Summer is finally here! It's going to look a little different this year, but there's still plenty to love about the season of sun. In fact, we've been thinking a lot about our summer favorites—from drinks to vacation spots—and want to share them with you, including a curated Spotify playlist we've been jamming along to the last couple weeks. Check it all out below!
Are you more of a fall/winter or spring/summer person?
Amy Voloshin, Creative Director: SUMMER FOREVER. I love warm days, beach days, grilling outside, sitting on the porch—I live for summer.
Sophia DiPersio, Marketing Manager: I’m more of a spring/fall person. I love that I live somewhere I can experience all the seasons, but after a few weeks of over 80 or under 40 temps, I’m over the extremes.
Christiane Moore, Art Director + Designer: I love all of the seasons in different ways, but I’m definitely more of a cool summer mornings/evenings type of person. I love summer most when I’m able to travel to places with more temperate climates (favorites have been the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State and the Isle of Skye in Scotland).
Favorite thing about summer?
Amy: I love being at the beach, wearing lightweight cotton dresses, and the foods of summer—fresh fruit and corn are so delicious, and salads just taste better in the summer!
Sophia: As soon as it starts getting warm I begin making plans for all my favorite outdoor activities—the beach, camping and hiking, bike rides, trips to the park. I also love driving with my windows down and spending warm evenings on my porch.
Christiane: I love watching my garden really flourish! I bring a big portion of my houseplants out onto my porch for the growing season, and I’m lucky enough to have a decently sized city backyard packed full of flowers, vines, ferns, some veggies and a fig tree. There is nothing better than a fresh-off-the-vine tomato sandwich.
Favorite memory from a past summer?
Amy: Last summer the whole family learned how to surf and it was awesome to see our kids catching waves.
Sophia: My friends and I all renting a couple rooms at a beachside motel in the Outer Banks and spending days on the beach or at the pool and then evenings hopping around all the ridiculous beach bars. One year we got kicked out for having too many people, and another year we locked ourselves out at like 2AM and had to break down the door to get in and then buy tools and parts the next morning to fix it before we left. Oops!
Christiane: A favorite memory (that I still repeat at least once every summer) can be encapsulated in the title, “The Perfect Summer Day in Central PA.” It includes taking a lazy tubing trip down the Yellow Breeches Creek, with plenty of friends, snacks and drinks. Followed by a double feature at Haar’s Drive-In movie theater, complete with a bed of blankets and pillows in the bed of a pick-up truck, fresh cut french fries from the snack stand, and a ride home in the back of the truck staring up at the starry night’s sky. There is nothing better in the entire world!
What was your first summer job?
Amy: I always worked a lot when I was a kid, but my first truly seasonal job was working as a lifeguard. I’m not a very loud person, so having to yell at kids all day wasn’t a good fit for me. But it’s an oddly meditative job sitting up in the chair so it gave me a lot of time with my thoughts!
Sophia: Scooping ice cream at a little shop near my high school! It was easy to get friends to come visit me at work haha. I think I ate ice cream for lunch every day for two summers in a row.
Christiane: My parents owned a sandwich shop growing up, so I always worked there on evenings, weekends and over the summer. But my favorite summer job was in college when I got to RA/TA for a scholarship-based precollege program that PA used to run called Governor’s School for the Arts.
Did you go to summer camp when you were younger?
Amy: I went to a daycamp, 4-H camp (which was actually the best), and then went to a lot of sports camps for lacrosse, field hockey and swimming. I was a competitive horseback rider my whole life (started when I was 3) so I didn’t have a lot of time that I could take off from training, so I would only go 1 or 2 weeks a summer.
Sophia: I went to a daycare-like place until I was old enough to stay home by myself, but never went to a sleepaway camp or anything. My best friend’s mom was a teacher so she had off during the summers and I would spend a lot of time over there.
Christiane: I never went to your quintessential Wet Hot American Summer type camp, but did attend a few week-long girlscout and sports camps growing up. But it was pretty rural where I grew up, so we didn’t really have to travel to be in nature.
What song reminds you of summer?
Amy: Sun is Shining - Bob Marley
Sophia: Feels Like Summer - Childish Gambino
Christiane: Diddy Bop - Noname feat. Cam O’bi & Raury
Find our full summertime Spotify playlist here.
Favorite vacation spot?
Amy: We just did a serious renovation on an old victorian home close to Sea Isle, NJ, so that’s my new favorite spot. I always dreamed of living at the beach and it’s been amazing to go to the beach every day and let the kids have fun in the water jumping in the waves.
Sophia: My dad grew up in Ocean City, NJ, so we’ve gone there every summer since I was born basically. I love going to the beach, riding bikes around town and looking at the cool houses, and eating as much Manco & Manco pizza as I can stomach.
Christiane: One of my passions is traveling to new places, so I don’t repeat destinations that frequently. But a few places I find myself returning to are the Adirondacks, Chincoteague and Acadia.
Favorite summer drink?
Amy: I tend to avoid sugar as much as possible since I eat an Ayurvedic diet for the most part, but white wine is perfect (I love any Sauvignon Blanc) and I love the spiced taste of an IPA, but I tend to only drink them on the weekends. A Negroni is heavenly too, or a campari and tonic.
Sophia: Mojitos or an easy-drinking beer with a lime in it.
Christiane: A Corona on a hot day is ideal, and my love for tequila and lime means I’m always in the mood for a margarita or paloma. But as a means to make my summer staycation feel more tropical and festive, I’ve recently taken to sitting in a lawn chair under a sprinkler drinking homemade piña coladas.
Beach vacation or camping in the mountains?
Amy: Always the beach. I grew up in a very remote area in the mountains on a dirt road and always dreamed of the beach. I had enough nature time for a lifetime so I’m all about the city or the beach instead.
Sophia: Both! One is more relaxing and one is more adventurous. Each has their place and I can’t pick!
Christiane: I like a little bit of both. Growing up my family took so many amazing summer trips—my parents would skimp on day-to-day luxuries to save up. One year we rented a houseboat on Lake Powell in Utah, and another we stayed in a little Bahamas Bungalow (with a pontoon boat my dad captained), with lots of national parks across the US in-between. Whether it was the ocean or inland, all of our trips involved lots of hiking and nature.
What fashion trend do you see being big for this summer?
Amy: Staying comfortable I think is essential this summer since so many of us won’t be going to our usual spots. Being in outfits that are easy to go for walks in or sit in the grass or beach are more important than ever. I love bright printed dresses from Matta, Sea and Banjanan, by absolute favorite brands which all use color and delicate details so beautifully. The bright colors make me happy and feel uplifting.
Sophia: Face masks! Jk. Um… probably bike shorts again. They’re super easy to wear (and aren’t we all wearing only comfy clothes right now) plus they keep you cool in the summer. My go-to look is going to be a hat, sunglasses, and a face mask so no one will be able to recognize me.
Christiane: I agree that being comfortable will be priority #1 this summer. In addition to breezy summer sundresses and kaftans, I think 0% of people will be wearing underwire. With all of the comfy options from intimates companies like True and Co (even for even bustier ladies like me), why would anyone ever wear a real bra ever again?!
Since this summer will be looking different from others, what are your plans to still make this one special?
Amy: I am looking forward to finding some new recipes to try for healthy summer foods, socially distanced hang outs with friends at the beach, and getting better at surfing. I’m also doing more art and crafts than I have done in a long time, so embroidering, drawing, and painting are filling my evenings which I love and have found to be very calming.
Sophia: Extra outside time. Since traveling is kind of out of the question, I’ll be planning lots of camping trips, hikes, and bike rides. Anything I can do to get out of the house while staying a safe distance from other people. I’ve also picked up a couple new hobbies, like guitar, that I plan to work on.
Christiane: I’m trying to plan at least a couple driving-distance weekend trips in nature. But in general I’m going to spend more time outside, doing plein air painting and inviting friends over for backyard lounging and BBQs. I also have a new obsession with stock tank pools and am currently scheming about how to make one happen this year.
You can follow along with the Printfresh team on Instagram, and read past Meet the Team blogs here.