Episode 6 - A Home That Nurtures Your Well-Being With Zoe Feldman (Full Transcript)
This is a full transcript of the Nirvana Sisters podcast Episode 6 - A Home That Nurtures Your Well-Being With Zoe Feldman.
Editor’s Note: Please know that this podcast transcript is automatically generated and may contain minor errors such as typos and word switches. For more information, be sure to listen to the podcast here or view our podcast episode guide.
Zoe: 0:00
I'm so impressed that you guys you have this whole thing down. It's so
Katie: 0:04
we're having fun with it
Amy: 0:14
Welcome to Nirvana sisters, where we discuss all things health and well being to help you achieve your highest state your nirvana. Hi, I'm Amy Sherman, a marketing exec with a passion for wellness and beauty. Hi,
Katie: 0:26
I'm Katie Chandler, a former fit model that has a passion for health and fitness. We are
Amy: 0:31
sisters in law who share the same love for well being ready to sift through all the self care noise and bring you a splash of what we think is fun. So let's get started.
Katie: 0:43
In today's episode, we chatted with Zoe Feldman of Zoe Feldman design. Zoe is a phenomenal interior designer. She has been at the game for 15 years on the East Coast. She graduated from Parsons in New York City and worked under internationally renowned interior designer Alexa Hampton for the beginning of her career. She's full of great tips.
Amy: 1:09
Yes, she did. Katie and I really loved her advice on giving your home a cozy vibe. And guys make sure to stay tuned until the end because she gave us great insider tips and what city she is currently inspired by. And also listen to find out how she gives back to the environment. Because I was really inspired by that. So here we go. Welcome Zoe to Nirvana sisters, we're so happy you're here. Thanks for joining us.
Zoe: 1:34
Thanks for having really. Hi, Katie. Hi, Amy.
Amy: 1:38
Hi. So good to see you and hear your voice. And we are going to be talking to you about all things, designing a home, but specifically how to design a home that really nurtures your well being and makes you feel really good when you're in your space and makes you feel cozy and balanced and calm. And I know that you're really good at that, which is why we wanted to talk to you on the show all about it.
Zoe: 2:04
Well, you know, and if I'm not, so that's good to hear that I am.
Amy: 2:09
We usually start the shows though with something called a weekly nirvana. And it's really just a way for us to talk about like, what was our high moment of the week, what was something positive that happened little or big, that just brought us a little nirvana or joy or happiness to our week, so I can start, this one is kind of relevant to our theme today. So I got Zoa, you'll be very proud of me. I bought a new rug for my home office, which very well, and you did your decorator I didn't I didn't call you. I made you know, an executive decision. And I bought a sheepskin rug, which is so cozy. And it's my Nirvana the week because I got it not expecting much. It was like I found it on a deal on Overstock. And I got it and it's gorgeous. And it's big. And it's like, every time I walk in my office, my feet when I walk on that carpet or the rug, it's so soft and cozy. I feel like I'm like walking on a cloud is so amazing. So every time I walk in, I'm just like, Ah, I feel so good. And now my dogs like obsessed and napping in it all day long. So that was my Nirvana that week. It was such a fun little thing to have. So love that you'd appreciate that. What about UK?
Katie: 3:20
Mine, we decided mid school year to put my preschool or my three year old into school. We kept her home because of COVID. And now I just feel like you know, vaccines are being administered and the schools are staying pretty healthy. And she has been begging me to go to school. So we're gonna do it. She's gonna go two days a week, but she's just so happy. I mean, it's I'm mine nirvana is because of her happiness with it. And also, I'm super psyched. It's going to open up my schedule to dive more into nirvana sisters, which I'm really excited about. Yeah, so what about yours?
Zoe: 3:51
Well, I thought about mine, briefly. And this was I feel like an unusually tough week for the country. So it was a little harder to think of things but mine is I think a little bit in line with yours, Katie, and that my two and a half year old is starting to successfully potty train. Oh. Free School. She goes two days a week as well. Without a pull up on and she didn't pee in her pants.
Amy: 4:17
Oh my god. Yeah.
Zoe: 4:19
So that was Major. That's mage. Yeah, it's pretty major. We're just I feel like my friends were over last night and one of them was changing their baby's diaper like their Cheerios diaper. And I was like secretly thinking, Oh, I think I don't have to do this much longer. So yeah, that's
Katie: 4:37
great. Nice. Okay.
Amy: 4:38
All right. Well, congrats.
Katie: 4:40
Yeah, congrats. Let's dive into this quickfire because we just want our listener to get to know you a little bit. For starters, you're an amazing interior designer. How long have you been at it?
Zoe: 4:51
And okay, so 22 years, which I hadn't have now allowed and makes me sound like I'm 70 I'm not Yes. already when I was like 12 started very young. And yes, I've been doing it for a really long time. Right?
Katie: 5:07
I didn't ask. So you got into the business, just it was something that you decided you want to do in college, you went to Parsons, is that right?
Zoe: 5:14
I went to Syracuse for undergrad, and no, I didn't, I thought it'd be a journalist. And then I didn't get into I didn't even attempt to get into new house, the traditional way, which would have been which new house is an incredibly good journalism school that I did not qualify for directly out of high school. And I was told that you could get in a bit easier once you get into school. And anyway, I never even bothered to try and get him when I was in college. Kind of really wanted to be a journalist. But anyway, but I took a job in advertising my first year out of school, and was terrible at it, and realized I hated commercials and felt like I needed a new job. And so that's when I went back to school, I thought I'd do fashion. And then my mom reminded me just that I always kind of noticed when she would change something in the house or, and thought, Oh, what about an interior design, which I don't for some reason I never thought of as a career. And so then I looked into a program at Parsons and enrolled in the program. And because it was more of like, a continuing education type program was a certificate program. I had a bunch of free time. So then I so I guess I was about 22. So then I asked my mom's fancy friend who lived in Manhattan, who are like the best interior designers, and she gave me a few names. And one of them was Mark Hampton. And I called and got an internship there.
Katie: 6:30
So amazing. What a great place. Your Career. Yeah. Fantastic. So what what would you say? Is your aesthetic? What's your favorite way to style a home? If you have, you know, one signature aesthetic?
Zoe: 6:44
You know, that's such a hard question. Because I don't think we have a signature aesthetic and the way that some firms or some designers where you can sort of always, like always kind of tell their work, I think that our work is a little bit more evolving. And, but I think that there is a signature and that we tend to do, we tend to use a lot of tension in our work. So we like to create timeless spaces, but also modernize them. So I think that's probably present in all of our work. We also use color in different ways, which I think people notice a lot. I think at the end of the day, we're probably modernists and that we like things to feel irrelevant, but I don't know. That's kind of like, I don't know that we have like a signature look.
Katie: 7:30
Yeah, I mean, I love your style. From what I get exactly what you're saying. It's like it's classic. You're without a doubt classic and chic, but still have a modernity to it. And it's fun. You're it's very like Amy's house is so fun and sexy, but still really laid back and organic. It's beautiful.
Zoe: 7:46
Thank you and a lot of is the client and the building that we're working in. Right. So I think we really pay attention to that. And that excites us, we get excited to be working in like different periods or different types of homes and things so nice.
Amy: 7:59
Nice Zoe, what is your number one tip for making a home feel cozy and warm and uplifting? Because when we talk about kind of feeling happy in your home, like what do you think those elements are?
Zoe: 8:12
I think it's important for it not to feel what would be the word like to static Hmm. So I think that it's important to inject yourself into right so you don't want to walk into space and not understand all who the person is. This is my personal feeling right? I want to walk into space. And as I explore the space have some understanding of who the person is like, whether that's through a book collection or a decorative collection or through it like photos. So I think making sure that you infuse your personality into it is important. I think art helps to warm a space very much. It kind of for me is the finishing touch on any space I think without art it tends to feel pretty sad. I think Amy and I experienced that we're at the end we're like okay, let's get some art up and like get all of that going. I fresh flowers I think make or even like forged flowers right like going or forge branches and things like having greenery like because that's like a lie. I think so probably flowers like right so greenery. Yeah, I think probably really good beds really comfy beds. That's a good one.
Katie: 9:22
The greenery and the flowers. It's such a good tip though because it's so accessible and easy. It can be done at any given point, right?
Zoe: 9:27
Yeah, I mean I go out to my backyard and do it. Nice. Just grab some branches and they get end up getting really sculptural and and it's free.
Amy: 9:38
Yeah. And it brings in that that warmth and to your point. feeling that something alive is in your house and warming it up. What about favorite products are like I'd like to say like a hack for the home like if someone just wants to kind of have a few things to bring into their home that makes it feel cozy. I mean, is it like candles is like what are the things like little objects or pieces that they could bring in. I mean, we sort of talked about it. But is there anything else you can think of that could just, you know, transform the space a bit?
Zoe: 10:09
Yeah. So I think foraging for, for branches and things like that outside is a quick and easy one that everyone is obviously free. Yeah, I think scented candles are nice lighting a candle seasonally. I mean, obviously, having a working fireplace is always going to help. Whether it's gas or wood burning, I guess wood burning gives a little bit more of that cozy smell and feel. But we can all get behind as to, I think making sure that you have large enough runs, you mentioned rugs in the beginning, making certain that your rugs are large and comfy and things like that, that tends to cozy up the space pretty quickly. And also I think window treatments people I know don't really want to spend the money on Window Treatments much because they are they can get pretty expensive though there's a lot of ways now I think that you can do more off the rack, but they do tend to coziest space.
Katie: 10:57
Now, something I noticed about Amy's home is that it's it has that like really natural organic feel. And I think that's also because Amy you spoke to wanting to pull on that like West Coast California style. But what are some textiles or you know, fabrications that they bring in that natural organic feel? Because he has you have a lot of white you have is it? Is it linen that I see like what what are the textiles that the listener could could put on their sofa or, you know, a wood color that they might want to use?
Zoe: 11:27
Yeah, so if you're looking for kind of more of what like a kind of Cali like organic vibe, right thing, you want to stay in a kind of organic palette. And I think that's it's important to understand that, that doesn't mean that at all does have to be white or natural. There's a lot of tones like ochre, which is like a really deep yellow, or russet, which is going to be like a really warm red orange like a kind of like a burnt like cayenne type of color. All of greens, which we actually did use it Amias. So there's a lot of organic tones that are outside of those neutrals. But yeah, I think thinking about more casual and textural fabrics, so linens and like raw linens, and like blue clays and like wovens versus things like silks and velvets, right? So that's going to feel more organic when it comes to woods, I think just like less polished, right? So you're going to want to be using oaks like white oaks or walnut. But not probably like a zebra or a super like high polish finish on a word. Right? You want to keep things a little imperfect. But yeah, so I think it's more just about keep like textural is probably about
Amy: 12:40
what about I know that you and your team have an initiative to be environmentally friendly and using green products. So I'd love to hear about that. And I also read in business of home about your consultation fee idea, which I love. So if you could just kind of talk about the environmental stuff you're doing as a company, I think it would be really interesting to hear.
Zoe: 13:00
Yeah, so a few years ago, I just My father was actually doing it. He was a periodontist. And he wanted to give back to the community. So he figured out a way to get back with a one to one. And I kept thinking, oh, I need to figure out a way to give back because I like many people. Sadly, I wasn't I didn't become aware of it quick enough. But maybe four or five years ago, I realized, oh God, the Earth is burning. And we need to figure out how to make that stop. And then I realized that what we're doing is highly impactful. And that we have an opportunity to help reduce waste just within ourselves like in our own little firm. So we started thinking about it and realize, well, first of all, just sort of simple things we can do that the listener can do as well is rather than constantly be purchasing new product, we started looking a lot toward vintage. This is sort of before we figured out how to do our actual giveback. And so we kind of committed to trying to do about 80% Vintage that year. And also looking at clients existing things to think of how we can use their pieces rather than just get rid of them, how we can re upholster them, refinish them those sorts. So that was kind of like the beginning. And then people started telling me I should charge for my consultation fee as I was getting bigger, because it would weed people out. And that just didn't feel right to me. For some reason, I just kind of didn't also want to have to like give a whole bunch of advice the first hour because I tend to have to marinate on things anyway. And I thought, oh God, if I charge them, they're gonna expect so much more. And I don't really want to deal with that. So I didn't want to do that. But then I did think Well, I am going for free. And I could just charge a small fee and that could be 100 that can be donated, like fully donated, and that could be the way that we get back. So that's where what we launched and so we basically charged 250 I think we're upping it to 275 and the new year. Yeah, it's generally my rate. And so and it's donated to one of four charities that switch yearly. Some we retain if one hasn't done well, we might pivot and pick Have a new charity. But the idea is that the person purchasing the consultation fee goes online and looks at the for charities in an in an effort or in a hope that they might say, Oh, wow, Charity Water, I'd heard about our Sierra Club, whatever it is, I'm going to start giving to that because we tend to be with more high net worth clients who can give way more than 250 or 275? Ultimately. So that's sort of the goal in an effort to spread it. And then if they sign with us, we match it.
Amy: 15:30
That's nice.
Zoe: 15:31
Yeah, yeah, that's sort of our effort. And then we also quarterly plant trees in an effort to offset our carbon footprint. So it's kind of fun, you can go on our site, and there's like a little ticker. This we've planted this ministry has gotten this message, charity. And when there's a major catastrophic event, which has been often lately, we'll pivot like when Australia was burning that month, we gave only to Australia. And now that COVID is happening, we've been giving to children to feed children. So we also look at kind of, it might rotate with what's going on in the world.
Amy: 16:04
So and do you have information on your website?
Zoe: 16:07
Yeah, I'm really effort is to show like small businesses, that we can also make a big impact, you know, and like, I'm not going to make as big of an impact as PwC, or you know, Google, but it all helps. So and I think it's a little more conscious. And I think our whole team has lived more consciously because of that.
Katie: 16:26
That's so inspiring. I think I saw on your site that you've planted a few 1000 trees. Yeah. That's great. Yeah,
Zoe: 16:35
that's, that's fine. It reminds me that we used to plant trees for Israel. Do you remember that? Amy?
Amy: 16:40
I do remember that each other a long time. And so where do you find your inspiration? Like, what sources do you use? What websites like what Instagram feeds? Like? How do you kind of keep reinventing? Because I see all the beautiful work that you have been putting out and all the press you've been getting? And I just, you know, it's always different. And it's always fresh. And just how do you what, what inspires you? And where do you get it from?
Zoe: 17:06
Ah, it's so funny. So I'm inspired, I would say, I get into, like black holes, like I'm currently very inspired by Parisian design. So I'm that I'm in a Parisian moment where I think everything else sucks. And if it's not Paris, it does. It's not even worth it. And I get into the holes in those things. And then I want everything to be this way. But then I look for that. And I move on to the next thing.
Amy: 17:31
You know, I feel like when we work together with Morocco, yeah, exactly.
Zoe: 17:35
So and it's still Morocco, I don't like actually lose them, I just move on, but I hold on to them as like, they'll always live in my inspirational world, they just won't be quite as present or maybe at the forefront. So I think I just, I'm also very inspired by history. So I look back a lot at designers from the past. And also I might look at like historic flooring or historic buildings to inspire how I do work. Art is a big inspiration for me mostly with like color palette. And then I follow some people on Instagram who I think are doing really, really beautiful work, and can be highly influenced by that as well.
Katie: 18:18
Would you say that, like a starting point for someone if they wanted to decorate a room is to what you said with art, if they have a great piece of art, they look there, and they pull colors from that. And that's how they'll get their palette for a room.
Zoe: 18:31
Yeah, I think that's helpful, I think of it as a little more abstract, where like, you could you could look at politics or Rothko's, or something like this, and just be inspired by a palette. And that could set the tone for a room too. So you don't have to actually have the piece of art. Most of us aren't lucky enough to have a Rothko hanging on our wall. But more sort of like that, I think fashion does the same thing. I find myself taking actually find myself taking a lot of photos like I rewatched Mad Men recently, and found a lot of color inspiration in Jones outfits. So I look at things like that too, right? And I'm like, Oh, she's putting orange with the hot pink and I write I need to do this. And it doesn't always translate into interiors. And it translates differently even when it does translate. So you know, you have to consider that but kind of more abstract in that way. And
Amy: 19:22
that that says, Oh, do you just work in the DC area? Or do you work all over?
Zoe: 19:27
All over? So we're currently working on an apartment in New York and in the city. And we have done place in the Hamptons, Florida. I'm working on another place in the north work of New York, of Long Island, Michigan. And then the DMV like Eastern Shore and Annapolis like
Amy: 19:51
have you seen a lot of good momentum in your business since all of this Corona stuff because I feel like so many people are focused on their home and making it better because they're actually having time to spend in it.
Zoe: 20:04
Yeah, so sad. I'm not sad that I felt sort of guilty about because we have seen a spike in business. And that was a little bit hard for me actually, I felt guilty. And then I realized, well, the world would be way worse if there weren't people thriving in this moment. And thriving is the wrong word. But if there weren't if people's business, if some businesses if all businesses were doing poorly, we would be in a much worse experience. So we make an effort, because we feel very blessed in that. Yes, that is true. More people are in their homes, and we tend to work with a less affected population. Which is unfair, I understand. But it's just the reality. And so we've it's actually put us in a position where we work a lot harder to get back because of it. Over the holidays. We did like 500 sandwiches for Martha's Table. And we've done that a few times we've we've donated as a team like groceries and things like this. So we try and use that. But yeah, we have seen a spike in business.
Amy: 21:03
Yeah, and I love all the stuff that you guys are doing, like we talked about before for the environment, but also just giving back in general, because to your point, you are a small business and growing. And it is nice to see that small businesses can also make a difference. It's not just the big businesses and taking inspiration from you people listening can do something in their own home or in their own business to make a difference, because every little thing counts. So I love that.
Zoe: 21:26
And I'll tell you like speaking to the Nirvana thing, which I used to be afraid of things like this, like, Oh, can I afford to get back? Can I you know, all these sorts of things. And what it is shown me as the small bit that we give back, because it's not that much, right? It's it really isn't. Has, it's grown our business so much. It's done so much because it establishes trust on the front end between us and the client where I am like, oh, you're a good person. You're there's people who don't want to do the donation. And I'm like, Okay, well, I don't want to work for you. Right? You're clearly terrible. So are you serious? So it weeds that part out? And then I think for the client, it's like, okay, so she's not also like a terrible person, right? She's doing something. So she's probably going to be pretty fair. And like, she's a conscious person. And so I think that helps and to establish that trust. And I think also probably just karmically or like the whole energy thing, which I guess you guys are pretty into just like giving right you just end up receiving a lot back. You don't hold it so tight. Yeah, it feels so good. Yeah. And so I think, you know, we don't overthink it. And we just give and it seems to work out. So I would encourage people to do that I
Katie: 22:36
I have to say thank you for giving back as much as you guys are, because that's just really cool. It's I mean, it's so inspiring to meet somebody that you are basing your business around such positivity, and just helping the world. It's really if I was to choose, if I had two designers in front of me and I liked both of their aesthetics, I would go with you hands down for that reason alone, but unless your sparkling personality.
Zoe: 23:01
Well, it all has to weave together. But yes, the deciding vote.
Amy: 23:07
So before we get into our quick little wrap session with you, how do people get in touch with you if they want to reach out?
Zoe: 23:15
There is on our website, there's an intake form. So you fill that out. And you tell us a little bit about you and a little bit about your project. And then we assess it to determine if it's a good fit for us. If it's not a good fit. We'll we have other designers that we like and we'll refer the client or the potential clients then. Otherwise, yeah, we come out we do the whole, you have to give money to the charity that would come out and we'd make a plan to come out and see you. But yeah, it's all through the website.
Amy: 23:42
Nice. Okay, so two quick questions before we wrap up. So what is your favorite wellness or beauty hack?
Zoe: 23:50
I was thinking about this. A hack. Wait, so can you give me an example of like a hack? Like do I have to make it myself? Or what does
Amy: 23:59
that mean? I don't know like a shortcut like something
Zoe: 24:04
like Botox. Yeah,
Amy: 24:07
that's a good one.
Zoe: 24:12
Give me an example.
Amy: 24:13
I just actually saw something on tick tock because I get a lot of hacks from there where if you you didn't have there's all these teeth whitening things and whatever. But if you just gargle with hydrogen peroxide, peroxide, and you mix it with water, it does the same thing. And it's like, you know, 10 bucks a bottle. Oh, no way. So I've been doing that. Yeah, so just
Zoe: 24:33
bad thing. Yeah, I didn't know that. beauty hack, because I'm like, kind of a beauty. Like I probably spend too much on beauty products.
Amy: 24:43
And me too. Do you have like a favorite beauty product? Okay,
Zoe: 24:46
brilliant. Using bombs there and I have like 7000 like drunken elephant does it and I think it's called like one love or something. All these different products and I think beauty counter didn't first where they have that. It's like oil base. to your face dry, and then you take it off of the washcloth and it looks like a lot of what balm, a cleansing balm. Oh, I haven't used that before, right. So you have you put it on dry face and then and kind of massage it in
Amy: 25:13
lieu. Sounds so relaxing
Zoe: 25:16
and like super helpful. I also think highlighter is very helpful, which I don't have on right now.
Katie: 25:21
But love a good highlighter.
Zoe: 25:24
I love a good highlighter. I didn't mind bleeding recently. I didn't hate that
Amy: 25:30
micro needling or micro bleeding.
Zoe: 25:33
Micro bleeding, I think right? Or neither. I think it's bleeding to the eyebrows anyway. Oh,
Amy: 25:40
okay.
Zoe: 25:41
I'm here for all of that. I don't know, but I tend to spend too much money on that stuff. So
Amy: 25:47
yeah, now, I feel you on that one.
Unknown: 25:51
I can't do the DIY part. Now is it's more just
Amy: 25:54
like a shortcut or like something you love. Your go to your holy grail product stuff, like,
Zoe: 26:00
get the cleansing balm find it? Yeah,
Amy: 26:02
I'm gonna I'm gonna look for one. And then how do you maintain your daily nirvana? Your daily flow? Like, how do you kind of stay balanced? Yeah.
Zoe: 26:11
Well, I used to do Transcendental Meditation. Wow, I did. I did the whole course. It did the whole thing. I did it for years. And I loved it ever since I had children, that finding the 20 minutes twice a day is like impossible. So I don't do that anymore. Sadly, I will. I think I will take that back at some point. But I get up early earlier than my family. And for me, that's helpful because it gives me an opportunity to their workout, or to drink coffee alone and have no one bother me. Or to take a steam shower. You know, something? Oh, steam shower. That's the joint. Yeah, you guys don't have one. And afford it. I didn't think I'd like it. All right. But something like that, I think grounds me to start my day. Because otherwise I'm a pretty disorganized person in my brain, like meaning I've add and if I don't, I'm not that regimented. And so I think having that little bit in the morning kind of starts my day, and I can think through it. And otherwise, I'll just dive in and Miss like everything I was meant to do and do a whole bunch of shit I didn't need to do so.
Katie: 27:16
Yeah, that's, that's a great one. You're kind of just getting up and like getting your mind straight for the day. I do the same thing. Yeah, love that. Yeah. It's the best. Yeah, it's it's worth every minute of sleep last to wake up a little bit earlier.
Zoe: 27:31
Yeah. And when I miss doing it, I noticed a difference in my day.
Katie: 27:35
Yeah, same.
Amy: 27:36
Yeah, that makes sense. What about you guys? What
Zoe: 27:38
do you do for your nirvana?
Amy: 27:40
I would say like movement every day, at least 20 minutes like something, whether it's walking, working out Pilates, running anything, just some sort of movement makes me have a better day for sure. I'm also breathing exercises and meditation and things like that. What about you, Katie?
Katie: 27:57
I think catching a little bit of alone time throughout my day, if I can, you know if I can get 20 or 30 minutes here or there throughout the day to just kind of reset and you know, process my thoughts and like, decompress. Then I'm, I'm just I'm a better mom. I'm a better friend. I'm a better wife. I'm just a better person, because I'm more in tune to myself in my needs and what I gotta do to get through that day.
Amy: 28:22
Yeah, a lot of time is crucial. Yeah,
Zoe: 28:26
I'm totally with you on that. And no guilt about that.
Amy: 28:30
Exactly. It's self care. You need it. So thank you for coming on the show. We it's just so inspiring listening to you. And it's good to hear you and see you at least virtually for now. It's been a while. But thank you so much for coming on. This was so great. And so cool to hear about all the intricacies of what's happening and congratulations on all the success and well thanks
Zoe: 28:54
for hanging out with me before I had all this great success. So you are you're an early adopter early adapter Exactly.
Amy: 29:04
And you're now an honorary Nirvana sister. Yes.
Katie: 29:07
Amy I am super excited about this review because you know, I'm obsessed with it. So go ahead. What do you have for us this week?
Amy: 29:15
Sozo. I think you'll love this too. So there's a company that does weighted blankets called bear OB and I found them a couple years ago and it is first of all, if you don't if you haven't experienced a weighted blanket before it's just like having a big hug on you. It feels so amazing. And when you put it on you feel it it really calms you down like speaking of add Zoey, it's like and like a lot of people that have ADHD or like focusing issues like put this on them because it really calms you and it's it's just it they say it's like a sensation of being cuddled lowers stress and anxiety because it reduces your cortisol so it makes you feel calm and relaxed. So the reason why I like bearer B though is because it has a beautiful design. And then it looks great in the home. So over a bed over sofa. It's like this big chunky knit. And it's really soft and breathable because most of these blankets are like thick and heavy and make you hot but this is super breathable. It's all natural 100% organic cotton. It's also sourced ethically and sustainably. And the colors are gorgeous. I have a few of them. I have a light gray and charcoal and I have one in my bedroom and one in our guest room. And yeah, I mean it says scientific research shows that sleeping under an evenly distributed weight brings a deeper more natural sleep cycle. And that being cocooned releases serotonin making you feel positively happy. So I love this brand. And I'll let Katie talk about it too, because I know she does too.
Katie: 30:47
Yeah, the the therapy blanket I first used it when I was staying at Amy's house and I slept better than I think I ever have in my entire life. Wow, I got one as soon as we got home and I am like religious about sleeping with it. I think you know we've we've touched on it before I have autoimmunity and it is it affects my hormones. So like you said how it lowers your cortisol, it also releases serotonin and dopamine. And I think that's the reason why I love it so much. Because my hormones are kind of screwed up in that area. And I just I mean, I sleep like a rock. It's, it's, it's amazing. And it's also organic cotton. So it's really breathable, really soft. And loving.
Amy: 31:30
And it's an it's really pretty and like cozy. So that's my my favorite and my product review of the week, but I thought you'd enjoy that. So a maybe you could incorporate it into something you're doing. I actually
Zoe: 31:40
have follow up questions.
Amy: 31:42
Yes. Okay. Ask away.
Zoe: 31:45
So is it like a throw that you incorporate just like on top of you with like a Dubay or something? I was like, how do you sleep with it? I'm now about to buy one. So I'm trying to understand we
Amy: 31:58
have different sizes. So I think they range from like $150 to 250 or so depending on the size. So they have one for kids, they have one that's like they call a Napper. So it's just kind of like if you're napping on the sofa, and then they have a bigger one that you could use in bed. It's not as big as a comforter. I don't even know how big it is. But it's probably good for one person, I would say one ish person. And then I just saw on their website today that they now have a comforter, but it's not the same material. It's just probably like a weighted comforter.
Zoe: 32:26
I'm looking at that now. It's it can be up to 25 pounds. Wow. Yeah,
Amy: 32:30
yeah. So it's like if you if you have the napper and you have it on your sofa, and you just throw it there. It looks good. But then you put it on and watch TV and you're like, Oh, this is so relaxing. It just enhances everything.
Zoe: 32:41
Oh, wow. I like feel like all children should have this. Yeah, yeah, my
Katie: 32:45
kids love it. Yeah, the way that I sleep with mine is I put the sheet on. And then the weighted blanket, which it is the one that I have is just my size, it's for me. And then if I'm still caught, I use the comforter that my husband's using. So it's great because he's a major like, you know, blanket hog all night long. I'm usually wrestling him for the blankets. And now I don't have to. So do you have a 15 or 20 pound? I have the 15 and you have the 20 and I realized that I bought the wrong weight because I love the 20 I even think I would like to 25 If I get another one. I might do the 25
Amy: 33:19
Yeah. Oh, it's great. Your love. It's right up your alley.
Zoe: 33:24
This is exciting.
Amy: 33:28
And then before we close out, we also like to close with a mantra or kind of a saying of the week just to kind of, you know, wrap it up nice. Yeah. So Katie, I think you have one.
Katie: 33:38
I do. I think this one is if you take it in a literal sense. It's really apropos with having Zoey here. So me the space between where I am and where I want to be inspire me. Oh, all right. You can use it, I guess, metaphorically, would that be the right word or literally and I don't know. It just makes me think of us trying to build these beautiful spaces with so he's helped today and living in a place that is peaceful and makes you happy. let it inspire you right. Yes.
Zoe: 34:14
I love everything you guys are doing.
Amy: 34:16
Thank you. So let's talk. Let's talk again, thanks for listening to Nirvana sisters. For more information on this episode, check out the show notes please subscribe and leave us a review. also find us on Instagram at Nirvana sisters. If you loved what you just listened to or know someone that would please share it and tag us Tune in next week for a fresh new episode of Nirvana sisters will continue to watch out for all things wellness and you do so you don't have to. Bye.