
Healthy Food Goddess Mo Clancy Invites Us Over
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Photographed by Maria Del Rio
A career path like no other, Mo Clancy has co-founded a handful of boundary-pushing companies (including Hatch Beauty and the country’s first influencer marketing company, Ammo), worked in fashion, venture capital, as a freelance writer, and now as the boss lady at Seed + Salt, a clean-eating, plant-based restaurant that’s as delicious as it is healthy. A woman who marches to the beat of her own drum, we weren’t surprised to find her home was also totally unique. When everyone else is doing stark white walls and Danish Modern furniture, Mo’s space, which she shares with her 7-year-old son, Magellan, is filled with moody, dark gray walls, black candles, and plush couches. See it all and hear her one-of-a-kind story below.
- "The building was designed by James Dunn in the 1920s. He had just returned from Paris and designed it in that style. It is one of the only buildings in San Francisco I have ever seen like it. The dragon carved into the front brings me good luck. It was lovingly restored by Michael Alfaro and Deborah Arbasetti." Mo wears a Keepsake top, Organic by John Patrick slip, and Dorothee Schumacher shoes.
- "I like to think of it as '70s meets Parisian modern…does that make sense?"
- "Just find pieces that are really special and that you love. Don’t have something just for show. Everything must have a function—even if that is just making you happy!"
- "I love my couch, which is vintage '70s, covered in navy velvet. And my dining room table, which was painted by graffiti artist David V and even includes a portrait of my son. I love my painting by Shannon Finley, as well as pieces by Julian Hoeber and Matthew Brandt." Magellan wears a Boden outfit and necklace given to his mother by the Dalai Lama.
- "My son and I are minimalists and don’t like too much stuff around. He has toys, but I have never bought him a ton of 'stuff,' so it hasn’t been a problem. Plus, he has his own office, where he is actually creating the most amazing mural!"
- "Motherhood really motivates you to edit. Edit your clothing, edit your friends, edit your time—it forces you to really prioritize what and who is important so that you can focus on your child. This is a good thing and something I guess I needed in my life. It made me focus. I honestly don’t experience any of the bads—except when he wakes me up at 5 a.m.!"
- "How much I have loved it. I wasn’t sure if I wanted a child and was on the fence for a long time. Now I don’t know what I was doing before him."
- "The name Magellan came to me while I was pregnant and I was reading something about galaxies. There was a galaxy that was made up only of stars called the Magellanic Clouds. It is the closest galaxy like this to our own. When I saw it, I knew it was him name. I always call him my little stardust."
- "It is an exciting opportunity to be selfless, which ultimately forces you to grow and evolve. When you are no longer the center of your own universe, it opens up so many opportunities to share your heart with someone who will always be connected to you."
- "I am not the standard cookie-baking mom. I work and I have my own life. I am always nervous that I am not doing it right. But then I realize I am just doing it my way and it’s all good."
- "Magellan is curious about so many things. His main passions are science, the ocean (and all the creatures in it), food, and art. He has recently been obsessed with Top Chef Junior."
- "My grandmother—she was a single mother back in the 1950s. She recycled, ate organic, and marched to her own beat way before that was something cool."
- "Don’t try to be the perfect mom—just do you."
- "I think single mamas live with a lot of guilt. They are trying to do everything and their child just doesn’t have the traditional family. But strong single moms are great examples for their kids. So, let go of the guilt—you’re child will love you no matter what." Mo wears a Keepsake top, Anarchive Paris skirt, and e shoes.
- "My bedroom is my haven. I have the palette in greys because I find it completely soothing. I especially love the photo by Terri Loewenthal above my bed—it is called Before You Go, which reminds me of the state of sleep you are in right when you are about to cross over into dreamland. I also love my vintage brutalist credenza."
- "I am similar in much of my Midwest values, my parents instilled these in me. People from the Midwest are pretty solid—they believe in hard work, being honest and straightforward, as well as gracious."
- "I never read parenting books, I just have good friends with good advice."
- "No, I am completely fulfilled with Magellan. Plus, Seed + Salt is my other child!"
- "We both like to ease into the day. So, the day starts by sleeping in and waking up to make French toast with him. There is the sweetest little dog park near our house. We love walking over and bringing raw plant-based treats to all of the dogs there. Some of his favorite canines are Kensie, Bodhi, and Jeff. We then walk over to Seed + Salt for lunch. Magellan always orders our GF Chia Bread with Raw Almond Butter and Raspberry Chia Jam. We then head home and spend some time making art, which we enjoy doing together. Often we take the art down to the beach at Crissy Field and sell it and play on the beach. Magellan loves the ocean and to be near the water (and so do I!). Any time we sell the art, Magellan gets to keeps all the money that he can then put towards a toy. We’ll head back to the house at the end of the day. On weekends we always do a 'slumber party.' We order food for delivery and eat it in bed while watching Top Chef reruns."
- "I make these delicious cauliflower pancakes that are so easy. Then a bunch of fresh fruit."
- "His room is a total boy’s room. However, he likes it without too much stuff, so it is open and sunny and fun. My favorite pieces in it are the artwork we both created. He has his drawing on the wall, there are some we did together, and I created a series of 'Sea Creature' artwork, as well. His favorite thing in the room is his fish, Persephone." Mo wears a Free People dress, necklace from Africa, Monies ring, and Henry Beguelin heels. Magellen wears J.Crew and a necklace he made himself.
- "I would probably describe it as West Coast meets Parisian chic and easy. As a mother, I definitely dress more casually and wear jeans more often. But one thing I still do is make the effort to always still put myself together—it is important to do this as a woman and an individual. I have never fallen into the sweats trap."
- "Dôen for easy chic, Sonia Rykeil for Parisian chic, A Piece Apart for the best everyday basic chic, Edun for eco chic, and Freda Salvador for feet chic. All my pieces from A Piece Apart are staples. As well as my Madewell jeans, which are the best fitting out there. Also, my Freda Salvador open-weave shoes and Dorothee Schumacher sweaters and shoes. When I shop online, I like 1stDibs and Chairish for furniture, Dôen and Moda Operandi for clothes, and Live the Process and Heroine Sports for workout gear. For Magellan I love Boden."
- "My beauty routine is pretty simple—I have actually simplified it recently as part of just trying to simplify my life. For my body, I use EO’s body serum 01 and 02, they are amazing. For face, I use Tatcha skincare and Tata Harper. I am a wash, face lotion, face oil girl—three easy steps! I work out twice a week with trainer Tommy Armenta. I hike a bunch with my boyfriend and we like to run the Lyon steps—it is so nice to smell amazing flowers while getting your energy flowing! I do yoga at least 3 times a week, as well. And I meditate almost every day for 10-15 minutes."
- "I own Seed + Salt, a clean, plant-based restaurant and brand in S.F. I started Seed + Salt because of my own desire to eat completely clean—organic and free of animal products, gluten, processed ingredients, GMOs, and refined sugars. But I also love food, so I wanted something that tasted delicious. It is a place to get high quality, nourishing, anti-inflammatory foods without ever sacrificing taste."
- "I grew up in Michigan and did the suburb tour of Detroit. I went to school in Michigan and studied business, with a minor in anthropology and English. My first jobs were typical corporate jobs and I quickly realized that didn’t work for me. I quit my job one day, packed up my car, and headed for S.F. I was a freelance writer when I first arrived. Then I landed a job as the Urban Networker for Levi Strauss. It was my job to go out and find cool people, events, and organizations and connect them with the brand. I left Levi’s and co-founded Ammo, the country’s first influencer marketing company. After that I did a short stint and helped found Forerunner Ventures, a VC firm focused on beauty and fashion. It really wasn’t me—I am an entrepreneur. So, I left and co-founded Thread Group, LLC, which is now Hatch Beauty. We did branding, packaging, and product development for the beauty industry. When I got pregnant I decided to step out of Thread and I started working on a smaller personal project, Nomade Exquis. I partnered with designer Racquel Allegra and we created limited-edition, handcrafted apparel and accessories. We sold primarily to celebrities and stylists. After our first season, Racquel really wanted to focus on her t-shirts and I really wanted to focus on accessories. We had found these vintage belt buckles from the '60s and '70s and I was obsessed with them and discovered that there was also jewelry (brutalist and biomorphic) that was similar to the belts. I amassed an enormous 75-piece collection of these vintage pieces and ended up showing them to Barneys NY. They bought the entire collection. After that, I continued curating this collection under the name Nomade Exquis for Barneys for three years. That is about when I started dreaming of Seed +Salt."
- "It has in two ways. First, I find work more fun. I know that sounds weird, but I see how much fun my son has doing the simplest things and I realized that I need to have more fun at work! Also, it has a different place in my life—it doesn’t define me, it is my passion, something I do, but it is not ultimately who I am. I am Magellan’s mother first and foremost."
- "Honestly, it’s not easy and I don’t always balance it that well. But every day I get up and try to do the best I can. As long as I always put Magellan as the priority, I can do it. Two things that really help are 1.) Planning—I sit down on Sunday nights and really plan out my week and time. 2.) Rituals—Magellan and I have specific times each week, whether it’s me going to his swim lesson or Friday night slumber party, that we do every week. I never miss them."
- "I really do. There are so many amazing women here who are strong, smart, and loyal friends. But it takes time to cultivate this type of foundation and sometimes less is more. I have fewer people in my circle now, but they are stronger friendships. "
- "Every day is different and I get to be creative. Oh, and the people. Not only the amazing crew I have working with me, but also the people who come to Seed + Salt every day. They are the nicest folks in the world."
- "Honestly, I just want to simplify my life. I think that Seed + Salt might be my last venture. After that, I just want to write and create art." Magellan wears tops by J.Crew and jeans by Boden.
- "I love how much he is exposed to here. Science, technology, beauty, food, nature, culture, ideas, innovation, art…and much more. It’s exciting here because people follow their passions and create new things that have never existed before. It’s also exciting that one of the most beautiful national parks, the Presidio, is in the middle of the city."
- "I am not sure I have a typical day! Magellan usually heads to school at 7:30 a.m. and I do yoga. We go about our days and when he comes home, we usually just go for a walk around the neighborhood before dinner. Pretty simple."
- "My goal is to have two other places, one in LA and one out in Marin somewhere, like Point Reyes. But you never know. I would love for us to live in another country for a bit and just travel around."
- "We love to go to a little park in my neighborhood called Allyne. It’s a dog park and Magellan loves to play with the dogs. He even found a dog-walking job with a Bull Mastis named Kensie. Our favorite restaurant is Godzilla Sushi, we always order off menu and they accommodate us—mango and avocado sushi!"
- For more on Mo, Magellan, and Seed + Salt, follow her Instagram feed here.
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