Origins of Influence

This week's episode of  Origins of Influence  features  Kellie Brown  — the multi-hyphenate creator, tastemaker, and entrepreneur behind  And I Get Dressed , a beloved digital destination for style, and  Deeply Madly Modern , her design-focused platform celebrating interiors and creativity. Before becoming one of the internet’s most original voices, Kellie spent years...

Before social media and algorithms, Alison Gary was already shaping the way real women thought about style, confidence, and community. A longtime blogger and digital pioneer, she launched Wardrobe Oxygen in 2005—creating one of the internet’s most enduring independent fashion and lifestyle platforms, built on honesty, accessibility, and radical transparency. In this episode of Origins of Influence...

Before social media and algorithms,  Tia Williams  was already shaping the way we talked about beauty, culture, and women’s inner lives. A former magazine editor turned novelist, she built one of the earliest digital spaces dedicated to Black beauty and self-expression— Shake Your Beauty —while holding senior editorial roles at  ELLE , Glamour ,  Lucky , and  Essence . In...

In this episode of  Origins of Influence , host Dina Fierro sits down with  Karen Robinovitz —cultural bellwether, serial entrepreneur, and one of the original architects of the influencer economy. As co-founder of Digital Brand Architects  (DBA), Karen helped professionalize influencer representation long before it became an industry standard, spotting the value of digital creators...

Before Instagram, before brand deals, before influencer was a job title— Yuli Ziv was building the business of digital influence. In this episode, Dina sits down with her longtime friend and fellow fashion blogosphere OG to trace the arc of Yuli’s remarkable career: from founding Style Coalition and shaping the earliest creator-brand partnerships, to exiting post-acquisition and walking away from...

Photographer, creative director, and cultural documentarian  Lougé Delcy —also known as  Dapper Lou —joins host  Dina Fierro  to trace his evolution from early street style pioneer to founder of  Dapper Studios  and  Gallery Lougé . In this rich, expansive conversation, Lougé shares how his Haitian-American upbringing shaped his perspective, why he stepped away f...

In this episode of  Origins of Influence , host Dina Fierro sits down with  Jess Kirby —former fashion influencer, writer, and founder of the best-selling Substack newsletter  A Common Thread . Jess was among the early creators who helped define the blog-to-Instagram era, building a platform rooted in personal style, relatability, and lifestyle storytelling. But over time, she began...

This week on Origins of Influence , Dina sits down with Meghan Donovan—creator of Wit & Whimsy and founder, En Route to Rêverie . Meghan launched her blog in 2006, becoming one of the earliest voices in what would become the burgeoning influencer economy. Nearly two decades later, she’s built a sustainable, multi-revenue stream business rooted in trust, taste, and thoughtful storytelling. From...

Felicia Walker —digital beauty OG, skincare educator, and founder of  Phoebe Skin —joins  Origins of Influence  to reflect on two decades in the content game. Felicia, found online at  ThisThatBeauty , launched her blog in the early 2000s and became a trusted voice in beauty, long before the creator economy had a name. In this episode, we talk about the early days of the blogos...

Katie Rodgers —formerly known as  Paper Fashion —joins Dina for a rich conversation about creative evolution, digital beginnings, and the ongoing dance between art, audience, and authenticity. From posting fashion illustrations on WordPress to collaborating with brands like  Coach  and  Christian Louboutin , Katie was an early pioneer of the art on Instagram movement. Now based...

Before Instagram influencers and TikTok trends, there was Tumblr — and few creators used it more brilliantly than John Jannuzzi. In this episode of Origins of Influence , Dina Fierro is joined by writer and creative director John Jannuzzi to explore the wild, weird, and wonderful internet of the late aughts and early 2010s. John reflects on his digital beginnings with Textbook , a Tumblr blog that...

In this episode of Origins of Influence , Dina Fierro sits down with Jennine Jacob —fashion blogging pioneer, personal stylist, and founder of the Iconic Style Studio . Jennine takes us on a journey from her early days launching The Coveted , one of the first fashion blogs, to founding Independent Fashion Bloggers (IFB) —a groundbreaking community that empowered creators long before the term “infl...

Nicolette Mason’s digital origin story began in the early 2000s, where platforms like LiveJournal and DIY outfit photos laid the foundation for what would become a pioneering career in fashion, media, and brand-building. Today, she’s a writer, strategist, and consultant, known for her trailblazing voice in conversations around size inclusion, queerness, and identity in fashion. In this episode of&...

James Nord’s story begins on Tumblr in 2007, where his cinematic photography earned him one of the largest followings on the platform. But his path from creator to CEO was just beginning. Today, he’s the founder and CEO of Fohr — a leading influencer and ambassador marketing company powering software, services, and strategy for some of the world’s top brands. In this episode of  Origins of In...

Origins of Influence  is a limited podcast series exploring the untold stories of the internet’s earliest creators—and what happened next. Hosted by longtime marketer and early fashion blogger Dina Fierro, the show revisits a pre-algorithm era when influence was built through authenticity, community, and creativity on platforms like Blogger, Tumblr, and LiveJournal. But this isn’t just a...