Who I Am
Thanks for visiting! My name is Kelsey, and I’m a writer currently based in Brooklyn, NY. I’m originally from West Virginia, so my personal writing is influenced by my Appalachian upbringing while my commercial work is professional, clean, and engaging.
My earliest childhood writing came in the form of poems published in anthologies and award-winning essays, the jumpstart to a hobby that quickly parlayed into a restaurant review column in the Herald-Dispatch when I was 18. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from WV State University, I moved to New York City in 2013 and began working as the operations manager at a boutique heavy metal advertising network while contributing regular op-eds, columns, interviews, and reviews to websites like MetalSucks, Vice, Louder Sound, et al. This led to a staff writing position at Revolver Magazine where I wrote thousands of news items and longer pieces while continuing to take requests to contribute to various music outlets both domestic and international.
Upon leaving the music industry, I began working as commerce writer at The Independent, where I launched and acted as the sole writer, editor, publisher, and promoter of Indy100 Wishlist. The creative freedom allotted to me there allowed me to dive deep into fashion, beauty, and home decor — all serious passions of mine — while learning to craft engaging and SEO-optimized product reviews, gift guides, general roundups, and tentpole content throughout every imaginable shoppable category. That is to say: I have not known peace on Black Friday or Prime Day for the better part of a decade.
After three years with The Independent, I took on a six-month contract stint at Dotdash Meredith as a methodology writer on the commerce team’s health, family, and fitness sector. A week after my contract ended in July 2023, I was offered my current role as a Digital Reporter in Commerce & Style for GoodMorningAmerica.com, eventually going on to write the earliest content for the company’s latest commerce-oriented vertical, Shop ABC.
I’m also an accomplished musician with nearly 30 years of experience as a percussionist beginning with playing twirling tenor drums in the Kanawha Valley Pipes & Drums, a regimental highland band that competed regularly throughout my tenure. By the age of 12, I was named the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association Junior Drummer of the Year, followed by an even bigger win as the best tenor drummer on the East Coast later that year.
Being immersed in Scottish culture triggered an interest in fashion for me, specifically after seeing and recognizing the influence of traditional Highland garments on my favorite designer, Alexander McQueen. His ability to fuse his ancestral style of dress with the high-fashion sensibility of the 1990s and early oughts inspired me to explore my unique sense of style, ultimately giving me the confidence to experiment with fashion in a way not particularly encouraged in rural West Virginia — we should all be so lucky to be inspired by this spirit of rebellion.
Since this revelation, I’ve been passionate about the arts and specifically fashion’s role in them. You can find me on the weekends thrifting yet another vintage coat, perusing a buzzy show at The Drawing Center where my dear husband is the Operations Manager and Head Preparator, or adding to my extensive collections of vintage postmodern home decor. I’m also a visual artist (hobbyist, really), and have had my work exhibited at Catland Books during the listening party for a Kenneth Anger album, at the “My Bloody Valentine” show at 14BC gallery, and in the book “Jesus Now: Art & Pop Culture” by Laitetia Barbier.
In my personal life, I’m a devoted dog mom, and elderly chihuahuas are my passion. My husband and I currently have three (aged 11 to 13) as well as two cats that keep the rest of the herd in line.
I’m currently working on a memoir rooted in grief that aims to examine the cultural intersections of rural and urban Americans’ emotional landscapes and coping mechanisms. I plan to finish the first draft by mid-2025.
For a link to my current work that updates daily, visit: