Muse Magazine

Muse of the week: Elizabeth Kiester

I honestly didn’t think I could feel any more inspired after my election high until I re-connected with my old friend and former co-worker Elizabeth Kiester and found out she has moved to Cambodia. Elizabeth had always stood out to me as one of those rare New York fashion media forces who never carried an ounce of pretense. She was the kind of woman who would hook me up with a seat at a fashion show when I was an entry-level assistant at Jane working in my first magazine job AND greet me with a huge smile and easy conversation when I’d see her at the seemingly intimidating Bryant Park tents (rather than the quick wave and run I’d get from other senior-level editors). To me, she was a homecoming queen in the world of magazine journalism, while I was a lowly freshman.

Above all else, Elizabeth has always scored cool points in my mind for being ballsy. After a successful run in New York and a traumatic divorce, she moved to Cambodia and opened the cutest shop in Siem Reap called Wanderlust. She discovered the area when she visited in April of this year as an NGO volunteer. Since then, she’s launched her own clothing line, which she designs and sells in the store. But the best part of the story is, she’s actually giving back to the community, which is still reeling from the Khmer Rouge. In an area that was so ravaged by conflict, an entire generation of people were nearly wiped out (the Khmer Rouge killed two million out of a population of roughly seven million), she’s begun teaching English to locals. “The younger generation in their 30s never got the chance to go to school, learn a trade, or experience anything since they were orphaned,” she explains. “Cambodia is filled with relief workers trying to help the people here regain some skills and get a lifestyle back. So that’s why I am trying to keep all of my products local and keeping six young girls gainfully employed and learning Western sewing and designing techniques,” she adds. It’s exciting and intense stuff. Read more about her adventures at her blog here.