"It has changed in every way, but definitely for the better! I had post-partum, so it definitely kicked my ass in the beginning. I eventually realized that I can't do everything, it's okay to get help, and to let the little things slide. Life has become much easier since then!"

"We named her Piper as soon as we found out she was a girl. I really liked the name Harper, but my husband loved Piper. 'Why wouldn't you name her Piper Papay?' was his argument. I couldn't rebut. Her middle name is Collins, which is my mother's maiden name."

Megan wears Redone jeans, a Zara shirt, and Freda Air shoes. Piper weras a Target button-up, Zara sweater and sweat pants, and Peek boots.

"She is thoughtful, witty, sweet, creative, and wonderfully weird. She loves art, animals, and exploring. She is 100% a hybrid of Michael and I. She has his crazy attention to detail and my free spirit, which is such a funny combination."

In the chicken coop.

"How selfless you become. It has also made me more confident and outspoken (when necessary)."

"Sleep when the baby sleeps and ask for help. Friends and family want to help you. Let them hold the baby for a bit and go take a nap!"

Ol' blue eyes.

"I have so many mom icons, including my own mom. She is truly the most selfless person I know and makes magic happen from the simplest things. Also, my friends are pretty amazing people, so I love watching them and learning from them. Some for their nurture, some for their creativity, some for their strength, some for their balance of work and motherhood...they all help me more than they know."

One of Megan's creations, the aforementioned Freda Air.

"Seeing Piper grow into a creative, sweet, independent little person. Now that she is older we love creating experiences and adventures for her and for us. We never know where we will end up next!"

"Her heart and innocence being tainted. We are trying to instill independence and confidence, so she always knows who she is, what her priorities should be, and that she is loved. There are sad stories and bad people out there, we want her to always find the good."

"A long morning at home, walking to town to grab lunch, afternoon play date either at the park or exploring Sausalito, and then movie night on the sofa with popcorn."

Sk8r girl.

The original Freda Salvador HQ was in this tiny cottage behind Megan's home.

"I think my value system is the same. The importance of family dinners, making time to do things together, and openly supporting each other. We differ because I am a working mom. My mom was always home for us, so figuring out how to balance work and home is new territory for me."

"Eek. No. I prefer talking to my friends and family about their thoughts and experiences. They know me and they know Piper, so it is more personal. I Google health stuff and my dad is a psychologist, so I feel like my bases are covered. So far!"

"We have chickens, so fried egg sandwiches are quick and happen pretty frequently in our home."

"Make time for date nights."

"It was a house that we used to walk by on our way to town and dreamed of owning when we retired. We thought it was just the small cottage on the street, but when it came on the market we realized there were two properties; the small cottage and then a larger main home. Fortunately (and unfortunately) it was a foreclosure, so we were able to make an offer. We have been here for four years and it’s a constant project, but we love making it our own."

The light-soaked kitchen.

Gingerbread art.

"The original bones of our home are craftsman cottage, but there have been additions over the years. It was built in 1918 by a ship builder, so there are beautiful original details, like a cragged old door with huge brass hardware and amazing stonework in the yard. Then more ‘modern' additions, that feel very '70s. It’s kind of all over the place, but we love that 'anything goes' feel. It's warm and inviting and that is what is important to us."

"My favorite piece of art is an oil painting from Paris of a jester and his love. It captures my heart and imagination every time I see it. Also, a painting by Conchita Conigliano of a newsstand in New York. It’s so vibrant and energetic and it gives me the same feeling of being in the heart of New York. I lived there before I moved to San Francisco, so it’s nostalgic and inspiring to be reminded of my time there. My favorite furniture pieces are the farm table in our dining room and a brass lotus flower light fixture in our kitchen. The light fixture was my grandparents and it was a favorite of mine since I was little. Seemed so magical to have flowers hanging from the ceiling. I love the farm table because it is rugged, used, and abused. Countless dinners with friends and family and the more candle wax and wine stains the better."

"Cozy and durable. My husband’s mother used to own an antique store, so we inherited some cool pieces. They are very rustic, so when I buy something new for our house I like to add Mid-Century modern to the mix. Then just layers of things we love. I have collected art since my early twenties and Michael has collections of things, like arrowheads, fish lures, and cork screws. Everything has a story or memory, so it just feels cohesive to us."

"We try to keep it corralled, but at the end of the day it spreads into our living room and we are ok with it. It's the center of our house, so it just feels better to be together."

"Piper changed bedrooms about two years ago because she likes to see us when she is falling asleep. It's one of my favorite rooms in the house because it's painted a deep cerulean blue with white wainscoting. It's warm and happy. We found a 'boat bed' on Craigslist, which I love because it is functional and fun. Her grandfather got her an antique child's desk, which is probably her favorite thing. She is at the age where she saves notes and pictures, so it’s full of her little treasures.”

An 8-year-old's treasures.

Vibrant art work.

"We love Sausalito because it is such a small, but diverse community. People are doing really interesting things, but there isn't much ego or entitlement here. We love the non-conformity, but love coming together with families for dinners, wine, coffee, etc. It's just simple and nice. Utopia for us."

One of Freda Salvador's biggest inspirations, Frida Kahlo...in Freda's!

"I drop her off at school at 8:15 and then head to the office, which is less than 5 minutes away. I am in the studio until 3:00, then I pick her up, grab a latte, and head back to the office til 6:00. Freda has become her second home. She watches movies, does homework, builds cities out of boxes, and finds things to do. There is an incredible beach about 100 yards from our studio, so when it’s nice she can go explore. We leave at 6:00 to meet my husband at home for dinner."

"We love being outside, so our favorite things to do are hiking the Headlands or going to Rodeo Beach and the Marine Mammal Center, where they rescue sea lions and other marine wildlife. Even just meandering through the hills of Sausalito and finding ‘secret' paths. There is so much to explore in Sausalito, so we typically walk and stumble into things. Because Sausalito is so small we always run into friends and spontaneous fun. We are not very good at making plans! Our favorite restaurants with Piper are San Drino for pizza, Cibo for lunch/coffee, and Avatars for dinner. The latter is family run, so they make such a big deal over Piper and making her feel welcome. It gives her such a lovely sense of being part of a community.”

"Bohemian, tomboy, grunge, beachy, luxe, sparkly, whatever goes. I love to mix and match and I typically have no rules other than I want to feel good. Sometimes I want to be bold and sometimes I want to be under the radar. I guess I dress for my mood."

"Not really!"

"Freda Salvador shoes and boyfriend jeans."

Megan wears an Ace & Jig dress and Freda Roam boots. Piper wears Gap pants and a Zara sweater.

"For everyday I love Redone denim, Ace & Jig, and The Great because they are interesting ‘basics.' Dries Van Noten is my aspirational designer. Completely and utterly obsessed....always. I love his use of color/prints, embellishments, and clean lines."

"I prefer to buy in person and I have learned that I am better at picking things up along the way, because when I ‘need' something I can never find it. I travel a lot for work and it's on these trips that I actually make the time to browse stores. I find more unique pieces this way. When I am home I typically shop online...ShopBop and The Outnet are my favorite sites."

"My New Year's resolution is to only buy clothing that is vintage/consignment or made by small, local designers. Because I follow a lot of fashion brands and trends for Freda, I feel like I have become uninspired by mass market fashion. It has started feeling soulless and uninteresting to me. I love clothes and I love getting dressed, so I want to feel good about who I support and what story I tell each day."

"Simple! St. Ives Green Tea facial scrub in the shower, Dior Dream Skin moisturizer, Laura Mercier foundation and powder, Dior mascara and lip gloss. Air-dried hair."

"I am working on this. I don't make time for working out, but my lifestyle is pretty active. I have about 60 stairs to my front door and walk a ton, so this will suffice for now! I started acupuncture about a year ago and I love it. I go once a week and really look forward to that hour of stillness and meditation. I leave on a high. It has brought such balance and calmness to my life."

Megan wears a The Great jacket, Current/Elliott tee, J.Crew necklace, Alexander Wang pants, Janessa Leone hat, and Freda Dame oxfords.

"I am a shoe designer and I co-founded Freda Salvador with my amazing partner Cristina Nelson."

"I grew up in a small town in Delaware, went to a very hippie dippy, love-filled high school, University of Virginia for college, where I studied costume design and art history. I knew I wanted to be in fashion, so this was as close as I could get. In retrospect studying costume design was really helpful to my career because I learned so much about the psychology and storytelling behind getting dressed. After college I moved to New York and my first job was in the celebrity styling department of Calvin Klein, where I helped dress his celebrity clientele for award shows, premieres, and other public appearances. I then moved to Hawaii, where I worked for Prada. After a year, I went back to NY and worked for a (then small) PR firm called Siren. I was an Account Manager on fashion/beauty accounts like Benefit Cosmetics and Urban Outfitters. PR wasn't really my calling, so I moved back to Delaware and decided to get my masters in Early Childhood education. I taught first grade and coached high school hockey and lacrosse for two years before I decided to get back into the fashion game. I miss it! I started a personal shopping, made-to-measure clothing brand called Megan James. I made scarves for Henri Bendel, wedding dresses, evening gowns, jackets, basically whatever people wanted. I met my husband during this time and he got an opportunity to move to San Francisco. When we moved to Sausalito, I found Anyi Lu, a women's footwear company based in Marin. I worked with her for over four years and became her Fashion Director. This is where I met my now-business partner Cristina Nelson. We worked for Anyi for one year together and then decided to start Freda."

"My view of work has not changed. I feel like I have a really solid work ethic that hasn't changed after having Piper. I will say I am probably a more efficient worker. I am learning to prioritize and focus, which is helping me be more productive."

"When we decided to start Freda, I realized that I needed to be okay with Piper being with a sitter during the day. There were growing pains and guilt with this decision, but over time it was evident that she is okay, I love what I do, and I am proud of what I do. She is seeing me at my happiest, she is seeing me work hard, she sees me celebrate wins, problem solve, work with others, and create something I am really passionate about. I realized that this is a gift to her and it helps balance me not always being there with her. Now that she is older she comes to the office from 3-6 after school. She does homework, art projects, sorts shoes, etc. and I love having her there. At home we 'shut off' from 6-8 to focus on dinner, board games, homework, and reading. At the moment, everything is working pretty seamlessly."

"Yes, for sure and that is one of my favorite things about Sausalito. It is such a small community with a growing young family population. We have an incredible school in town, so Piper's friends surround her. I count on my mom friends a lot for after-school playdates, especially when I am traveling. My parents also live here 6 months a year, so I count on them a ton."

"The creativity and that no day is ever the same. We are learning so much on a daily basis and have surrounded ourselves with an amazing team. Cris and I are so fortunate. We are living our dream."

Yes, that's a garage-turned-wine cellar/bar!

"Open communication and putting the other (and the company) first. It is truly like a marriage. We have this thing that is bigger than us, but we love it and will do anything to make it work. We know that being there for each other is crucial. We both come from homes that believe in 'family first.' We are a family, so we will do anything to support the other."

"I feel like we are just at the beginning with Freda. We are still so young! We definitely want to expand into other categories of leather goods and also open more stores. We love meeting our customers face-to-face and creating environments and experiences."

To follow along with the rest of Megan (and Cristina's) journey, check out Freda Salvador on Instagram.