Meet Morgan McGoff | Artist, Jeweler & Business Owner

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

Hi Morgan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Skinny Dip came about fairly accidentally. I started SDJ while I was co-running a flower cart business with a friend, doing social media consulting, and helping another friend get a business up and running. During this time I knew I wanted something that was all my own but I didn’t know what yet.

At the time, I was living in Boise Idaho, deeply homesick, anxious and depressed. My mom, an avid crafter, would send me care packages and in one she included oven-bake clay. I quickly started crafting shapes that I thought would make great earrings, so off to the craft store I went. I started sharing my work on instagram and quickly gained traction from friends wanting to buy them. I was stunned, before I knew it I had a small business that was helping calm my anxiety, get me out of my depression pit and bring joy to others, my favorite pastime.

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’ve wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I’d joke that I wanted to be a starving artist when I grew up. Thankfully, I am not starving but I did reach my goal of being a professional artist!

I studied Fine Arts with a focus in photography at the University of Cincinnati in the college of DAAP. I started taking paid photo gigs in high school and have done everything from wedding to product photography. Now, photography serves as a vital tool in my business. While college may have put me in debt, I don’t take for granted that I use much of the knowledge I gained from DAAP in so many aspects of my business.

DAAP is a highly conceptual school which I loved at the time and it has definitely helped me to create meaningful collections. However, I say “at the time” because to this day I have a difficultly applying value to my work unless there is a deeper meaning. This is something I’m currently unlearning because what I’ve come to realize is that playing and making what generates happiness is truly enough and I want others to recognize that as well.

More on generating happiness, my mission through Skinny Dip is to inspire living authentically, or as I like to say, “in the skinny.” Living “nude” in this world takes courage, which is why I strive to show others that it’s fully possible and rewarding to be vulnerable. Wether its through my work, Instagram, emails, or in-person events, I do my best to show up authentically, no matter how uncomfortable I am because I know thats where the sweet and juicy parts of life lie. I believe wholeheartedly that this world needs more examples of people that do not waiver for the sake of others and frankly, I hate being anything but myself. Creating work that brings me happiness, acting a fool on social media, not adhering to trends, and meeting others where they are with kindness are just a few of the ways I personally “live in the skinny.”

My work is greatly inspired by nature, street style fashion, closet staples, and my everyday life. Currently bringing me joy is creating one-of-a-kind bespoke styles, closet staples and experimenting with new mediums. Every Skinny Dip piece is designed by myself and made by two hands from start to finish to ensure the best and most ethically made pieces possible are being created. More over, my greatest joy comes from seeing the joy that my work brings to others.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Cincinnati has so much to offer! If I were to show my city off to a friend for a week it’d probably go a little like this:

For an epic Cincy day:

We’d get coffee from Collective Espresso and bagels from The Bagelry and head over to Washington park for a nice walk and people watching.

For lunch we’d take the street car down to Maplewood.

After lunch we’d hop over to Eden Park where we’d visit the Krohn Conservatory and the Cincinnati Art Museum then go for a stroll around Mirror Lake.

For some pre dinner drinks, we’d stop at my favorite bar, Longfellows.

For dinner we would head to Kiki in College Hill for the city’s best Japanese tapas and ramen.

For desert we’ll head down to the Gaslight in Clifton for Greater’s Ice Cream, my old stopping ground that helped me pay the bills in college.

And if all of that didn’t totally wipe us out, we’ll go catch from live music at MOTR Pub.

Other activities would include:

Walking up and down Vine St to pop into some of my favorite small boutiques such as Idlewild, Sloane, Continuum, and TMBTITWI.

Snagging some delicious pastries from Brown Bear Bakery.

Popping into Indigo Hippo on Main St., my favorite store for a wide range of used art supplies.

Getting dressed up for a show at the Aronoff Center.

Checking out what’s new at the Contemporary Arts Center.

Seeing a movie at the coolest historic theatre, the Esquire.

A day of walking around the city to see all of the amazing murals.

Rooftop beers at Rhinegeist Brewery.

Grocery shopping for a tasty dinner in with a sweet treat from Dojo Gelato at Findlay Market.

City Flea to see some of the best small businesses and artists Cincy has to offer.

A walk and picnic at Smale Riverfront Park.

A day at the the Cincinnati Zoo, one of the best zoos in the US!

A visit to Union Terminal for some of the coolest art deco architecture around.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate this shoutout to my Mom and Dad for always encouraging me to go after what I truly want to do.

Website: https://skinnydipjewelry.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skinnydipjewelry/