We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicole Mölders. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicole below.
Hi Nicole, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My Dad inspired my interest in science and nature, while my Mom got me interested in creating things. She pursued sewing, stitching, and knitting and taught me to do the same. Both parents were active in sports and, before having kids, in painting. Dad was interested in shortwave radio, the Moon landing, astronomy, math, and gardening. He permitted me to watch the Moon landing and all Moon missions thereafter. We watched the Moon through his telescope; Dad taught me the star formations and always answered my science-related questions. One day, one shortwave broadcast discussed diverting the Siberian rivers to the South to irrigate the deserts. This irrigation would alter the weather. This time, my why question remained unanswered.
When deciding whether to study industrial design (textile design) or meteorology, my Mom suggested meteorology to avoid becoming a poor artist. My Dad wasn’t excited about either choice and wanted me to become a lawyer.
Nevertheless, he took me to learn about the employment options for meteorologists. On our way home, he said Meteorology is perfect for you, and you can do art on the side as a hobby. I became a professor of atmospheric sciences, answered my query, and published peer-reviewed papers on weather, environmental sciences, and thermal comfort. Furthermore, I authored several atmospheric sciences and fashion books. After retiring after more than 25 years of teaching, I am studying art and exploring the intersection of fashion, lifestyle, art, and science by unveiling the symmetry between creativity and innovation.
My parents did three crucial things right: They cultivated my curiosity for science and creativity and encouraged me to study meteorology first while pursuing art on the side. This order permitted me to do both, meteorology and art. The other way round, I would never have been able to do the research I did and enjoyed.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your blog’s background and context?
When my husband and I came to Alaska, dressing stylishly for thermal comfort became a real challenge. Online shopping became crucial for chic clothing that looks professional while providing enough insulation. Imagination of how the attire would look and fit on a midlife body was key. Online stores, typically display their clothes on young women in their twenties. However, the hormone changes in midlife alter the body. Consequently, the buyer has difficulty judging whether the garment would look great on her. Because many women in the US have a similar problem, I started High Latitude Style. I regularly review clothing from various brands to show how popular trends look on a midlife body. Besides fashion, this blog provides, among other things, career and lifestyle tips. Furthermore, I also write about my art journey to encourage others to life-long learning.
Two fashion books followed, one related to painting. The first covers how to dress for success in midlife. It helps ladies who were stay-at-home moms dress professionally when they return to work. It also allows immigrants of all ages to learn how to dress for various occasions in the US. The second book is an ebook with fashion coloring pages. Buyers can practice color combinations, enhancing their confidence in putting outfits together. Moreover, the coloring is very relaxing and helps to de-stress. In 2023, a popular science book on the relationship between fashion, fabric, weather, and thermal comfort followed. This book lets readers buy the proper clothing for their climate region. Travel agents can use it to advise customers which fabric materials are best for their vacation destination to avoid thermal stress and sunburns. For these three books, I designed the covers myself.
The links to purchase these books are in the sidebar of my blog.
My artwork encompasses handmade jewelry (I took silversmithing as a recreational class in college for a couple of years), and watercolor paintings. Semi-precious gemstones are my favorite material for earrings and necklaces. Alaskan landscapes and atmospheric phenomena are my motives for painting.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
It’s hard to nail it down to just one aspect. It’s the journey of seeing something everybody sees but interpreting it in a new way and/or context. In other words, the creativity and curiosity that explores fashion and lifestyle in terms of science and art in an innovative way. The end product is something people can enjoy.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn that art is about taste. People like it or dislike it depending on their feelings about a piece. Ironically, I have long thought that the hard sciences are abstract and theoretical while the arts are visual and empirical. Modeling clouds, for instance, uses many empirical relations in a theoretical framework. In sciences, the software visualizes results (e.g., model output, which can be tetra-bytes of numbers). There is a theory behind what makes a good painting. Part of it is simplification, leading to abstraction. The viewer’s knowledge recognizes the object based on their experience. Thus, there are many common things between art and science. Art like science is intellectually challenging as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://highlatitudestyle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highlatitudestyle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HighLatitudeStyle/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-m%C3%B6lders-1621b146/
- X: https://x.com/HighLatitudeSty
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Highlatitudestyle
- Other: https://sites.google.com/alaska.edu/nicolemolders/
Image Credits
Photo of me: Gerhard Kramm