The Way We Love: celebrating how people define love and partnerships today.
Erin and Enya Mommsen share more than just their delicate features and quiet confidence. There’s something untouchable about their bond; a secret between them that only siblings share. The multidisciplinary creatives call on modeling, photography, and visual arts as their areas of focus, and their knack for observation is apparent not only in the way they perceive others but how they perceive themselves. Despite their two-year age gap (Erin is 23, Enya 25), they interact as if they shared the same womb. Because love comes in many forms, we asked the brother and sister about their story. Here, they share their connection in their own language.
Erin: If our names weren’t Enya and Erin what would they be?
Enya: “Ayne and Nire or Monica and Ross”
Erin: What is a childhood memory that fully encapsulates our relationship?
Enya: “Probably the time you threw my stuffed animal off our building roof into a construction site and mom had to go get it. [Laughs] No, but really, we have this family trip every summer. A few years ago, we shared a cigarette and some wine on the front lawn of the hotel; we just started talking about everything and anything on our minds.
“I guess this is not particularly a ‘childhood’ memory, but something about that afternoon felt like the thing that shaped our current dynamic—a true bond we know we can always count on.”
Erin: What do you think are our biggest similarities?
Enya: “Definitely our ability to step back and laugh at life. Sometimes in a slightly cynical way, yes, but mostly in the way that embraces all the ebbs and flows and constantly works at growing and getting better.”
Erin: If we switched lives for a week, what would you do?
Enya: “Eat everything and anything I ever wanted 🍔🍕.”
Enya: What habit do I have that secretly bugs you?
Erin: “Often when we are having conversations you wiggle your nose and stare directly at my mouth while I’m talking and, for some reason, it really bugs me, but in a funny way. I even sometimes secretly try to do it back but you don’t notice even a little.”
Enya: What place from our past gives you the feeling of “home?”
Erin: “I can’t really think of a place that is from our past that gives me the feeling of home, but I will answer that anytime I blow out candles, the smell brings straight back, so vividly, to us living in the Dominican Republic and the electric being out during a storm. It’s a feeling that rests so deeply in me and is hard to explain, but I know exactly what it is and what it feels like. Maybe that’s home…”
Enya: Where do you see us in 10 years?
Erin: “Hm. I see us as a creative duo, having the platform to express and execute really unique ideas. I see us working on projects and making an impact. And I know it’ll be because of our connection not just with each other but also with ourselves.”