"Long before we had kids, my husband Steve and I were living in a small rental apartment in Manhattan, but our lease was up so we decided to look for a little more space and a new area to settle in. We had gone to a few parties in artist lofts in Williamsburg and had stayed in a friend’s narrow railroad apartment in Greenpoint, so we were somewhat familiar with that part of Brooklyn. We decided to look at some rentals and at the time—this was 2006—much of that area was under construction with new development. We walked into an open house in a new building that was on the border of Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Only half of the floors had been built, but when we walked in and saw the view overlooking the park with the city skyline behind it, we knew we wanted to live there. We’ve lived here nearly 13 years! It’s a one-bedroom, one-bathroom with an office, so at 750 square feet, we weren’t thinking of starting a family there—but that’s precisely what happened."

"Warm and minimal in a family friendly way. We try not to be too precious with anything. The marble table that we bought long before having kids is etched and stained from the occasional orange juice spill, and it’s not a big deal."

"It was built right before we moved in, so we only changed a few minor details, like swapping out the black granite backsplash for honed marble subway tile to brighten up the kitchen, adding built-in shelves along the kitchen island to stow away the microwave and coffee pot, and adding additional lighting in the dining area and office. We also added narrow French doors to the office, which started out as my studio and later became our children’s shared bedroom."

Jennifer wears a Toast dress and slippers from Etsy. Luca wears a Crewcuts top and Zara Kids pants. Maren wears a Hanna Andersson sweater, H&M top, and Zara Kids pants. 

"At home, my goal now is to have a sense of calm when we walk through the door. It hasn’t always been that way. I feel like the minimalist and maximalist inside of me are always in a bit of a battle. I used to be more of a collector. Take me to a beach and I could spend an hour searching for seashells. Now I like to edit down to just a few beautiful things that I truly love—bonus points if they are also functional. I am lucky to have a lot of ceramicist friends to feed my pottery obsession. Some of my favorites are by BDB, Object & Totem, and Minh Singer."

"It’s the room where we all intersect the most, so I wanted it to be comfortable for everyone, but not cluttered. We only have windows on one side of our apartment, so I like to keep things light so it feels a little brighter. We also have a few strategically placed mirrors to help bounce the natural light around."

"The kids' room is pretty tiny, so while we managed to fit both of their beds, there wasn't much extra room to spare. So, we added wraparound vertical shelving for toy and book storage, and it goes all the way up to the ceiling."

"I have an oil painting from my graduate thesis show and there’s only one wall large enough for it to hang on. It’s a sentimental favorite to me because it is so representative of a certain time in my life before I started making jewelry and I was trying to figure out what to do with all of this creative energy. I also love our Danish credenza that was a hand-me-down from my parents. It used to hold our records, now it holds loads of toys!"

"In a small apartment, it’s inevitable that the kids will play any and everywhere. After a few years, I was tired of seeing toys in every direction I looked, so I found hiding spots around the apartment—like inside our credenza—or corralled things in baskets. It makes clean-up a little more enticing when it becomes a race to see who can fill the basket first."

"Brooklyn has been such a great place to raise children. There is so much more diversity and culture than what I grew up with, and there is always something to do. It’s high energy all the time. My son goes to kindergarten at the local public school and we love it. We live across the street from a park, so we spend a lot of time outdoors when we can. My studio is in between our home and our son’s school, so that has been really convenient."

"We are in the process of buying a home and moving about an hour North of the city to Westchester, which is in the lower Hudson Valley. I love New York City and I always will, so it’s made this decision really difficult, but we’ve been thinking about the benefits of raising our kids in a smaller town surrounded by nature, but still close enough to get to the city from time to time."

"Fives Leaves, around the corner from my studio for lunch or after work drinks, Egg for weekend brunch with the kids, and for special occasions we get a booth at Bernie’s. My son loves their Grasshopper ice cream sundae. Our favorite pizza spot—that is surprisingly kid-friendly—is Roberta’s. If we go to dinner without the kids, my absolute favorite date night spot is Roman’s in Fort Greene. We love to take the kids to Domino Park. They have this crazy playground with huge silos to climb through and you can’t see inside very well, so we’re constantly losing sight of them while they have an absolute blast. It’s not for the faint of heart! Our favorite thing to do in the summer is hop on the East River Ferry at India Street in Greenpoint (way less crowded than the Williamsburg stop) and for the price of a subway fare we take it to Dumbo, South Street Seaport, or Governor’s Island. The view as the boat travels beneath the Brooklyn Bridge and pulls into Dumbo is priceless."

This classy mid-century credenza is actually a secret hiding spot for toys.

"Building a family. Discovering their personalities and the people they will become."

"The future of the planet. Feeling like we can’t protect them from things."

Maren, a newer creation, against an oil painting Jennifer painted back in college.

"We did find out we were having a boy while I was pregnant with my first. It didn’t really matter to me whether I had a boy or a girl but now I am happy to have both. We want them both to feel free to express themselves and also feel fully supported by us."

"Our son’s name is Luca and our daughter’s name is Maren. Both are names that we liked the sound of and could picture them growing into adults with. They both have my last name—Sarkilahti—as their middle name. It’s Finnish in origin."

"Luca is 6 and likes to read, build creations out of Legos, and he loves all things Minecraft related. His favorite colors are blue and 'rainbow.' He is good natured and totally obsessed with his little sister. Maren is 2 1/2, loves coloring outside of the lines, jumping off the furniture, and playing with Peppa Pig or her toy animals. She can be fearless and independent one moment and shy and reserved the next. We call her our little Jekyll and Hyde."

The jewelry designer has a secret passion for scents, and will be releasing her own creation soon!

"I did but it took me a while to feel ready enough to start a family. My sister had five kids before I had any, so I had a general idea of what I was getting into and it did feel a little overwhelming to me. I don’t think I ever felt completely ready, but I finally decided if we were going to start a family, it was time."

"I got pregnant with Luca fairly quickly and the pregnancy was pretty uncomplicated despite some morning sickness. I felt strong and was constantly amazed with what my body was doing. Getting pregnant the second time didn’t come as easily and we had a devastating pregnancy loss. It’s the first time I’ve experienced that kind of grief—I felt so sad and isolated. I went on to get pregnant and have Maren the following year, but that experience forever changed me. I wear a necklace with three little pendants, two have the initials of my children and one is blank to commemorate that loss."

"No, it wouldn’t have really been possible since we show collections on a calendar and it would have set us back a few seasons. We did a lot to prepare ahead of time. And my studio assistant Kyra provided a lot of extra support after both of my babies were born, and I was so grateful to have her help during that time. I would work from home and send e-mails at whatever off hours I happened to have a few minutes to focus! When they were a little older, I would bring them to the studio from time to time where they would sleep in the stroller or in the Ergo."

"I have several friends who had babies in the year or two before I did, even one that had her daughter one week before I had my son. It was nice because we could text and share what we were going through and ask each other for advice. I found it much more helpful than any book I read."

"It took having my own kids to realize what an icon my own mother is. I would describe our relationship when I was growing up as tense at times and complicated. But now I am so grateful for the way she raised us and I can fully appreciate the choices she and my father made with our best interests in mind."

Jennifer wears a vintage wool dress from Duo and No.6 boots. Luca wears a Zara Kids top and pants. Maren wears a See Sun top and Zara Kids pants. 

"I grew up in the late '70s and early '80s sharing a bedroom with my brother and sister in a modest house in a suburb of Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C. Our parents both worked full-time for the government in some capacity, and we spent a lot of time unsupervised. I suppose we were part of what you would call the 'latchkey' generation. It was such a different time then. I would say my parents subscribed to a more free-range style of parenting that was both out of necessity and also probably a sign of a more laidback time. We had a lot of independence and they probably had no idea where we were half of the time! With no screens or devices—except the occasional airing of Saturday cartoons or MTV—we basically played with each other or other kids in the neighborhood all day long. I have happy memories of writing and performing plays with my friends and riding bikes to the neighborhood pool all summer."

"I suppose there is a part of me that wants to give my children the independence that I had as a child, but the other part of me just wants to protect them. So, whatever falls in the middle tends to be my parenting style."

"It’s hard not to be totally overwhelmed with the political climate and the effect it’s having on the world around us. Like so many others, the 2016 election was a real wake up call, and I’ve realized that my life has been spent from a place of privilege and that I had been quietly taking that for granted while others couldn’t. The current political climate really magnifies the impact of that.  I feel like I have a chance to change the way I talk about race, gender, and social injustice to my kids so that they are more conscious and engaged in a way I wasn’t."

"Relax, drink lots of water, and take it easy!"

"I feel so happy and grateful for the two children I have, so I don’t at this moment."

"I am a designer. I started a jewelry line called Odette New York almost 15 years ago. It sort of naturally evolved after studying art in grad school and moving to New York City and struggling to find a career path that quite fit."

"I grew up in the suburbs of Northern Virginia outside of Washington D.C. I studied art as an undergrad and ultimately received my MFA in Painting from George Mason University. After I graduated, I taught a few sections of a Studio Fundamentals course there, but my big dream was to move to New York City. I moved there with my boyfriend—now husband—Steve in 2003. When we arrived, we lived in a small railroad apartment in Manhattan for three years. I did a few odd jobs in the art world while I tried to figure out what I really wanted to do for a career. I worked the front desk at the Armory Show a few times and I interned at the PBS series Art21. I had always envisioned working in the art world in some way, but nothing felt quite right. Around the same time, I started making jewelry on the side as a hobby. I would walk into bead stores in the city and buy supplies to tinker with. One day I met a woman named Page Sargisson selling her jewelry at a young designer’s market in Soho. We started chatting and she mentioned that she was looking for help, so I started assisting her at her studio in the Garment District. I learned so much about running a business from her, but most importantly, that you can both love your craft and be a fierce entrepreneur. I shifted my attention from my fine art background to making jewelry, and began experimenting with wax carving to cast into jewelry. I fell in love with that process and a few months later I launched my collection at a trade show. My first store account was Fred Segal in L.A. and things sort of just snowballed from there. We moved to Williamsburg in 2007 and I worked out of the apartment for a few years before moving into a studio in Greenpoint in 2010."

The kids' compact bedroom had to be designed vertically: shelves go all the way up to the ceiling!

Jennifer wears a See Sun top, Wiksten x Jenny Pennywood jacket, Madewell jeans, and slippers from Etsy. Luca wears a t-shirt and pants from Old Navy. Maren wears a See Sun top and pants.

"I worked hard to build the business to a certain level before having kids. I had big goals and a certain idea of what success looked like. After having kids, my priorities have shifted. I am no longer interested in rapid growth. I’d rather things be slow and sustainable. I want more time with my family and flexibility. I want time to be creative and to take a more thoughtful approach to design."

"Although they are not close by, our families are incredibly supportive from a distance and very hands-on with our kids when they visit. We also have a wonderful caretaker who watches our daughter during the day and picks up our son from school."

"Sure, but it’s a waste of energy. Every once in a while, when balancing work and life feels too overwhelming, I stop what am I doing and just go sit and talk to my kids. About anything. It’s just making the decision in that moment to be present."

"Constantly oscillating between being feminine and being a tomboy."

"It’s pretty much the same."

"My current winter workhorse staples are the plaid wool Isabel Marant coat that I bought secondhand, Demylee sweaters, my Wiksten x Jenny Pennywood jacket, Madewell or Levi's jeans, and Blundstones. I like my friend Lena’s former line See Sun, anything from Toast, Anaak, No.6, Rachel Comey, and Apiece Apart. I also like to buy secondhand and vintage when I can."

"I am pretty low maintenance when it comes to any kind of beauty routine, but I always wash my face and moisturize. When I got pregnant, I tried to switch to using more natural products, so I like to use Earth Tu Face Palmarosa + Aloe face wash, Peet Rivko Daily Moisturizer, and Sisters Body Wash, which my studio mates MCMC Fragrances made the scent for, and it smells amazing! My bare minimum makeup routine is usually just a dab of Cle de Peau concealer under my eyes, a grey-brown eyebrow pencil called Kill Brow by Clio that my friend RJ brought me back from Korea, and Kosas lipstick in Rosewater. As I mentioned, I share a studio with two sisters, Anne and Katie, who make perfume for their company MCMC Fragrances, so if I’m feeling fancy, I’ll wear White Temple or the custom scent we worked on together. It’s really light and airy. We are hoping to release it as a collaboration later this year."

Jennifer wears a See Sun top, Wiksten x Jenny Pennywood jacket, and Madewell jeans. Maren wears a See Sun top. Luca wears a Zara Kids top. 

"After having Maren I started having back issues, so I started going to a springboard pilates class to strengthen my core. I really enjoy it, it makes me feel strong and more connected to my body. There is a great studio around the corner from me called East River Pilates."

"Although I am an early riser, I am not a morning person and I’m pretty grumpy before coffee. My husband makes my coffee every morning and my 'me time' is 20 minutes to sit in the corner and drink it quietly."

"I think about this all the time. It’s hard to feel like a role model sometimes when I feel like I myself am a work in progress. But I suppose this is important for my kids to see as well."

"With my work and at home with my family, be more present in the moment. Trust in the process and put in the hard work."

For more on Jennifer, her family, upcoming move, and gorgeous jewelry, be sure to follow along on Instagram.