Monroe Alvarez

In retrospect, that story of jumping on the board, going all in, and not looking back feels like the best metabolization of Monroe’s perspective — fueled by an unseen, insatiable curiosity fed by searching, doing, and experiencing. Unsurprisingly, GRLSWIRL has been one of many passions that she’s similarly immersed herself in. Similarly to knowing when to jump in, part of listening to your intuition is knowing when to let go. In the last year, Monroe stepped away from being as actively involved in GRLSWIRL, seeing it was a moment for the group to blossom on its own. As she puts it, "There's a moment when you recognize the thing you helped shape has grown up. It's time to release you to the wild." Most recently, following the birth of her son Koa in 2021, her focus has been Koko Momo, a line of children’s clothing made from salvaged and vintage fabrics. She's quick to humble her endeavors with a “jack of all trades” ethos and a willingness to roll up her sleeves, but who said mastery had to be the end goal? The approach of artist David Hockney was once described as being nourished by “the continual projection of interest.” Said another way: if you are interested, anything can be interesting. The task is to be ready and willing to jump when the opportunity strikes, knowing that you’ll land on your feet.