
Mother Stories
Milk Makeup’s Creative Mastermind (& Mama), Georgie Greville
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Photographed by Nicki Sebastian
Sep 27, 2016
Georgie Greville might just be the personification of the term “cool mom.” The Brooklyn-based mother of one (Syd, 3) has directed videos for everyone from Florence and the Machine to Rag & Bone and serves as co-founder of the new and exciting beauty brand Milk Makeup. With a creative résumé that few can match, it’s no wonder her home in Brooklyn is equally as one of a kind. Did we mention she also does a ridiculously good running man, to boot? Meet the talented, down-to-earth mama right here.
- "I bought my apartment in South Williamsburg in 2008. Previously I had lived in various areas of Chinatown for 8 years and it was time to get some space and be a grown-up. I was so lucky to find a place I could grow into. The neighborhood is amazing, too."
- "Open, creative, grounded...cultivated chaos." Syd wears Soor Ploom pants and a Mini Rodini tank.
- "As with clothes, I love the combination of vintage and new/modern. I am constantly trying to balance soulful art and furniture with chic functional pieces. I love flea market, Etsy, and 1st Dibs finds balanced with clean CB2 pieces and Artemide lamps. It is crazy how long it takes to curate your place to reflect yourself perfectly. Finding the right art for our walls is an ongoing journey.” Georgie wears a vintage tank top and B-Side jeans.
- "I love our bleached, reclaimed-wood dining table, our black Frigerio Kimono couch, the custom curtains and bed in my son's room, and our large cat print by artist and dear friend Margo Ducharme."
- "We keep our bedroom and office pretty sacred and adult-y, but we definitely let our son have play areas all over the rest of the apartment. Since we don’t have a backyard, we want to give him as much space to play in as possible. It's just gotten to a place where we feel like we are actually coexisting instead of being constantly enveloped in kid land."
- "I wanted his room to be really colorful and joyful in a fun, unexpected way. I collaborated with my designer friend Billy Cotton to create a Bazaar-like mix of prints everywhere. It feels like a charming, mystical womb. We are always hanging out in the bed together, reading and wrestling.”
- "We made a large-scale, custom daybed out of our then guest room's queen size bed by adding another headboard to the other side and upholstering it in preppy stripes from Rogers & Goffigon. It was the best thing to lie on when breastfeeding and changing him. I also love the custom curtains out of a handmade, block-printed fabric by Lisa Forty (via John Derian). The pillows are a total mix, some collected along the way, some from John Derian, and some custom-made from sourced vintage fabric remnants and African indigos."
- "As soon as I became pregnant, I felt much more connected to humanity in general. Just the idea that I was part of this deep universal revelation. I would look around on the subway and pictured everyone as the baby versions of themselves. It is also the craziest and most rewarding creative collaboration with my husband/best friend, Geremy. We get such a kick out of this wild and free individual we have made and are excited to help guide him to his ultimate potential."
- "Figuring out how to keep him safe. I grew up overseas with an innate trust of everyone and everything and sadly that is not the way Syd will see the world. I know New York kids grow up really fast, so I also want to preserve a sense of innocent curiosity and play as long as possible."
- "We named him Syd Greville Jasper. When we found out we were having a boy in the anatomy scan, Geremy just said he always loved the name Syd. It instantly felt right and we never thought about it again! If people are wondering, it’s definitely a Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd over a Sid Vicious connection. Greville is my maiden name and Jasper is Geremy’s last name. We liked the idea of including each of our family’s names. Also Syd Jasper just sounds like a funky bass player in New Orleans."
- "For sure! So many. My mother Marjorie Greville to start, Sarah Sophie Flicker, Mara Hoffman, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Erin Benach, April Hughes, Zanna Roberts Rassi, Dianna Ruth, Maya Rudolph, Michelle Obama, Amy Poehler, Miranda July, and Tina Fey to name a few. I am constantly inspired by women and mothers everywhere."
- "Honestly, the best advice I have retained has been from talking with and watching friends with older and/or multiple kids. We have bought all sorts of books on potty training, sleep training, and discipline, but you always need to craft all the advice to actually find the specific formula that works for your unique kid's mind. I would just say be attentive and really explain to your kid what they are about to enter into so they don't get scared or act contrarian. The best way to potty train for us was to read and learn about it together and then make it seem like a fun, big-kid thing to do and accomplish. That doesn't work for everyone, but it worked for us."
- "Yes, definitely. They were very open, trusting, and encouraging, which totally formed the bedrock of my independence and confidence. My mother is a warm Southerner and a huge hugger, so that has definitely carried over to my way with people."
- "I love his wild sense of humor. He is so tactile and hilarious, but also so sweet. I love the constant wonder of seeing what life is like through his eyes and do my best to make him aware of and connected to deep female insight, intuition, and empathy. His dad is a feminist, so I think he is going to be a pretty progressive dude." Georgie wears an Electric Feathers dress, Gucci belt, and Milk Makeup lip color in Gnarly.
- "Be as ready as you can be mentally to sacrifice almost all of your personal needs for this human being. If possible, try to wait until you have accomplished some meaningful things in your career."
- "We feel really happy and solid with the balance of one for now. Our instincts are saying we don't need to have any more, but we are not ruling it out entirely..."
- "Geremy and I started the film production arm of Milk called Legs Media. He and I both write and direct film. He usually does more narrative and musical work and I am more conceptual, although I am working my way into the narrative realm, as well. Geremy's first feature, Patti Cake$, which he wrote, directed, and composed all the music for, is coming out in 2017. I am also creative director and co-founder of Milk Makeup, so I work on all things image- and content-related for the brand. It has been such a fulfilling experience to develop and be a partner in a brand that is so personal to me."
- "My partners Rassi and Zanna and I had always talked about doing a product or makeup line at Milk. Three years ago, I got inspired and wrote a brief for what I intuited the brand to be. It was all based on the lifestyle-savvy, ambitious, and uniquely modern people that work and play at Milk. People like me who care a great deal about what is in their products, but also expect them to be chic and efficient. I brought the brief up to Rassi and the rest is history. Now we are a major beauty brand carried at Sephora, Urban Outfitters, and Birchbox."
- "Milk Makeup is still in its early phase, so it consumes nearly all of my time. However, I am constantly finding ways to incorporate film concepts into the brand. Luckily, beauty is a video-based industry, so it is a natural fit for me to be pushing our brand as one of the leaders in that area. I am currently developing a long-form episodic series to live beside our other content."
- "I grew up moving around a lot—in Australia, Singapore, London, Connecticut, and Boston. My father was in international sales for Citibank at the time, so we constantly moved because of his career. When we moved to Boston, I went to Phillips Andover for boarding school and then the University of Vermont for college (I was competing in snowboarding at the time). I majored in English and Film. Every summer and during college, I PA'd on films and interned for BlackBook Magazine. Directly after college, I moved to NYC and got an internship at MTV On-Air Promos, which ended up being my de facto film school."
- "I definitely cherish my time at work more because I need to turn off when I get home. I can focus and really make my work hours count now, as I don't really have the luxury of procrastinating. I am also much more goal oriented now that I have the pressure of providing for my son."
- "Absolutely. I actually think it motivated both Geremy and I to navigate our way to the positions we are in now. Geremy wrote his screenplay and Milk Makeup came to life after I gave birth. I also directed one of my favorite films to date (a fashion film for Rag & Bone starring Baryshnikov and Lil Buck) while breastfeeding. For us, having a kid was the push we needed (pun intended) to take our careers to the next level." Syd wears OskKosh B'Gosh overalls.
- "Legs was at a point where it was running itself and Milk Makeup was still just an idea floating around, so it was actually really easy for me to shut off completely for a while. We got out of town and spent over a month in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts breathing lush clean air and learning the breastfeeding hustle. After two months, I started taking meetings here and there so that by three months I could go back full-time without having to do it cold. That first week back is tough for everyone. I would highly recommend staggering your days back and building up to the full week if you can."
- "Always bring someone with you on the plane if your partner can't come with you and make sure you have a nanny that can be flexible with your work hours. Always bear lots of exciting snacks. I have also just invested in Laura Geraty from What We Eat to do our shopping and cook four dinners a week for us. She comes every Tuesday and leaves our dinners in the fridge labeled and ready to heat up or roast. My nanny heats them up so that by the time I get home we have dinner ready. It has taken off a huge stress and we are all eating better because of it. It also sounds more expensive and lavish than it actually is."
- "We have lots of great friends and neighbors and we all lean on each other when we need to. My girls at Legs and Milk Makeup make the best babysitters (shoutout to Lindsay and Sophia!). I am also lucky to have family nearby in Greenpoint and New Jersey."
- "The daily creative collaboration and direct connection to incredible people in our community. Beauty is a really positive, inclusive, and empowering industry from my perspective."
- "Get away alone for a weekend from time to time to reconnect with each other fully. And don't feel guilty. It is better for everyone in the long run! As my mother says, love is a verb and you have to work at it. Also, go to yoga and get massages often!"
- "Continuing to develop Milk Makeup as a brand and direct my long-format episodic show."
- "Scrappy chic? I love stylish, well-made things that I can also ride my bike in."
- "I have minimized and curated my closet so that anything I grab is usually a good decision. Lots of jumpsuits and dresses and versatile, comfortable shoes."
- "My Horses Atelier jumpsuits, Maryam Nassir Zadeh shoes, AMO Babe and B Side Jeans, Acne leather jacket, and vintage men's tees and jackets from Assembly NY."
- "It's easy to do both when I have my bike. In NYC I shop at Assembly NY, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Bird, Creatures of Comfort, Grand St Bakery, and Oroboro. Online I check out La Garconne, Stand Up Comedy, Totokaelo, Net-a-Porter, Etsy, and Brownstone Cowboys." Georgie wears a Horses Atelier jumpsuit. Syd wears an Ace & Jig top and Mini Rodini pants.
- "Raquel Allegra, Isabel Marant, Acne, Assembly NY, Electric Feathers, Rachel Comey, Mara Hoffman, and 69. They all make original, stylish pieces that have a certain element of ease to them."
- "I am loving oil cleansing, as it really keeps the pores supple. I also love all the wellness supplements that are becoming available, especially those from Sun Potion, Moon Juice, and The Beauty Chef. You can check all this stuff out at CAP or Shen Beauty. Beauty (at least good skin) really does come from the inside."
- "Really nice natural and organic skincare (Tata Harper, May Lindstrom, Dr Alkaitis), masks a couple of times a week in the bath, and eating really well. I love the skincare product curations at CAP or Shen Beauty. I get facials with Cara at CAP regularly."
- "I bike to work most days, which is 30 minutes each way, do yoga 1-2 times a week, and wrestle with a 3-year-old constantly. Yoga and long baths are my form of meditation."
- "I love the vibrant diversity and constant stimulation of the city. There is always some new kind of adventure to have. We are also only an hour away from pure nature, which is great because we are always doing weekend day trips Upstate."
- "Since we are both involved in film, L.A. is always quietly beckoning..."
- "Marlow & Sons, Diner, Samurai Mama, Donna, Blank Cafe, and Nighthawks."
- For more on Georgie, check out her Instagram feed and Milk Makeup.
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