#432: HANNAH LA FOLETTE RYAN

🫧 Pop it fidget toys, 🍊 Chinotto, 🧒 Broing out with Kids, and more.

Perfectly Imperfect is a newsletter offering “A Taste of Someone’s Taste” from guests like Charli XCX, John Cale, Julian Casablancas, Lena Dunham, Mac Demarco, Dasha Nekrasova, Tim Heidecker, Ayo Edebiri, Michael Imperioli, Rayne Fisher-Quann, Mel Ottenberg, Chloe Cherry, Matty Matheson, Anna Delvey, The Dare, Caroline Calloway, Snail Mail, and more. Check out our full archive here.

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Cool people like cool things, which is why we asked Hannah Ryan to share a taste of her taste on Perfectly Imperfect.

Hannah La Follette Ryan is a Brooklyn-based, Massachusetts-born photographer who has gained widespread recognition for her iconic @subwayhands account that captures intimate glimpses into the lives of New Yorkers throughout the NYC Subway System. We recently collaborated with Hannah as part of the PI.FYI app launch on Instagram, and I can tell you that she’s the real deal and an absolute joy to work with. Hannah also teaches an iPhone Street Photography course at International Center of Photography, curates @therapyofficeart (which is currently taking submissions) and hosts a biweekly radio show called Mocktail Hour on KPISS.fm every other Monday at 5pm (EST). Lucky for us, Hannah is here to tell us what she’s been into.

Without further ado

Hannah La Follette Ryan (instagram)

🫧 Pop it fidget toys

The culture moved on, I did not. I keep a pop it on me at all times. They soak up my restless anxiety like a sponge. Had these existed when I was an overstimulated neurodivergent child I would have ripped fewer leaves to shreds. Maybe I’d be a high-powered exec by now. Who knows! 

🧂 NYC diners 

Whenever possible, I try to conduct my business in diners. The ideal backdrop for meetings, dates, fights, parent visits, co-working, break ups, meeting internet friends IRL, dining alone, disassociating after therapy, crying in public. Truly a one-size-fits-all venue

🍊 Chinotto

I do not drink which means I’ve suffered many a cranberry soda. I will order a Shirley Temple from time to time but sometimes you just crave a sophisticated adult beverage. Chinotto is a classy bitter orange Italian soda that doesn’t make me feel like an unaccompanied minor. Think of it as a virgin Campari (a Google search just confirmed chinotto oranges are one of the ingredients in Campari). FYI it’s pronounced KEE-notto which I wish I’d known sooner. 

🧒 Broing out with Kids

They don’t want you to know that kids are a better hang than most adults. I was a nanny when I first moved to NYC and still dabble between freelance paychecks. Kids are hilarious, earnest and tell it to you straight. I’m blessed to have many kid cousins in my life. The other day I walked around the city with my teen cousin splitting wire headphones and listening to Gucci Mane. We stopped for treats twice. Perfect afternoon. 

⌛ Study Bunny App

Study Bunny is a productivity app for people with severe ADHD who were addicted to Neopets. It’s simply a timer that depicts a bunny studying in a tidy bedroom. If you complete your timed study session you’re rewarded with bunny coins and health points. You can then shop the Study Bunny store with your windfall and buy your hardworking bunny essential items like a cowboy hat or a bathrobe. It is what it is that I cannot accomplish mundane tasks without an anthropomorphic bunny motivating me, but I’ve never been so productive. I’m gonna take her on a shopping spree during tax season.

🔍 Monk

The best show to air on network TV. 

🧠 For Dummies Guides on the Libby App

Adulthood isn’t about mastery it’s about proficiency and accepting we’re all stupid when it comes to numerous topics. The Libby app has a vast collection of the For Dummies books to learn from. I could not justify spending a single dollar on this series but via Libby have read several volumes. I recommend Managing Anxiety with CBT for Dummies and Watercolor Painting. I skimmed Holiday Decorating for Dummies and learned advanced napkin folding which kills at family functions. I plan to read Writing a Children’s Book for Dummies next, not sure why. Don’t let elitism get in the way of your education!