[Photos Ari Seth Cohen/Text Maayan Zilberman]

One of the things we love most about living in New York is meeting gems like 90 year old Ilona Royce Smithkin while going about our day. Ari met this beautiful lady on the street recently and insisted I meet her to discuss our mutual interests in painting, dancing, and making our own lingerie.What most first notice about Ilona are her long eyelashes that she crafts out of her own flashy red hair. With a youthful figure and delightful ease in conversation, its obvious she is also a performer with plenty to tell.
I’ll be sitting down with Ilona this weekend to discuss it in detail.

Stay tuned for tips on making your own clothes, how to balance careers, and who should wear false eyelashes..