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wanting to be Oprah, and pretending to inter view everyone from
Michael Jackson to Albert Einstein,’ she says. ‘Even in college, [studying
media and journalism at California State University], I’d be holed
up in a corner at par ties, asking someone to dish their life story. I’m a
storyteller at heart; I love it when people share theirs with me.’ It shows:
books by Zadie Smith, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jodie Patterson
and Michelle Obama jostle for space on her heaving bookshelves.
Nearby, a coffee table, which she describes as one of ‘the best
remnants of the worst relationship of my life,’ sits snugly next to her
prized possession, a mid-century sofa scoured from the Fort Greene
market. The sofa has followed her from apartment to apartment, and
takes centre stage by the room’s bay windows. ‘I found it at the end of
the day. I usually have to call my friends
for their opinions on big purchases, but
I knew it was the one. The dealer was
about to take it back to New Jersey,
so I went and haggled with him. It’s
a piece that I will have forever. I’ve
lived in Harlem, the West Village,
Fort Greene and now Bed–Stuy and
it comes with me. Everywhere I’ve
moved in, I’m like, ‘Where’s my couch
going to go, and what’s the moment
I’m going to create around it?’
It’s also where she wrote the bulk
of More Than Enough. ‘For six months,
it was just me, my laptop, my sweat
pants and my couch. I couldn’t have
asked for a better backdrop than
Brooklyn: to write while the birds
are chirping, the music seeping in from across the street. That’s what
I love about my neighbourhood, Bed-Stuy – the people chilling on
their stoops, some having a little cookout. It always feels like you’re
a part of a community, even when you’re in your cocoon. There’s nothing
that compares to living in a Brownstone here.’
Elaine says she and her partner, musician Jonathan Singletary, who
has his studio in their home, have maximised the experience. ‘We live
within the same square mile as all our friends, so we are always ordering
soul food from the place down the block, cooking for everyone, having
a full-on karaoke party, or sometimes Jonathan and I just walk around
the block like old people or hang out in our pyjamas eating vegan
ice cream,’ she says. The downtime, those moments of calm in the midst
of chaos, is precious to her. ‘I’m just always “on” for my job and I have
to go to all of these events, so when I am home, I love to turn it all the
way off and do absolutely nothing. I think that truly is the greatest luxury.’
Elaine Welteroth’s book, More Than Enough: Claiming Space For What
You Are (No Matter What They Say), is out nowFASHION-FORWARD
Elaine’s home reflects
her signature look,
combining Californian
cool with an easy
Brooklyn sensibility“ I COULDN’ T
HAVE ASKED for
A BE T TER BACKDROP
THAN BROOKLYN –
IT always FEELS
LIKE YOU’RE PART
OF a COMMUNI T Y ”
Additional photography: Getty Images.Hair: Michael Warren at Factor y Downtown. Make - up: Porsche Cooper.138 ELLE.COM/UK September 2O19
BROOKLYN LIFE
Elaine counts her
stoop as one of her
favourite things
about living in the
New York district