Meet Alexandra Rutkay | Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexandra Rutkay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexandra, what do you attribute your success to?
I’ve been an entrepreneur and freelancer for over a decade. Working a 9-5 never appealed to me- the structure and confinement of it felt so restrictive and lacked space for innovation.

I have always been a creator and especially enjoy creating and iterating on products in the consumer marketplace. Psychology plays a large part in my process and the idea behind why customers choose certain products and how they utilize them on a daily basis. Being able to create products that I love but more importantly that others love and ones that make their life easier are so satisfying and bring me a really
Important element of success – which is joy.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I attended the Savannah college of art and design right out of high school. Being around other artists was very affirming and made me feel less like a “black sheep”’of sorts.

In my second year of college I got sidetracked with partying because I couldn’t connect with a major and was pressuring myself to again fit into a box that, wasn’t made for me. My intention was to take a semester off and return to school but my parents were very disappointed in that decision and it caused a rift in our relationship for about a year.

During that year I experimented, bartended and lived as a young 20 year old and eventually came to
terms with what I wanted my future to look like.

I decided to move to New York and become a professional makeup artist with the goal of working in film and television. I moved to New York with less than $2,000.00 and no connections in the industry and got a retail counter job. I convinced an up and coming makeup boutique to hire me with no experience and that began my long career in makeup.

I networked my way upward, hustling and doing a lot of unpaid work. I met the right people and made connections which eventually landed me my first tv news job. When I grew out of that role I networked my way into union work and started working on the biggest tv shows and movies and with incredible talent and artists.

Throughout my journey as a makeup artist I learned about perseverance and consistency, rejection and redirection which ultimately showed me my true nature of an entrepreneur. I think part of me didn’t fully believe I could build a business that could sustain the lifestyle
I desired but I kept going – making mistakes and reinventing and trying and failing forward. Trying and launching different brands, products- learning about customer service and e-commerce.

I took a pause when I became a mother in 2020 which was a major life catalyst but in the first three months of my sons life during a pandemic, I was also diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

During the first year of my sons life I had to undergo a major limb sparing surgery and 15, 8 hour days of
Chemotherapy and then 31 rounds of radiation all while the world reeled from the catastrophic event which was covid.

After I healed and the dust settled I truly realized just how short life can be and how precious our time here is.

At the end of the day it was all a blessing because it blew away anything that was holding me back- which unsurprisingly was just myself and limiting beliefs.

Instead of listening to anything that doubted or critiqued my new idea I decided to go for it by once again building another brand.

I launched my business citymouse in January of 2023. Halfway through the year we have almost hit 6 figures in sales, landed in 7 retailers and have customers all over the world. The reason I believe this brand worked is of course because I made a good and necessary product
But I believe a successful
Company happens because of the intention behind it. You always hear how important your “why” is when launching a company because that’s what gets you through the hard times.

My “why” is creating a brand and a company that uplifts women in particular. Motherhood is a very isolating journey in this day and age and without family or support – your community I of other moms who you lean on. They are who you commiserate with, share tips, and recipes with, or just lend an ear to vent to. Bringing together women from all walks of life over a product is a blessing and I can’t wait to continue to build this vibrant community and help others in the process.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Living in New York there is obviously no shortage of things to do or places to eat. For a typical day- I’d probably start by taking my friend to one of the prettiest places in the city- the Jackie Onassis reservoir in Central Park. After a walk around that we’d walk downtown along Madison Avenue window shopping and stopping at match 65 for a quick coffee and a croissant outside (Ralph’s is so overrated, sorry!). We’d jump on the subway and head to union square for the green market have lunch at Barbounia.

We are foodies around here so good restaurants during the trip are a must-
Pizza at Di Fara, cocktails at the beekman, and the nines, walking around the west village during the day, dinner at Cosme at night, a Broadway show or visit to Artechhouse and Chelsea market would be a must, and maybe a spa visit to governors island Q spa because then you can experience the ferry (my favorite way to commute in nyc) as well!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My grandma and I had a very special relationship. In my darkest times she reminded me of my potential and that she believed in me when others in my life did not. I credit so much of my successes to her never giving up on me and infusing my life with hope in moments when I had very little.

Website: www.citymouseny.com

Instagram: @citymouse_ny

Image Credits
Eric Schneider, Annie Martin, Emma strachman, kyrie Thompson, Claire Van Beber, Tirza Evora