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Pull up a seat at our table, where badass women from all walks of life—fashion, beauty, design, music, philanthropy, art, and more—come together to share honest stories, serve truths, and dig into the realities of modern womanhood.
Johanna Almstea...: Hello everyone, I'm having so much fun planning this next meal for my next guest, she and I have the great pleasure of sharing lots of meals together with our families, and she is a beautiful cook, and a beautiful hostess, and loves food, and loves to eat. So, I'm feeling inspired and excited to try some things that I might not normally try, but we are going to do a charcuterie board because she and my husband have an ongoing, they're both incredibly good at making charcuterie boards, so I do feel like I need to do that. I might outsource that one to my husband, maybe he'll do the charcuterie board because he's a master at it. But I feel like she has hosted some beautiful charcuterie board gatherings, and so I have to pay back the favor on that one. So, we're going to do some prosciutto, and salami, some olives, I love a pickled veggie, some crumbly Reggiano, maybe a little provolone cheese... My husband likes provolone cheese. Maybe we'll do that. Taleggio, kind of stinky cheese.
Anyway, so we're going to start with a big charcuterie, and I'm just going to go straight to red wine with her, because that's what she really likes to drink. She'll drink a cold red with me, she likes a chilled red, so maybe we'll do a Nebbiolo. I don't know, let's see. We got to think about it. But yeah, we're going to go straight to the red wine because that's what I know she likes, and the rest of the meal is very fall and cozy, I'm super excited because it's definitely fall here where I'm living, and am getting into those richer and deeper flavors. So, to start, we're going to do a butternut squash ravioli with just a simple butter and sage sauce. So, just a couple little a ravioli in a dish, just you melt that butter with the fresh sage leaves in it, and you crisp them up a little bit, almost like pan fry them, and then just that in a very, very simple bowl, that's what we're going to start with.
Fall, delicious, rich gorgeousness. And then I'm going to go pork chop for her, which is very rare, I am not a huge pork chop person, my husband loves pork chops, and she loves pork chops. And I'll never forget, one of the first times we had dinner, she ordered this ginormous pork chop, and she's a tiny little woman. And I thought, wow, that is a badass woman digging into a giant pork chop. So, I found this recipe, which I've never made before, but it looks really, really good, which is like a crispy fried pork chop. So, you bread it with Panko, in this case it was gluten-free Panko, but Panko bread crumbs, and then you serve it with baked apples and a little apricot glaze on top, which sounds so yummy and fall-like. And I think on the side, I'm just going to do some roasted broccoli, to give it a little texture, so it gets a little crispy, and some Parmesan mashed potatoes, because why not?
We're eating light, clearly, eating very light this evening. Well, to choose music, I feel a little bit nervous because she works in the music industry, and has such beautiful taste in music, and knows so many more artists than I do. But I am going to start with a little Django Reinhardt, who's an amazing, amazing, amazing guitarist, and then maybe a little Aimee Mann, some Mazzy Star, just going to mix it up. I'm going to mix it up a little bit. My next guest is just delightful, she is smart, she is funny, she is kind, she cares about living with purpose, and I cannot wait for you guys to meet her. So, let's dig in.
Hello everyone, and welcome to Eat My Words, I am very, very happy today because I get to sit down with someone whom I admire and adore very, very much. My guest today is a badass businesswoman, leading her family's 400-year old company into the future, while honoring its extraordinary history. She began her career in the fast-paced world of investment banking for storied financial institutions, like Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Securities, and ISI Group, in both New York and London. After years in finance, she felt the pull of something more personal, she took a year to travel across Asia. After traveling and volunteering in rural India with the Shanti Bhavan Children's Project, she had a realization, her next chapter needed to be centered on purpose and legacy. She was ready for something with a little more meaning.
She now leads a heritage brand with over 400 years of craftsmanship as the chief operating officer of La Bella Strings, her family-run and world-renowned manufacturer of premium musical strings for all instruments. Guys, these are the same strings that her ancestors have been making for hundreds of years, it's so cool, I can't wait to learn more about it. She is an adventurer, a New Yorker, a lover of good food and wine... We're going to talk about food. A great cook, an equestrian, and a hostess with the mostest, she is a mother, a wife, a sister, an aunt, and a daughter. She's also someone I am grateful to call a very, very, very dear friend, Lorenza Golden, welcome to Eat My Words.
Lorenza Golden: Oh, thank you so much, I am so excited to be here. I feel like I'm a huge fan of yours, and I do get to see you all the time, but I just love sitting in the car and listening to your intros, and your sultry voice, it just takes me to this awesome place, and I'm just so proud of you. I feel like you don't hear that enough, you're doing such an incredible job, and there are so many women in our community who love listening to you, and I'm so, so happy to be here with you today.
Johanna Almstea...: Aw, thank you, that means the world coming from you. I know you are, you're like a super fan.
Lorenza Golden: I am.
Johanna Almstea...: Guys, she buys stuff from the brands that come on, she's a super fan.
Lorenza Golden: I was going to wear my Cecilia sweater, but I thought that would be too much.
Johanna Almstea...: That's okay. It's never too much.
Lorenza Golden: I know. I could be wearing a bathing suit too.
Johanna Almstea...: If you're supporting other women that have been on this podcast it's never... You could have worn your Change of Scenery bathing suit, with your Cecilia sweater on top, holding your tampons from UNICORN in every stall.
Lorenza Golden: I love it. Yes.
Johanna Almstea...: Guys, she's really, she's putting this work into action here, everybody. So, I always like to tell our listeners how we know each other, and we originally met... Shocker guys, more talk about horses, we won't talk about horses the whole time, I promise. But we met at the horse barn, very briefly, sort of like in passing, and then we met through our kids because our daughters are the same age. And we later figured out that your husband, whom I adore, and I grew up within steps of each other, and went to the same elementary school, which is crazy. Shout out to Eagle Elementary School in Farmington Hills, Michigan. So, we've had the great pleasure of our families becoming friends, and our whole gang getting together, which is really, really fun. And I don't get to talk to you a lot about your work because you don't talk about your work a lot. So, today we're going to talk about your work. So, I always like to start with the question, where did your journey begin because it's so fascinating to me every time how people answer it. So, Lorenza Golden, where does your journey begin?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah, so you did touch on my family business, and we could talk about that history, but I think if you want to focus on me, I would say my journey began when I was a kid growing up, my mom grew up in Italy, in Rome, and then that's where she met my dad, my dad kind of grew up in both New York and Rome, and when they built a life here in New York, my dad always worked for the family business, my mom kind of got into her own thing with fashion, and my godparents were actually a big influence on me. So, my mom's best friend who's originally from Argentina, she worked in private banking in New York City, and her clients were high net worth individuals in Latin America, and then my dad's best friend was my godfather, and he worked at Salomon Brothers... I think he was a couple years older than Michael Lewis. He wrote that book Liar's Poker, so he really had that Wall Street experience, classical Wall Street experience.
And so, growing up, I was always around them, and I was super fascinated with finance, and I had the opportunity in high school to internship on my godmother's trading desk, so I was 14, 15 years old in the summer going to the city, when my friends were working as camp counselors at country clubs, and looking back, maybe that would've been more fun. But I just had it in my head from a very young age that I really liked the stock market, I loved learning about different companies, and what to invest, so that was always kind of with me. And then, so when I was applying to colleges, I whipped out that US News and World Report Magazine, and you know how they would rank every college by everything?
Johanna Almstea...: Yes, I remember reading that.
Lorenza Golden: So, I really honed in on the finance major section. And so, it was like Morton, NYU, University of Michigan, and it was my goal to get into the top finance department, undergraduate business school. And NYU, I grew up in New York City for the early part of my years, and I loved Greenwich Village, I wanted to go back there, and it was incredible program, and I love that you could internship while you worked there. So, yeah, that's how I got into... My college was a huge part of then the next four years of my life. Those four years were spent,, how am I going to get that dream job on Wall Street?
So, yeah, like I said, great thing about going to school at NYU is you can internship while you work there, and once I got there, I was like exactly where I wanted to be, I was surrounded by like-minded students who were super focused on getting that job out of college, and we were all super competitive, but also really supportive. So, by senior year, I basically landed a job at Bank of America, where they had an analyst program, and that's where I really got my start in Wall Street.
Johanna Almstea...: It seems like you were very, very driven from a very young age though.
Lorenza Golden: Yes.
Johanna Almstea...: To decide that in high school?
Lorenza Golden: I know, it's pretty strange. I don't know. Yes, if you know me, yeah, it's not that surprising, but yes, I think I had it in my head that I knew exactly what I wanted to be for the rest of my life, which, of course, is pretty ridiculous thinking about it now, but it definitely drove me in a very particular path.
Johanna Almstea...: And was it something that your parents... Because you had two working parents, your mom had her own big career in Italian fashion, and your dad is running his family company, was that something that they instilled in you, you need to be working so hard or that was just always who you were?
Lorenza Golden: I think my parents are definitely hard workers and they set that example, I think for them because they had never really grown up in, let's say American household, they weren't around people in finance really... My mom came from a family of doctors and engineers, and my dad had always worked in the family business. So, when they saw that I was interested in that, they were like, yeah, that's great, go for it. We're very supportive. And at no time were they really like, oh, you have to work for the family business. The family business was always around, music was always a big part of our lives, but I think they were very excited at the notion of me working in a very American industry.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. The bright lights, big city, New York City.
Lorenza Golden: Right.
Johanna Almstea...: And did you ever even think you would work in your family company when you were a kid?
Lorenza Golden: I would always go to work with my dad, and I thought it was really an amazing story, even as a young child, I really recognized the heritage behind the story and the company, I always appreciated it. I thought maybe one day I'll do it, but if I didn't do it, it wasn't a big deal. It was definitely not my end goal at that age.
Johanna Almstea...: Okay. And so, you get your first big job out of college, you were wearing power suits... Were you wearing power suits?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah, so my mom, she worked for this Italian company, they made high-end suits, where they do like the OEM business for Prada and Hermès, and then they have their own private label. So, I would get these really nice suits, and it was kind of also ridiculous thinking about it back then. Back then the office was, it was not casual, men were still wearing suits. You still had to dress up nicely. So, I would have 10 suits, all super nice, custom-made-
Johanna Almstea...: You were thousands of dollars suits.
Lorenza Golden: Yes. And the inside would have, the lining would be these cool colors, and I'd have working buttons, and then everyone on the trading desk would be like, "Yo, can I get that hookup?" And they would go and get suits too. But yeah, so I definitely loved playing that part, and the years that I worked on Wall Street, at least at Bank of America, it was, I think the peak in the sense, those days are long gone. And so, it was very fast-paced, but it was also an amazing learning experience, I was surrounded by some really great mentors, I got the opportunity to work in London, and it was an incredible two, three years at that bank, and then the global financial crisis hit and things kind of went downhill for the whole industry for a bit, and that is where it changed for me also.
Johanna Almstea...: And did you find it at all, was it a male dominated industry in your experience? What was that like being a-
Lorenza Golden: Oh, definitely, it was-
Johanna Almstea...: ... five foot tall little sprite, in your designer Italian suits, what was that trying to make your way with all these dudes, finance bros, guys?
Lorenza Golden: That never really intimidated me, I had an older brother, so I was always around that maybe older male energy, and it was very comfortable for me. But yeah, there was definitely moments that I don't know if I should really go into, where there was highly inappropriate behavior by men, that would not pass these days. And there were definitely times where I was shocked and offended and appalled, but a lot of the times, for some reason, be like, oh, this is just how it is, you want to work in this industry, this is what you got to deal with.
Johanna Almstea...: I think it was just that was sort of societally how it was.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. No, definitely.
Johanna Almstea...: It wasn't just that industry, I think it was just sort of the world. And it was like, this is just how it is, we just all have to...
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. But there were definitely moments where the lines were crossed, and then I would have coworkers stick up for me, and I was really happy that I did have people looking out for me during those sketchy moments. But you have to have a certain personality to really thrive in that culture, and I think just me being a pretty social affable person, I kind of thrived in it.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. Yeah, I think there are a lot of women who would not thrive, if anything, they would really suffer in some of those environments.
Lorenza Golden: And looking back, I don't think I... Maybe my idea of thriving back then is not what my idea of thriving today is, I would say.
Johanna Almstea...: Okay, tell me more about that.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. It was, work was your life then. And there's nothing wrong with that, and I think at that age, it's okay that you're putting in super long hours, your social life is basically comprised of your coworkers, because you're going out every night entertaining clients, and you're just doing it all over again. But I definitely think that my physical health and mental health were not great during that time. So, at some point I was like, hey, this is not really sustainable, especially if I want to one day get married, have children, things will have to change dramatically, or I'd probably have to switch jobs.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. And you were aware of that towards the end of your time in the industry, not necessarily what was happening. I don't think any of us are aware when it's happening.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. Right. I think those first few years, it was the perfect place for someone my age, who just wanted to learn so much, and live abroad, and every week go to a new country to travel the continent of Europe, seeing all of your clients, and doing all these incredible things, it was absolutely where I wanted to be. But after a couple of years, I switched firms, and then there just wasn't that sense of camaraderie, I didn't have the mentors that I had at my prior firm, and that's when I kind of became disengaged, and I was like, you know what? This is not really for me. It's okay, it's for some people, but for me in the long-term, I'm really not getting what I want out of my career here in this industry.
Johanna Almstea...: And did you have a sense of what was next for you, or you just knew this wasn't it?
Lorenza Golden: I knew that that particular place wasn't for me. It's funny, back then in my mid-20s, there weren't that many podcasts around, you couldn't open your phone and try to figure out your life. I feel like now there's a podcast for every single crisis you're going through, or hobby, or whatever, and back then I remember going to the Barnes and Noble and going to the self-help section, and being like, there's no book for me. I'm in my mid-twenties, I've allegedly achieved everything that I've wanted to achieve by now, why am I not fulfilled? Why am I not happy? And I did actually find this one book, and [inaudible 00:17:54] the tools that people use today, it was about making vision boards, and journaling, and what's meaningful to you, and just taking a really big step back. So, I didn't know exactly what my next step would be, but I knew that I had five or six things on that list that were really important for me, and I needed to start somewhere. So, I quit my job like any normal 25-year-old would do.
Johanna Almstea...: You know, I did too. It's fun.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. At the peak of your career, right?
Johanna Almstea...: At the peak of your career, when you're working at all the badass places, and you don't realize how badass you are when you're doing it, and then you throw it all away. No, you don't throw it all away, but you make a big decision to leave. Okay. So, what did you do when you quit your job?
Lorenza Golden: So, at the time, my boyfriend, who is now my husband, was going through a similar thing.
Johanna Almstea...: Oh wait, did you guys meet in banking?
Lorenza Golden: Yes, we actually met in London. He's American, but we did meet in London. So, we both were going through the same thing, we weren't really fulfilled, and we knew we wanted to change. We didn't know what the next step was, but we knew that sitting where we were was not going to get us to that next step. So, we quit our jobs, and we decided to travel the world. So, our idea behind traveling the world was like one third was going to be volunteer, one third of the time is going to be networking, and one third is going to be travel and fun and exploration.
Johanna Almstea...: Fabulous. That seems like a really good plan.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. So, working in that industry, you really don't have that much time for travel and vacation and play, and also when you're sitting at that desk, you don't even have time to go to the bathroom basically. So, the thought of just taking many months off to take a breather was super refreshing, and we thought that we could come back with a new perspective. And it definitely did work, we did accomplish a lot during that year, and it was definitely life-changing. It changed our perspectives, and it's definitely guided us to where we are today.
Johanna Almstea...: And did you really fulfill your one-third, one-third, one-third?
Lorenza Golden: Absolutely. Yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: You did?
Lorenza Golden: So, we kicked off the trip volunteering in India. So, one of my friends from college, Vivek George, his father started this school, the Shanti Bhavan's Children Project, which you mentioned in the intro about 20 something years ago. And so, what they do is they go into rural India, and they recruit children from formerly known as the untouchable caste. So, in India, even though they did abolish the caste system in the 1950s, the effects of that caste system are still very much in place. So, it's very hard for certain people to get out of that socioeconomic level.
So, this boarding school, it's K through 12, and they provide a world-class education, kind of like a similar idea of the A levels in England, they have the same in India. So, these kids are taking all the same courses that Indian kids would at some fancy private school, except they have everything paid for, and they have amazing volunteers. A lot of the teachers are volunteers from all over the world. So, we taught finance, economics, accounting... And when I tell you, I was teaching these kids who were in 11th, 12th grade, and they were learning things that I hadn't learned at NYU as an undergrad, it was so advanced.
Johanna Almstea...: Really?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. There is a Netflix documentary, if you want to learn more about it, called The Daughters of Destiny, and it follows three or four of the girls from that school that we actually taught, and it follows their trajectory.
Johanna Almstea...: Amazing.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. So, a lot of these children, they graduate, they get amazing jobs at multinational firms, they go to grad school in the US, and the idea is that they abolish this multi-generational poverty that they're stricken with just because they were born into a caste that doesn't technically exist anymore. So, I think that was an incredible way to kick off our year off, because it gave us incredible perspective, and it still guides what my husband and I, how we run our lives now.
Johanna Almstea...: That's amazing. I love that you quit your big job and went right to work, you didn't do the fun part.
Lorenza Golden: Oh yeah. No.
Johanna Almstea...: You didn't do the relaxing part first, you didn't do the networking part first, you're like-
Lorenza Golden: And it was so hard.
Johanna Almstea...: ... no, I'm going to do this job that I've never done before, which is be a teacher, in a totally different country, in a subject of some of which I haven't learned yet.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. I just remember trying to prep for classes, and being like, I can't remember the last time I worked this hard. And it was like, you cared so much because so much was on the line, these kids were taking these A level exams in two months, and if they did poorly, it was kind of my fault. And I was like, oh my gosh, it's so much pressure, but it was such a meaningful pressure.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. And while you were there, was the fast-paced glamorous banking world even in your brain anymore, or it was in the rear-view mirror, and you were like-
Lorenza Golden: I kind of felt like I was at rehab in a sense. It was like, oh my gosh, finally I could look back and be like, wow, that was crazy. When we ended up traveling further throughout Asia, like in Hong Kong and Singapore, I was really networking to try to get a job there in finance, and that was fun and interesting because it was a new setting, but I don't know how long I would've really lasted in that, had I decided to move there, stay there, work in finance in Hong Kong or Singapore. So, I wasn't really thinking about it that much, no. And then so at the end of the trip, when we went back to New York, I was like, okay, now what? We were both about to move to Singapore, and then these opportunities fell through, so we're like, okay, let's go back to New York.
And that's when I started having moments of panic, like, oh my God, I cannot go back to this, my body's having visceral reactions, showing up in Midtown, in a suit, trying to find a job in the same industry, but slightly different, maybe cover clients in Asia, and I was like, absolutely not, I cannot do this.
Johanna Almstea...: Okay. So, your body was telling you no.
Lorenza Golden: Yes.
Johanna Almstea...: What was your body doing? Were you getting sick? Were you getting nauseous? Were you getting hives? What signals?
Lorenza Golden: I wasn't like panic attacks, I just felt like I was a phony. I hated sitting in those offices interviewing, and being like, yeah, I really want to do this, and I'm like, this is not me. I did this whole trip to not be this person. And when we first told my parents what we were doing, they had a visceral reaction, they were like, what? I was doing the reverse immigrant story, of hey, I'm going to quit my awesome job and then do something really crazy, and you worked so hard for all these years so I could do this. And they were just like, no, it does not compute, we don't like this. But after a few weeks, they got on board as well.
And also, during my trip in Asia, I was also kind of working for the family business, I would just show up at music shops in random parts of the world, and be like, hey, do you want to buy my music strings? And they're like, excuse me, who are you? What? Where are you from? So, I got a taste of, you know what, I could maybe do this on the side, or do it in my free time. So when I came back to-
Johanna Almstea...: Did you have a suitcase full of guitar strings?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah, basically, I had some samples, and some catalogs, and a business card.
Johanna Almstea...: Like [inaudible 00:25:13], like traveling salesman?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. And so, in India, for example, all the music stores in a city are all in a line, so I would just go one by one, and be like, "Hi, I'm Lorenza from New York." So, I did that basically all over Asia too. Which I thought was pretty awesome, I was still kind of this traveling international business person, I was like, I know how to do this, I did this in my other job.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. So, then you get back, you listen to your body, you realize that you're not going to go back to the world you were living in, and is that when you decided to go and work for your family's business?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. So, it was pretty slow at first, I'd be like, "Hey dad, can I come to work with you today? I'll follow up on those leads that I found in Asia, and while I'm interviewing for other jobs." And he's like, "Sure, come along." So, it was definitely a gradual introduction. And then after a few months I was like, you know what? I really want to do this. And my father and brother were really supportive. I definitely saw from day one that I could add value, and I think they did too, but I don't know if that's necessarily the advice I would give to someone entering a family business the way that I did it exactly. I think it worked out really well, but in a sense I was pretty lucky that it did.
Johanna Almstea...: What would you have done differently, do you think?
Lorenza Golden: Looking back, like I said, I think everything worked out, but there are so many things that could have gone wrong. I think because I went in with really low expectations, and I always had this back up, like hey, if this doesn't work out, I have a degree and career I could fall back on. So, there wasn't really a lot of pressure on my end, or my father or my brother's end. But I do think, if I were to give advice to someone who was thinking about entering a family business, there's a whole laundry of lists of things that I would suggest before jumping right in.
Johanna Almstea...: And did you, having gone and had this very split reality of the very, very glamorous, high-powered crazy banking world, and then teaching at the school in India, and then you come back and you come back to work for this family business, which I imagine is, if it's like any family business I know, probably has its own weird dysfunctions, and obviously has a very strong history, so what do you think you brought to the table? Or what were you seeing at least, did you see opportunity? Were you like, oh my God, I can do this, or this is crazy, why are they doing it that way? Or can I... Whatever, I don't know. What was your perspective at that time?
Lorenza Golden: I think that coming from finance, it is cut throat, but there's really no room for errors for multiple reasons. There's money on the line, you make an error trading, after 30 seconds it could be like a million dollar error. So, it's like there's very much a sense of you have to do things the right way, there's a particular way of doing things, and that also aligns with my personality. So, I think-
Johanna Almstea...: No, really?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. So, I think I brought that sense of structure and just organization, just bringing things to whatever year we were in, there was so much that needed to be done from just modernizing everything but making the strings, everything surrounding that, there was so much room for formalization, modernization, and I think that the job that I used to do involved multitasking in an incredible way, and it's really an extension of what I do now. I just wear so many different hats. But every hat you wear, you have to wear very, very well because you're in a smaller business, you don't have all those departments, you're doing all of those things, and you have to make sure you're doing them right or you could get in trouble.
Johanna Almstea...: Right. You get in trouble by you?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. Or OSHA or someone more important
Johanna Almstea...: Right. So, can you tell our listeners, because I know a little bit about the business, but can you tell our listeners a little bit of the history of the business, and what you stepped back into? Because it's fascinating to me.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. So, the tradition of string making dates back, in my family, to the 1600s. So, if you've ever been to Italy and you've traveled around the country, you notice that different towns specialize in different things, whether it's ceramics, or linens, or a certain olive oil, or a certain wine. So, the town that my family came from on my father's side is in Abruzzo. And this town called Salle has a very long history, since the 1600s, of making music strings specifically like orchestral strings, like violin strings, and they would supply those strings to all those famous string makers in Cremona, like Stradivarius, and the Amati families, and those violin builders that you probably know. So, that tradition of string making was handed down from generation to generation, and my great-grandfather, in about 1910, along with his brother and a couple other cousins, hopped on a boat, went to New York through Ellis Island, because at that point there really wasn't that much opportunity in the south, and I think there was an earthquake where they lived, there might've been the Spanish flu... There was a lot of just not good things going on.
So, they wanted new opportunities, and like many other people at that time, they went to America, and they arrived in New York City, and during the day they would help build the subway system, the pylons for the elevated subway systems in Queens, and at night they would go to the butcher and be like, "Hey, do you have any cow gut? We need it for string making." So, at night-
Johanna Almstea...: Okay, so that was something I never knew before I met you, is-
Lorenza Golden: Yes. So, back in the day... Yes. All of those strings made in the 1600s basically until the 1900s was made out of animal intestine.
Johanna Almstea...: Wow. Okay. So, they would go to the butcher, and they would say, do you have any cow guts that we can make into strings? So, they continued their tradition of making strings.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. So, at night they would make the strings, and then they found, I think there was this amazing violin shop across from Carnegie Hall, and they brought it to the shop owner there, and he was like, this is incredibly high quality product, please make more. Eventually that person gave them a loan, and they opened up a manufacturing facility, like a workshop in downtown Manhattan, and then they eventually grew out of that, and then they were in Astoria Queens for a really long time.
Johanna Almstea...: And people were hand winding the strings, right? At that point still?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah, the gut... Yes, there's certain elements that's very manual labor, but then over time when new materials were introduced, like Dupont after World War II introduced monofilament nylon, and that replaced gut, and then, they also used metals to create the lounge strings. So, our family, because they had been basically one of the first people in the United States to make guitar strings, they helped commercialize them as well. So, the whole notion of holding a package of strings, and it's going to be for this electric guitar, and they were very much at the forefront of that. But yeah, there's a lot of different technology that went into it, it wasn't all by hand after a certain point.
Johanna Almstea...: It's so cool. Did you watch the House of Guinness yet on Netflix?
Lorenza Golden: No, but I saw... Yeah, it's on my list. Yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: You have to watch it because it's so interesting about this, it's the Guinness family, and it's two brothers, and they're running brewery in Ireland, and they basically just send one cousin with some product to New York to get people drinking Guinness beer, and it's sort of reminiscent of your family's story, of this idea of just a couple of people that had the vision and the chutzpah to come, and the craftsmanship, and then just getting it out in the world. It's wild, it's so cool.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. And it's one of those things people don't really think of, like oh wait, where did those come from? Where do music strings come from? What's the history? It's pretty esoteric.
Johanna Almstea...: So, I'm also kind of obsessed, I'm married into a family business, and I think a lot about it, and a lot of our listeners, I'm sure, have watched Succession. When you decided to... Was there ever a thought, I guess, or a conversation with your dad and your brother like, what's the plan for this business? This business has been in our family for this many hundreds of years, what is the plan? Are we going to try to keep it in the family? Or was that ever a topic around the dinner table?
Lorenza Golden: I think because the business is so old that it's just implied that this is so close to us... And once again, I don't think this is necessarily the best way to go about a family business, but it's so personal, and so connected to us as a family that the thought of ever selling it is just like absolutely not. I know... Of course my dad always did say, and he still says it, he is like, "Hey, if your kids don't want to take it over, we'll figure it out." But it would be devastating, it'd be like a death. And then also for a lot of people, the thought of selling a business to someone else, and watching them destroy it, or change it, that's very hard to do as well. So, I think that for us, we do talk about it, and we definitely have no intention of ever selling it, or... It's kind of one of those situations we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Johanna Almstea...: What if your kids don't want to take it over?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah, I know. I would never force them, it's like the number one rule, never force your child to work at a family business because that's just disastrous. So, if they don't, yeah, we would have to cross that bridge when we get there.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. That's part of the whole story that you have to watch House of Guinness, because it's basically, one of the brothers is saddled with this thing, his father leaves it to him, and he doesn't want it. Oh, it's so interesting.
Lorenza Golden: And I think that's a really good way to destroy a business too, is there's so many founders who think that they're doing their kids a favor by giving them the business, and then it's just all this wealth and equity just, poof, disappears. So, it's a very tricky situation. I am very lucky and thankful that my father, my brother, were so on the same team, we have the same vision because in prior generations, I don't think it was always like that, and yeah, I just feel very thankful that we're all really passionate about it.
Johanna Almstea...: Are you going to have your kids work in the business when they're old enough?
Lorenza Golden: Listen, they have to want to very badly, and also they would absolutely have to work somewhere else before they ever step foot there. I think that is number one rule for anyone coming into a family business, is like you have to get experience elsewhere, if you can get it at a competitor, that's great, if not, fine. If it's somewhat relevant work experience, it just has to be a legitimate place where you understand, hey, this is how a professional company works, and here are the rules, and you have to abide by the rules, and it's not going to work out if you come in-
Johanna Almstea...: 100% yes, I agree. We definitely have that with our family business, and I always say, it can't be the fallback job just because we have a family business, you got to go work somewhere else, get experience, and come and be qualified.
Lorenza Golden: Right. And I also think that you should never create a role for someone coming in, you have to bring something to the table, you have to act as professionally as possible like you're hiring any other employee. And also the communication on both sides has to be super open. Like, what are your expectations? Ask whoever's working there, your family member, do you have intentions of selling the business? Because a lot of time people will hide that as well. So, the communication has to be totally open on both sides, and it has to be as professional as possible, as if you're dealing with a regular employee or a non-family business owner.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. I have a friend who has a family business, and she also married into it, and they have no succession plan, and the patriarch of it is very, very, very, very old, and I'm like, this is going to get real messy, really... There's no buy/sell agreement, there's no-
Lorenza Golden: Oh, yeah, no. All of that needs to be... It's really endless. You can't communicate around all of that enough, it's just definitely [inaudible 00:37:31].
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah, and it's uncomfortable because you're essentially talking about someone dying, or having something happen bad in their lives that they have to sell part of their business, or want to sell the business, or leave, or whatever, it's so complicated.
Lorenza Golden: And if you're uncomfortable asking those questions to your mother or father, whoever, don't work there because that's not going to work either.
Johanna Almstea...: Don't work there. Okay, let's talk a little bit, I want to talk a little bit about motherhood because I feel like you and I, we see eye to eye in a lot of these things, and the constant struggle/balance/not balance at all... As a working mom, who's running a business, who's married to someone who's running his own business, how do you reconcile all that stuff?
Lorenza Golden: I think you have to come to terms with the fact that there's never going to be a perfect balance, so depending on the time of year, the time of day, what part you're at in your business, in your career, or your children's age, it's just going to be this constant give and take, so don't be so hard on yourself. Of course, we cannot have it all, we can't be amazing at our jobs, amazing moms, amazing at taking care of our health... It doesn't mean that we shouldn't strive towards it, but we also shouldn't be so hard on ourselves if there are these ebbs and flows of all of these things in our lives.
Johanna Almstea...: It's funny, one of my other guests said, "I don't want to put this pressure on people to have it all," she's like, "but it's okay to try, it's okay to want to." Like, you might not ever get it, whatever having it all means, but this idea that it's okay to try, and that in the trying is some of the success, and in the trying is some of the mess.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. And you shouldn't throw away your health for a year. There always has to be some attention given to everything, it's just a matter of how much attention.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. How do you decide how you spend your attention?
Lorenza Golden: A lot of it's like, hey, which fire is biggest, right? Who's screaming the loudest-
Johanna Almstea...: [inaudible 00:39:30] because I feel like I'm mostly just putting out fires. Yeah.
Lorenza Golden: Who is screaming the loudest?
Johanna Almstea...: Very reactive.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. So, yeah, with work, we definitely have these big events throughout the year, and leading up to it, a lot of that's going to take energy from the rest of my life. I think the summertime for kids is a great time to just be like, hey, let's just all chill, and just spend more time as a family, and not schedule them in a million things. It's also a great time to focus on your physical health because you can be outside. But yeah, I just think you just got to be present though, you have to be with your kids to know when they need that extra hand holding. Of course it's like we want to build resilient kids, and let them be independent, but sometimes they need their mom or dad more on a certain day.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. Is there anything you want your kids to know when they're old enough to listen to this podcast about this time, when you're continuing to build a business, and your husband is building a business, and they're building their little lives?
Lorenza Golden: Well, I want them to know that a lot of this is for them, even if they don't want to work there, the legacy and the history and the tradition is, it's in their blood. So, even if they don't want to work there, so much of this is for our family, and I don't think, not a lot of people can say that they've had something in their family for 400+ years. But yeah, it's a huge part of my identity, and I hope one day my kids will be able to relate to that, and identify this tradition is a part of their identity as well.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. When you were deciding what bank you were going to work at when you were like 15, did you have a picture of what having it all meant back then?
Lorenza Golden: Oh, for sure. Yeah. I thought that it'd be the same as 25 would apply to age 50, which is totally ridiculous. I think that when you're that young, and you get sucked into that world, so much of your success is tied to your wealth and material things, and I don't think I was ever really like that, but you do get sucked into that world. And when I stepped back, I was like, I don't care about any of that stuff. Of course, I like nice things, I like good wine and nice meals, but I 100% do not equate my success with owning anything materialistic, or having my kids go to a certain school, or... And I think that doesn't really matter what industry you work in... Or even where you live, it's very easy to get caught up in that. And I think for me, it's so important that we also instill that in our kids, that wealth can be defined in a whole number of ways.
Johanna Almstea...: For sure. So, what is, of all the achievements that you've had thus far, what's something that you're most proud of?
Lorenza Golden: Are we talking business or personal?
Johanna Almstea...: Either way, any of it.
Lorenza Golden: I think the life that I live today is, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm so proud of what my husband and I have built, a happy, healthy home, where we're both really passionate about our jobs, we're setting a good example for our kids, that in order for you to enjoy your life as an adult, in order to be successful, you really have to enjoy what you do every day because it does take up a big chunk of your time. So, I'm really proud that we both can say that we're very passionate about what we do, and we're very lucky in that sense.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah, you both found what drives you, and it's-
Lorenza Golden: And you know what? It's not going to be the easiest path. Usually it's not the easiest path, and that's okay because that's what's going to give you... That gives you more energy in the morning than waking up for a job that you absolutely hate.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah, that's so true. What are some sacrifices you've made to get to this point?
Lorenza Golden: Let's see. I think I could have had... I definitely could have... This is a hard one. What sacrifices have I made? I think I left my career, I had a very long career ahead of me, so I guess I sacrificed a pretty successful future for doing something that maybe wouldn't pay as much, and that would... Yeah, that probably wouldn't pay as much, but for me, that's an okay sacrifice, I'd say.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah.
Lorenza Golden: What about you?
Johanna Almstea...: Sacrifices?
Lorenza Golden: That's a really tough question, I know.
Johanna Almstea...: I think I sacrifice, and I'm trying not to as much, but I think I sacrifice my health and my spiritual equanimity, I would say. I think that that's still a real struggle for me, because I care so much about my work and I care so much about my family that I-
Lorenza Golden: You're not putting yourself first.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah, that I get lost in there still. I'm working on it.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: And I think in my earlier career, I definitely sacrificed time with my family and my friends. I worked all the time. And so, even though I had amazing friends in my work, and the life was super exciting, and super glamorous, I missed weddings, and I missed big events for people, I think. So, I think those would be the biggest ones, I would say.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. Yeah, I think that I felt the same way, but then I made a conscious effort to avoid that going forward. So, I'm just glad that I got out of that cycle.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. It's so funny, I look at younger women who work with me and they're good about it, they're good about... They're like, no, I'm taking off, it's... Not my sister's wedding, I didn't miss my brother's wedding. But where I'm going to go do this fun thing, whatever it is. And I'm so proud of them because I definitely would've just, in many ways, I would've been afraid to even ask, I wouldn't have even thought to take the time off.
Lorenza Golden: Oh yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: I would've just been like, no, I can't, it's fashion week. What are you talking about? Or whatever. So, I definitely-
Lorenza Golden: I think it's, yeah, our generation just views work totally differently.
Johanna Almstea...: Yes.
Lorenza Golden: We're just like these workhorses. And still I have an immense amount of guilt of like, yeah, I'll take vacations, but I always have my laptop with me, I'm never watching a movie on a plane, I'm always doing work. And if I'm not, then I just feel this huge sense of guilt.
Johanna Almstea...: I'm terrible... It's funny that I said that I watch the House of Guinness because I watch one TV show every three months. I'm terrible even at just the normal, everyday downtime. I feel like if I'm not working, I should be, I should always be working. And so, I'm trying to get better at that because it's not great, I need to fill my cup in other ways sometimes, but...
Lorenza Golden: Yes, you got to schedule it like it would be anything else. Like a dentist appointment.
Johanna Almstea...: Right. So sexy. Okay. So, do you have any major moments in your life, like pivotal moments, where you look back and you think, oh man, if I had not done that, where would my life be?
Lorenza Golden: Do I regret not doing anything, is that better?
Johanna Almstea...: Or you just know, so if you had not quit your job and gone to India, what could you imagine what your life would be like? I don't know.
Lorenza Golden: Oh God. I know I, hate toying with that because it's like the butterfly effect, you mess one little thing up, like, hey, maybe I should have studied more for that econ 101 class, so my GPA would've been better, so then I could have gotten that interview at Goldman Sachs, and then I would've worked there... Then I would've never met my husband, then I would've never had my children, so I don't want to mess with anything. I'm so happy with how things are now, I'm not touching a thing.
Johanna Almstea...: I love that, that's great. You're like not looking back. Nope.
Lorenza Golden: No, absolutely not.
Johanna Almstea...: Don't mess with destiny, I guess. So, what is something that you once believed about yourself that you have since outgrown?
Lorenza Golden: I think that having the personality that I have, I think just making mistakes as a kid, you don't understand... If kids understand this these days, I'll be very proud of them. But progress is not linear, mistakes are okay, there should be no shame around making mistakes. And it's not like my parents ever made me feel bad when I made a mistake or got a bad grade, I was just so hard on myself, and I think that it's so tough, and it's really hard to outgrow. But I think finally now I can look back on my childhood and my adolescence and my early 20s and be like, yeah, you know what? I probably messed up a few things, but that was just a part of learning. At least I did it, right?
And I think it's so hard to get out of that mentality as a perfectionist, as someone who has a plan, wants to get from point A to point B. But yeah, now I think I've finally come to terms with progress is not linear, making mistakes is totally normal, and you should not feel bad about it at all. And I hope I can teach my kids that.
Johanna Almstea...: And where do you think it came from? Like you said, your parents were not hard on you about that stuff. [inaudible 00:49:16].
Lorenza Golden: It's just some people are just born that way. Yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. Born a perfectionist.
Lorenza Golden: Which is not a good thing, by the way, being a perfectionist is not healthy.
Johanna Almstea...: Right.
Lorenza Golden: It's helpful, but not healthy.
Johanna Almstea...: Noted. We have lots of perfectionists on this podcast, I think I must surround myself with them. So, what do you do to nourish yourself now, physically, mentally, spiritually, whatever?
Lorenza Golden: Riding horses, for sure. I know there are people tired of that subject on this podcast.
Johanna Almstea...: I don't know, I just get insecure because there's a lot of people who are not horse people, and so I'm like, yep, we're going to talk about horses again, people.
Lorenza Golden: I think it checks off a million boxes, it's physical, it's therapeutic, it's literally is a form of therapy for me. My trainer would be like, she would joke, and be like, "I'm cheaper than a therapist," and I'm like, "I don't think so, but okay." And it's majestic. For me, it's so spiritual, it's almost like a religious event for me. It's just being out there, and it also, if you compete at all, there's very few moments in your life as an adult where you're really competing. Unless of course you're doing marathons and things like that, but I think it's so important to make yourself feel uncomfortable as an adult, feeling uncomfortable is a good thing because it means you're growing, and riding provides that opportunity as well, if you want to compete on any sort of level.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. Is there anything that you have said no to that you wish you said yes to?
Lorenza Golden: No, I think that's same-
Johanna Almstea...: Same as your butterfly effect.
Lorenza Golden: ... butterfly, I'm not messing with anything.
Johanna Almstea...: Not messing with it, it was all meant to be. Okay. What is your idea of a perfect day off? I know you don't have a lot of them because you are a very, very, very involved mom, and you are very involved in your business, but what would you do if you could have the whole day?
Lorenza Golden: Is this here, or can I go anywhere?
Johanna Almstea...: You can go anywhere, you can do whatever you want.
Lorenza Golden: Okay, I'll stick here. I'd say, yeah, walking my dog in the woods, my kids are invited if they want to come, then probably riding... If I could hop on a plane, I'd go swim in an ocean somewhere in the Caribbean probably. But yeah, I just love being outside in nature, I think fall especially is the best time of year, I just love being in the Hudson Valley, or going to a sculpture farm, and just taking it all in. For me, the beauty in nature is really what centers me, I'd say.
Johanna Almstea...: I know you're a Storm King person, do you ever go to Art Omi, in, it's on Hudson-
Lorenza Golden: I have not been there. No.
Johanna Almstea...: You should go there.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: Particularly at this lovely time of year. It's really-
Lorenza Golden: There's also another one in Connecticut, Hogpen Farms, that's a good one too, a little closer.
Johanna Almstea...: I've never been to that one, but I think you would like Art Omi. And there's really good restaurants in Hudson, New York.
Lorenza Golden: Hudson, yeah.,
Johanna Almstea...: Shout out to Hudson, New York. Okay. We are at the very, very, very exciting time in this interview, where we're going to do the lightning round of silly questions. You and I, I remember, I feel like one of the first dinners I went out with you, you ordered real food, you ordered a pork chop, and you ordered a starter, and you ordered dessert, and you drank wine... And I was like, oh, yes, we are going to be friends. We both love to cook, we both love to host, we both love to eat. So, I'm excited about this part because you know me, I like to talk about food, and you and I can talk about food for a long time. Okay, so you, my little perfectionist, there's no right answer to this, any of these,, so just have fun with it.
Lorenza Golden: Yes.
Johanna Almstea...: What is your favorite comfort food?
Lorenza Golden: Takis.
Johanna Almstea...: Takis?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: Shut up. That is not what I thought you were going to say.
Lorenza Golden: With a really nice glass of wine.
Johanna Almstea...: Takis and wine.
Lorenza Golden: If I'm ever stressed and I come home, and I'm like, I don't feel like making dinner, I'm going to have a little bowl of Takis.
Johanna Almstea...: Are you extra... Are there different flavors of Takis?
Lorenza Golden: There are. There are the red ones and the blue ones.
Johanna Almstea...: Which do you like?
Lorenza Golden: I only had the regular ones, I think there's some lime ones, but yeah, just the regular ones.
Johanna Almstea...: Just straight old Takis.
Lorenza Golden: I love the crunch, I love the spice, it just checks so many boxes for me.
Johanna Almstea...: Oh my God, I love this. And are you drinking a red?
Lorenza Golden: Yes.
Johanna Almstea...: An Italian red with your Takis?
Lorenza Golden: A cold red wine.
Johanna Almstea...: Cold red wine.
Lorenza Golden: Yes.
Johanna Almstea...: Comes up on this podcast a lot. Okay. Takis and cold red wine, I think that might be my favorite answer so far. What is something you're really good at?
Lorenza Golden: Cheese boards. I think I'm going to have a cheese board face off with Michael.
Johanna Almstea...: You are really good at cheese boards.
Lorenza Golden: Seriously, we should do it this winter.
Johanna Almstea...: She does a charcuterie for the ages, people. That could be like you and Michael's literal Super Bowl, not actually watching the football, but the Super Bowl of charcuterie.
Lorenza Golden: Except I don't have that prosciutto holder cutter thing that you have, like the prosciutto leg.
Johanna Almstea...: Oh, when we had the whole leg of prosciutto?
Lorenza Golden: Yes. That thing's pretty cool.
Johanna Almstea...: Guys, that's a whole other story. I could do a whole episode about the [inaudible 00:54:11].
Lorenza Golden: [foreign language 00:54:13].
Johanna Almstea...: Did you know someone gave me another one, by the way? I have-
Lorenza Golden: Yes.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah, okay.
Lorenza Golden: I think you asked me if I wanted it, I was like, I might take it.
Johanna Almstea...: Okay. So, we know you're good at charcuteries, what is something you're really bad at?
Lorenza Golden: I am going to keep it in the food arena.
Johanna Almstea...: It doesn't have to be in the food.
Lorenza Golden: I know, but I could say meal planning, I hate it. I absolutely hate it. I hate coming home from work, and it's like, what's for dinner? And I know, I've done all the things to organize, like, oh, on Sunday I'll fill out this nice form, like Monday we're having this... I'm like, I don't want to do it, I don't want to do any of it. It's like, you know that Aretha Franklin meme, where it's like someone's asking her this profound question, she's like, "What's the hardest thing you've ever done?" She's like, "Figuring out what's for dinner." I'm like, yes, I can totally relate to... I do love cooking, I love cooking, but it has to be a relaxed setting, like a Sunday or Saturday, and I like having a goa,. Maybe people are coming over, but just cooking every night, I can't stand it.
Johanna Almstea...: And do you actually fill out a form and say-
Lorenza Golden: No.
Johanna Almstea...: Oh, I was going to say.
Lorenza Golden: I've tried it. No, I just...
Johanna Almstea...: There's a very funny woman on TikTok, I forget her name, she's actually a fashion designer, and she started talking about, "Guys, can we stop using the term meal planning? It's just so unsexy."
Lorenza Golden: Yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: I wrote back to her something like, it just feels like Tupperware and spreadsheets to me, nothing feels sensual or good or exciting or inspiring. [inaudible 00:55:44].
Lorenza Golden: And we've talked about this. Every night, my mom being, I don't know, just the way she is, and maybe being from Italy, we would have dinner every night at the dining table, and it'd be a perfectly balanced meal... I don't think we ever missed a night. We never went out during the week, it was just like, we would sit and we talk, how was your day? And maybe that's why I have a visceral... I don't know. I enjoyed it, I want to do that, I just, I can't do it. Can't have it all.
Johanna Almstea...: Can't have it all. I know, my mom too. We had salad, and bread, and courses every single night. I also feel like she just served what she served, and we had to deal, there was none of this nonsense of trying to make your kid-
Lorenza Golden: Oh yeah. Oh no. My mom would make like tongue, she'd be like, "Tongue's for dinner." She's like, "I made the three sauces, I have this special tongue platter." I was like, ugh. That was once in a blue moon, but no, I had to finish what was on my plate.
Johanna Almstea...: Oof, tongue's rough. I thought lentil casserole was bad because my mom was kind of a hippie.
Lorenza Golden: Oh, that sounds yummy.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah, it was. But not when you're nine.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: When you want eat Cheetos and microwave dinners or something. I don't know.
Lorenza Golden: We didn't own a microwave, that was not fun.
Johanna Almstea...: We got a microwave but late, and we certainly weren't having microwave dinners, I had just seen them at my friend's house and I thought they looked exciting and exotic. Okay, you're an avid reader like me, what is your favorite word?
Lorenza Golden: No, I would say no.
Johanna Almstea...: That's your favorite word?
Lorenza Golden: Yes.
Johanna Almstea...: Oh, okay. Why? Say more about that.
Lorenza Golden: I think when I was younger I would never set boundaries, and I'd say yes to everything, and I think it's so important to just fill your life with people you want to see, things you want to do, just because you get invited to something or just because someone calls you at work and it might seem interesting, but you just don't have the time... I don't know. I think it's so important to set boundaries in all aspects of your life.
Johanna Almstea...: That's so-
Lorenza Golden: So, I don't mean it in a super negative way, I mean it in a healthy way.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. I feel like you and I have had lots of discussions about you saying no, me urging you to say no to certain things. I think that's really good for you and I like the shift in perspective because there are a lot of people on this podcast who say their least favorite word is no. So, I think it's interesting. Okay, what is your least favorite food?
Lorenza Golden: Tongue is pretty gross. I think, I watch that octopus documentary on Netflix.
Johanna Almstea...: Oh, it was so beautiful.
Lorenza Golden: I used to love octopus, but now... And I don't mind the way it tastes, but I will not eat that ever again. I feel awful.
Johanna Almstea...: Wait, what was it called, my Octopus Friend?
Lorenza Golden: Yes. She basically falls in love with the dying octopus.
Johanna Almstea...: It was so good if you guys haven't watched it, watch it. It's so beautiful. But yeah, I kind of agree, it's rough to ever eat octopus again. Okay, well, since no is not your least favorite word, what is your least favorite word?
Lorenza Golden: I hate the word brekkie, for breakfast, I think it's so stupid. Who invented that? Why does that need a cute nickname? It's not cute, it's just stupid. Also, is it like a Midwest thing? I don't know, who invented it.
Johanna Almstea...: No. Isn't it like Australian?
Lorenza Golden: I don't know, I hate it. I don't like it.
Johanna Almstea...: I thought it was Australian.
Lorenza Golden: That tracks.
Johanna Almstea...: Listeners, tell us where it came from. It's not Midwest, I was born in the Midwest, I don't think it's Midwestern. I thought it was like, would you like to get a little brekkie, mate? That was a terrible Australian accent, that's not it. All right, someone tell us what the origin of brekkie is. I feel that way about hubbie.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. Anything with an IE at the end, that's stupid.
Johanna Almstea...: Also, I don't want to call my husband hubbie or hubs.
Lorenza Golden: Nope.
Johanna Almstea...: Nope.
Lorenza Golden: I hear you.
Johanna Almstea...: Nope. Okay. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah, I think the same with, yeah, just don't be so hard on yourself. Also, it's a journey too, life's not all about getting from point A to B, you have to enjoy everything in between, from point A to point B. So, yeah, just enjoy. If you're not loving your everyday life, you got to make changes, no one's going to make those changes for you.
Johanna Almstea...: I love that, particularly for our audience, because I feel like sometimes you find yourself in your life and you don't really take time to realize if you like it or not. Because you're succeeding, or you're procreating, or you're producing many things, but sometimes you don't know if it's what's really-
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. I'm not saying every moment has to be inspiring and awesome, but you have to also schedule that in too, do things that you like, do it with the people you like, hopefully it's your kids and your family. But do more of that.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. Yeah, I like that. If your personality were a flavor, what would it be?
Lorenza Golden: This is easy. Lemon because I'm kind of bright, but sour. I can be sour.
Johanna Almstea...: Bright but sour. I like it. But pretty, really pretty in a bowl.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. I do love lemons too, they're delicious.
Johanna Almstea...: Okay. Lemons, I like it. Okay, so it's your last supper, you know you're leaving this earth tomorrow, it's not sad though, it's all just evolution and it's just part of the journey. What are you eating tonight?
Lorenza Golden: I feel like the easy answer is champagne and caviar, which I totally love, I would love all of that. But I'm going to go with a schnitzel, like we're an Austria or Bavaria somewhere, I'm going to have a nice schnitzel.
Johanna Almstea...: Wow.
Lorenza Golden: With a pilsner. Yes.
Johanna Almstea...: Oh, schnitzel and pilsner, I did not expect that from you.
Lorenza Golden: I feel like I would take-
Johanna Almstea...: I guess I expected Italian food.
Lorenza Golden: ... pasta.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah.
Lorenza Golden: Yes. Obviously, I would have that as well. If I could eat endlessly, it would be like a million things, and it'd be from very specific places like, Spaghetti al Limone, and then a slice of pizza from Joe's in the village.
Johanna Almstea...: The best.
Lorenza Golden: And just a whole laundry list of those types of things.
Johanna Almstea...: A little tour of all the places that you like to eat.
Lorenza Golden: Yes.
Johanna Almstea...: Schnitzel and pilsner. I like to play the game in my head of what I think people are going to say, that's not what I would've ever said. Okay. Have you ever had a moment in your life where you've had to eat your words?
Lorenza Golden: Constantly, every day basically.
Johanna Almstea...: And what do you do when you do?
Lorenza Golden: Well, I think now, with age, I am very happy to admit when I'm wrong, when I don't know something, but before I did not. And so, then I would definitely have to eat my words. But I think whenever I get an email that's very offensive or provoking, back in the day, I would just have a knee-jerk reaction, write back something equally as stupid and horrid. But now I know, I'm like, if this is causing me such a reaction, I need to wait at least 24 hours before I respond. And especially when it's like, if I deal with a customer that's very angry, or it's escalated to something really out of proportion, I have to just wait or else I can... I can also not even read the email properly. You know when you're so worked up, you're not even processing information correctly? So, I think it's good to just chill out, wait.
Johanna Almstea...: So you don't have to eat your words.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: Okay, if you could eat one food for the rest of your life every day, all day, what would it be?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah, pasta for sure. You can have it in so many different forms, right? Different shapes.
Johanna Almstea...: Totally.
Lorenza Golden: Different sauces.
Johanna Almstea...: All the things.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Lorenza Golden: Yes. And I love it when it's like, you reheat it and it gets crispy.
Johanna Almstea...: I love me some crispy pasta. In fact, this is really embarrassing, but we didn't have a microwave that worked in our house because it blew up, and we were like, oh, we're going to renovate and we never bought it. So, I don't really use the microwave. So, when I heat up pasta, I usually, sometimes I heat it up in the little toaster oven, and then it gets crispy on the end, and it's so good.
Lorenza Golden: Yes. Well, there's a whole recipe you can make of the pasta, you put raw pasta in a pan with the tomatoes-
Johanna Almstea...: I've never done it.
Lorenza Golden: I've done it, I've done it many times. It's amazing.
Johanna Almstea...: And it works?
Lorenza Golden: Yes.
Johanna Almstea...: Okay. I've seen videos of it.
Lorenza Golden: Yes. I can send you-
Johanna Almstea...: And it stays crunchy. I want that. Can you make it for me the next time I come?
Lorenza Golden: Kind of like Takis, it's like spicy and crispy.
Johanna Almstea...: Where is your happy place?
Lorenza Golden: Let's see, either on a horse or in a nice warm Caribbean water, in the ocean, just like jumping off a boat. Swimming in clear water, for sure.
Johanna Almstea...: Getting a beer at the Soggy Dollar.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. Specifically White Bay in Jost Van Dyke. Yes, Soggy Dollar bar, it's a great spot.
Johanna Almstea...: What did you have for dinner last night? Was it Takis? Please tell me it was Takis.
Lorenza Golden: No, it was not. I didn't even eat dinner, it was one of those nights. My husband was like, I'm not hungry. So, I think I had, I went to the farmer's market and I got, you know that guy who sells the Middle Eastern food at our local farmer's market? I had Babaganish and falafel. But Middle Eastern food's just delicious, all of it.
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. You know where I went the other day that I hadn't been in a long time? Is Cafe Mogadore in the East Village. Have you ever been there?
Lorenza Golden: No.
Johanna Almstea...: Oh my God. It's like the best Moroccan food ever. Anyway, I digress. What do you wear when you feel like you need to take on the world? You have a big meeting or a hot date with your husband?
Lorenza Golden: Definitely blazer. I love blazers, in all shapes and forms.
Johanna Almstea...: Me too.
Lorenza Golden: I have ones for the fall, one's for the winter, ones for the summer... They make me feel, probably because it reminds me of a suit, but they just make me feel like I can take on the world with either a cigarette pant, or some bell bottom jeans and my pair of Manolos that I've had for 20 years that are still intact.
Johanna Almstea...: I like it. It's a power look. You and I have shown up in the same outfits-
Lorenza Golden: I know.
Johanna Almstea...: ... several times for our dinners because we like our power blazers with our t-shirts. I like it.
Lorenza Golden: Great minds think alike.
Johanna Almstea...: We do. We're so cute. What is the most memorable meal you've ever had?
Lorenza Golden: Oh gosh. I don't know. There's just so many. I love a good Omakase, where it's just very authentic... Forget the ambiance, just like 12 courses of fish melting in your mouth. But pretty much you can't have that bad of an Omakase. But nothing else really sticks out. I've had many good meals, too many to pick one.
Johanna Almstea...: Go-to coping mechanism on a bad day? So, you are in the middle of a work day, shit is going sideways, kids are sick, I don't know, whatever it is, life is just turning sideways for you. What do you do?
Lorenza Golden: Well, if I can get on a horse that solves a lot. If I can't, then I'm going on a walk with my dog in nature. Because where we live, there's so many amazing trails, but that always centers me. Also, don't bring a podcast, no offense, just be present in nature-
Johanna Almstea...: You don't want to listen to me in your ear when you're having a bad day?
Lorenza Golden: If you're surrounding yourself in nature, and really taking it in. Because I feel like, yeah, nowadays people try to do too much at once, just go out in nature and just be with a tree.
Johanna Almstea...: I think that's a good reminder. I actually have to remind myself of that because a lot of the times I'm listening to this podcast to edit it or whatever, and there's times when I have to just be like, don't... Or I'm listening to other podcasts because I find them really inspiring, or whatever. And I have to remind myself to just listen to the birds, just don't put anything in your ears. Okay, dream dinner party guest list. You are a really good hostess, you love to throw parties, and you throw beautiful parties.
Lorenza Golden: Thank you.
Johanna Almstea...: Who is coming to your dream dinner party?
Lorenza Golden: I would say a celebrity, but I get very starstruck, and then I would not be able to talk to them, so...
Johanna Almstea...: Even if they were coming to your party, you wouldn't be able to talk to them? Even if you knew they were there for you?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah.
Johanna Almstea...: Okay. All right.
Lorenza Golden: It'd be weird. I get weird. I would say my dead ancestors that I've never met.
Johanna Almstea...: Cool.
Lorenza Golden: Especially ones from the 1600s. I have this, I wouldn't say obsession, but I've always been fascinated by our family tree, and 23 and Me, and I would love to meet all those ancestors and hear about all the crazy times they lived during World War II, during World War I, and hear what life was like back then. That would be awesome. So, it could be ancestors from all different times, all together in one room. Time doesn't matter, right?
Johanna Almstea...: Yeah. I love that, that's fun. Okay, lastly, what is one thing you know for sure right now, in this moment today? You don't have to know it tomorrow or yesterday.
Lorenza Golden: I would say this too shall pass, all the good, all the bad. I don't mean that in a morbid way. When you're in a moment that you love and savor, just remember it, hold onto it. Try to get more of those moments. And then when you're in a moment that is really tough, really difficult, know that that's going to pass too. Right? It's not forever.
Johanna Almstea...: Nothing's forever, except this podcast now. Just kidding. I love that, that's really a good thing to know, and to remember. I think we get caught up in the reactive state and just being able to say like, okay, this is all going to pass. Lastly, can you tell people where to find you? Where can they find La Bella strings?
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. So, if you play an instrument, you want to buy some of our strings, we make strings for everything, it's www.labella.com. We're on Instagram, La Bella Strings, Facebook... And me, I don't know if you want to find me. Hit me up.
Johanna Almstea...: Yes, people want to find you.
Lorenza Golden: Yeah. It's GoldenKokonutz with a K and a Z. On Instagram.
Johanna Almstea...: Golden Kokonutz. Z.
Lorenza Golden: Yes. That's my maiden name, Koko, so it makes sense.
Johanna Almstea...: GoldenKokonutz. I love it. Thank you so much for taking this time, this has been amazing. Thank you for sharing your story. It's fun because we met after you had that whole other life, and so when I was preparing for this and I got to dive into your life before I knew you, it was kind of fun. So, I love this, and I love knowing more about you, and I know people are going to be inspired to find meaning, find purpose, find inspiration, and find things that nourish them. So, thank you so much for taking the time with me, I know you have a lot of things you have to sacrifice for time, so I appreciate it very, very much.
Lorenza Golden: Thank you for having me, this was so fun. And like I said, this is such an amazing podcast, I'm so proud of you, and I know all your friends are too. Just so happy to be a part of it.
Johanna Almstea...: Thank you, that means a lot.
Oh, that was so much fun, I could hang out with her all day. In fact, there are days when I do get to hang out her all day. I loved hearing her story, I hope you guys did too. If you haven't already done so, please follow us on social media, we are @EatMyWordsthepodcast on TikTok and Instagram. If this episode today resonated with you, if you're feeling inspired to look at your life and maybe make some changes, or you think there's somebody in your life that might enjoy it, please send it to them. You can copy and paste it, put it right in a text, you can put it in an email, you can share it over social media, but every little bit helps us build this community and this platform, which we are doing bit by bit, thanks to all of you.
So, as always, thank you so much for tuning in, I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I did, and I will check you on the next one. This podcast has been created and directed by me, Johanna Almstead. Our producer is Sophy Drouin, our audio editor is Isabel Robertson, and our brand manager is Mila Boujnah.