SOMA Living June 2022

INTRODUCING THE LESTER FAMILY

Photography by Jamie Meier

Irina Lester describes her family as being among the early pioneers that migrated from Brooklyn to South Orange in the new millennium. She explained, “I never thought I would move to New Jersey. Growing up in Brooklyn, the Jersey we knew was industrial and crass. Suburban towns like Maplewood and South Orange were never even mentioned.” Irina met her husband John at a house party in Park Slope. She joked, “It was a one-night stand that has lasted for 20 years.” The couple lived together in Sunset Park before moving to Park Slope when their oldest child started kindergarten. “By then we’d discovered a mutual love of fancy cheeses and figured we could get both the cheese and the school in one neighborhood.” The end of elementary school and the birth of their last baby coincided in 2012 and the Lester’s decided to move to South Orange and make it their home. “When we moved to South Orange, a decade ago, everyone we met from Brooklyn had stories about coming here thirty years ago,” Irina said. “SOMA still felt a little untouched for our generation; it felt like we’d discovered something really special.” She added, “We are happy and in love with living here. Watching my kids grow through the school system, with friendships that have lasted since kindergarten, is something you can’t put a price on.” Irina is more than just another transplant. She is an avid knitter and owner of The Local Yarn Store in South Orange. “Since opening the business, we inevitably run into people we know when we go out, which is something I secretly dreamed of even while I was growing up being too cool for New Jersey. I love that my kids are growing up with an expectation that kindness and cordiality is a normal thing.” Fourteen years ago, pregnant with her second baby, Irina had no idea she was about to learn the skill that would become her livelihood. Having been taught to sew by her grandmother, Irina explained “I was an intense nester while pregnant and wound-up sewing baby quilts, sheets, and a crib skirt. I’d made all of these things and still had a month to go in my pregnancy. On a whim, I walked to Barnes & Noble, scanned the craft section, and decided, ‘I’m going to learn to knit.’

JUNE 2022 | SOMA LIVING 7

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