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Mother Essentials: Lauren Godfrey

Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano

Photography by Portrait by Emily Scott

The baubles that Lauren Godfrey makes for her Harwell Godfrey jewelry label are certainly compelling. (Case in point: This stunner!) But it can also be said that the multi-talented lady behind the indie brand is also something to behold. With a past both in advertising and as a culinary wiz, the mother of one (Miles, 2) is also co-founder of the leadership council at Futures Without Violence, an organization that is currently building The Courage Museum in San Francisco. The pioneering museum will take visitors through a series of interactive experiences that dare them to rethink the causes of violence and how to end it. Given our current news cycle, it’s an incredibly compelling and important project to watch and help come to life. To share more on that and her other passions, check out Lauren’s Mother Essentials list, right here!

Biomimetic Skincare. “My face has been transformed by the all natural products from Kristina Holey + Marie Veronique that work to create a healthy skin biome. I also love treating myself to a monthly facial by Kristina Holey’s right hand lady, Michaela Thyberg, in San Francisco.”
Kristina Holey + Marie Veronique Skin Care Collection, $40 and up, Marie Veronique.

Botanical Serum. “I live for the luxurious feel and beautiful fragrance of this highly effective all natural serum. Plus, I can’t say enough about the founder, April Gargiulo. She is one of the most encouraging women I have ever met.”
Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum, $185, Net-A-Porter.

Fresh Fredas. “Leopard print is my favorite neutral and these Chelsea boots from Freda Salvador are my new go to! Plus, the founders, Megan Papay and Cristina Palomo-Nelson, are some of the most talented and supportive women around.”
Sleek Chelsea Ankle Boots, $550, Freda Salvador.

Belt Bag. “Running around with 2-year-old son Miles means needing to have my hands free. I love the chic functionality of these belt bags from Avec La Troupe. They are made in Italy from the highest quality leather.”
Avec La Troupe Major Belt Bag, $276.50, Shopbop.

Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign. “I am a big fan of Meena Harris. I’m not quite sure how she does everything–I swear she is truly in 18 places at once! I am so inspired by what she is doing with the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign and love the woman t-shirts and sweatshirts she’s making. They are chic and support a truly good cause.”
Phenomenal Woman T-Shirt, $35, Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign.

CBD Lip Balm. “I’m a big believer in the anti-inflammatory properties of CBD and love how it works in this buttery lip balm. So much so, that I collaborated with Claudia Mata of Vertly and made a gold locket just to hold it.”
Hemp Infused Lip Balm, $35, Vertly.
Harwell Godfrey + Vertly Locket and Gold Chain, $13,900, Harwell Godfrey.

Wing Woman. “I recently joined The Wing and I love being part of a community of intelligent, entrepreneurial women with strong, informed political views. Not to mention, the food there is delicious.”
The Wing Membership, $215/month, The Wing.

Baby Jumpsuit.  “I love a one-piece, but Miles has been growing rapidly. He is wearing a 5T at two years old, so my options are becoming limited. Luckily, this camo-print one-piece—my favorite one—goes all the way to size 6T!”
Hugo-Camo Bodysuit, $40.80, Joah Love.

Bedtime Book. “Miles can’t get enough of books and Buddy’s Bedtime Battery by Christina Geist is one of our favorites. We can hardly wait for the follow-up to come out next year.”
Buddy’s Bedtime Battery, $14.32, Amazon.

Play Kitchen. “I’m a professional culinary school graduate and I hope to foster a love for all things cooking-related in Miles. This beautiful play kitchen from Milton & Goose, with its non-toxic finishes, is at the top of our holiday wish list.”
Essential Play Kitchen, $695, Milton & Goose.

Fragrance. “Once I became pregnant with Miles and learned about how hormonally disruptive artificial fragrance is, I stopped wearing it. This past year I partnered with perfumer Loreto Remsing of LARO, on an all natural signature fragrance for my fine jewelry line. I might be biased, but I think it’s delicious and I wear it every day!”
Harwell Godfrey Fragrance: One, $86, Harwell Godfrey.

Futures Without Violence. “The amazing organization Futures Without Violence has been working for over 30 years to end violence against women and children around the world and has seen results. I am a co-founder of their leadership council and we are currently working to build The Courage Museum in San Francisco. Through a series of unique, interactive experiences, the museum will dare us to rethink the causes of violence and how to end it, and serve as a national memorial for the millions of people who have lost their lives as a result of gender-based violence.”
Futures Without Violence, donations accepted here.

Storing Memories. “We received a Boombox filled with photos, advice, and thoughtful messages as part of our baby shower for Miles. I will never forget laughing and crying as we read all of the notes out loud in bed that night. It’s now my go-to gift for milestone occasions.”
Boombox, prices starting at $28.

Surgaring. “My skin doesn’t tolerate waxing (I won’t go into details), but I have had nothing but great results with Sugaring, which is all natural and much more gentle on the skin. Carrie and Amy at Cane Sugar Studio are comedians moonlighting as sugar gurus and actually make me look forward to having my nether regions tidied up!”
Sugaring Services, $20 and up, Cane Sugar Studio.

Brow Whisperer.Michele Holmes is an artist and my brows thrive under her tweezer-only technique. I also love shopping her carefully curated selection of beauty products while I am there.”
Brow Services, $45 and up, Michele Holmes Studio.

Hero Shop. “One of my favorite S.F. stores is Hero Shop. I love owner Emily Holt’s fashion point of view, but even more, I love her for building such a strong, supportive community. She’s incredibly generous with her time and space.”
Hero Shop, 982 Post Street, San Francisco.

McMullen Boutique. “Sherri McMullen is another wonderful human who has created a beautiful shopping experience. She is so much fun to follow on Instagram as she jet-sets around the world curating her store. She also makes it easy to shop remotely through her website and Instagram!”
McMullen, 2257 Broadway, Oakland.

Jessica Silverman Gallery. “I’m always impressed by the talent represented in Jessica’s Gallery. She’s really helped us to hone our art collection and we are very lucky to have been introduced to the works of Luke Butler, Hugh Scott Douglass, and Christopher Badger through her.”
Jessica Silverman Gallery, 488 Ellis Street, San Francisco.

Cala. “I keep finding myself going back to Cala. I adore the restaurant’s spin on fresh local seafood with Mexican flavors. I’m a tequila girl and their bar is stocked with all of the best Agave spirits, including my favorite, Tequila Ocho. The chef, Gabriela Camara, is wonderful and has been very generous with her talents for events at Futures Without Violence.”
Cala, 149 Fell St, San Francisco.

For Future Reference. “My talented friends Randi Molofsky and Meaghan Flynn Petropoulos specialize in fostering emerging fine jewelry designers. As one of their clients, I find myself in the most inspiring company with other incredible independent, female-designed jewelry brands, including Brent Neale, Retrouvai, Sorellina, Sarah Hendler, Established, and Emily P Wheeler. This is a dangerous crew! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
For Future Reference, 426 Warren Street, Hudson, New York.

For more on Lauren, check out the Harwell Godfrey site and Instagram feed! And for more Mother Essentials, peep our past columns with fellow jewelry designer Maggie Gavigan Smith of Mignonne Gavigan, Oakland retail queen Sherri McMullen, PR pro Priscilla Vega, Courtney Klein of StorqJoanne EncarnacionLaTonya YvetteMorgan Walker of Make.doJeanne Chan of Harlow & Grey, and more.

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