Every Day Carry with Stephanie Palmeri

Stephanie Palmeri is a partner with Uncork Capital where she invests in seed stage companies. She’s focused on startups empowering their customers and making a positive impact on individuals, communities, families and humans in general. When she’s not headed to a founder meeting or an industry function, you might find her enjoying a nice bottle of wine with her fellow foodie husband. Find out what’s in her bag and which staples keep her going strong all day from morning meetings to evening events.

The bag(s)

I love Cuyana. They make high-quality, yet usable leather bags that go with absolutely anything. I’m not really precious when it comes to my bags — I set them down on the floor at the office, underneath the airplane seat in front of me, you name it — and they frequently get dinged up. Because of this, I prefer not to buy bags that are too excessive. I also really don’t like labels on a purse — simplicity is key for me. This one is the Trapeze Satchel. It’s a well-made, practical bag that I’m not afraid to actually use and don’t feel guilty about setting on the floor if needed. It holds a surprising amount of stuff! I’m a bag lady; no matter the size of my bag, it will be filled to the brim. I also keep a smaller Cuyana pouch in here. I attend a ton of events and just hate to carry a large bag around all evening, so I end up checking it. I keep my phone and wallet in the pouch, which is much lighter and easier to maneuver with at a crowded event

On-the-go essentials

My number one is sunscreen, without a doubt. Every day — cloudy or sunny — you just have to wear it. I keep the Mario Badescu Collagen Moisturizer with SPF on hand at all times so I can re-apply as needed. The collagen provides great anti-aging benefits, too. I normally buy several of the travel-sized bottles at a time and keep them in all of my bags, so they end up a little worn. I also travel a lot and must admit that I love to stock up on the little travel-sized toiletries from hotels. You’ve paid for the room, you may as well enjoy the products! I keep mini lotions from this stash with me to keep my skin hydrated on the go. You’ll never find me without my makeup bag, either — I practically bring the whole counter with me. My other daily essentials include Diorshow Pump 'N' Volume Mascara, Trish McEvoy’s Brow Mascara, Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment, Josie Maran Argan Oil and La Fresh’s Cleanser for quick and easy makeup removal. I also keep my S’well water bottle on hand — I love its size because it fits right in my bag.

Another staple is especially key during heavy event seasons - a pair of heels. I frequently head to events straight from work and like to switch things up from my daytime sneakers or flats. These heels are Schutz from Poshmark. I love to invest in luxury staples like a great leather bag, but I’m also a major bargain-hunter. The last must-have in my bag is a lint brush. We have a senior rescue dog named Kita that is just the best — spunky with a great personality. She sheds like crazy, though, so I have to carry one everywhere to mitigate the dog hair situation.

Don’t call them reading glasses

I’m obsessed with my glasses from Barton Perreira — the brand does awesome lenses for women with narrow frames. These are my computer glasses - I don’t like to refer to them as “reading glasses”, ha! After buying them, I discovered that my mom has the exact same ones and got a laugh out of that. It’s hard to find styles that work on a narrow frame, which we both have. The brand makes lovely sunglasses, too - I probably wear these the most, but I also love pretty much any frames from Steven Alan.

Getting down to business

I carry an iPad Pro, along with the Pencil and Keyboard Case. Then, of course, the essentials — AirPods and chargers for my iPhone and iPad. Lugging around a heavy laptop all the time was just getting too hard on my back, and the iPad helps relieve this issue immensely because I’m on the go so often. I couldn’t live without the keyboard though — I’m much more productive with a keyboard than I am with a touchscreen alone. It’s a dream setup on planes, as well, fitting perfectly on the tray table where bulky laptops can be troublesome. My next goal is to start taking notes directly in the Evernote app on here with the Pencil, vs. using a traditional notepad. I love taking comprehensive notes and am a stickler for details, but I find that I don’t return to paper notes nearly as often as I do digital ones that are stored in one place. I won’t fully give up paper just yet, though — the gridded Moleskin notebooks are my favorites. I keep a few of mine, as well those I’ve received from founders, fellow investors, or other potential connections in a little holder...with a Poshmark sticker on it, of course!

Uncorked, quite literally

You’ll also usually find actual wine corks in here. My husband and I are both foodies and we love to try new restaurants. We’re also big on wine and are members at a few Sonoma and Central Coast wineries. To keep up with the wine shipments, we’ll regularly bring a bottle with us and just pay the corkage fee. If we open a special bottle for a certain occasion or celebration, I always keep the cork. Sometimes I’ll find a random one in my bag several months later and it’s such a sweet way to remember that moment and the wine we sipped during it.

Want to learn more about Stephanie? Follow her on Twitter @stephpalmeri.