A post-New York Fashion Week (NYFW) show launch party turned into a mini-Dartmouth reunion this September. At the Bobblehaus venue, Ronnie Ahlborn was setting up the show, managing social media, and greeting many Dartmouth students and alumni who came to the event because of various connections with the brand. The launch party attracted alumni from industries inside and outside of fashion and art, and in Ronnie’s words, “Dartmouth people were bound to come.”

As a part of the effort to connect with the class of 2022 after graduation, I’m planning to feature different classmates every other month and tell their stories. In this column, we are very lucky to have Ronnie share with us some cool things she has been doing in New York City.

Ronnie is currently the community and marketing lead at Bobblehaus, a sustainable, genderless, streetwear brand based in New York City. She started her journey with the brand as an intern her sophomore winter. The brand was young and small at the time, and Ronnie worked closely with the cofounders, who taught her everything she needed to know about graphic design after she took just one class on the subject the term before, “Digital Drawing.” The tight-knit team at Bobblehaus introduced Ronnie to how graphic design could be used outside of projects and classrooms—the impact of her work on the growth of this young and exciting brand taught her the longevity of art, which eventually inspired her to major in studio art.

The knowledge and relationships from the studio art major followed Ronnie from Hanover to New York City. When asked whether she keeps in touch with other ’22s in art, she laughed and explained how she just saw Wylie Kasai and Alice Crow in August. She is currently curating an exhibition for Bobblehaus and created the open call for the exhibition under the guidance of Professor Park, who has chatted with Ronnie multiple times after graduation about career, which has come full circle from her first graphic design internship to assisting in putting on a NYFW show for the brand.

Months after graduation Ronnie has recruited two girls from Sheba, Ana Reyes and Huwon Kim ’19, who are working as store managers. She also introduced Nikki Harrigan ’20 to the brand when Bobblehaus needed a model for fashion week. Ronnie sees Bobblehaus as an inclusive platform and loves the message it sends as a fashion brand, which is entirely operated by minorities and primarily women. Prior to the store opening the team talked about how high-end brands pride to be exclusive, but “our party was open to all—we just want to say this is our house, this is your house, and we’d love for you to come hang out.”

This interview is, I hope, the first of many opportunities that I will get to talk to a classmate and share a sneak peak of their lives. If you would like to volunteer yourself, your friends, or anyone who would like to be featured in this column, please feel free to reach out!

—Louisa Gao, 279 E 44th St, Apt 3L, New York, NY 10017; louisa.gao0922@gmail.com