always be sharing
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@phoebelovatt
@phoebelovattpubliclibrary
@ronanksm
Deep Read is a podcast hosted by Phoebe Lovatt, featuring conversations with big thinkers about big ideas.
Each episode is accompanied by a reading list - find it at phoebe.substack.com
Follow @phoebelovatt and @phoebelovattpubliclibrary for more