photography by

ANA GAMBUTO

Mother of two and Saie founder LANEY CROWELL shows us around her Sag Harbor home to chat growing a brand along with her babies.

MINI | Thank you for inviting us into your home! Where do you spend the most time in your home?

LANEY CROWELL | I spend the most amount of time in my bedroom. It’s become my office ever since I started working from home. A close second is the kitchen and living room since I’m always cooking or preparing something whether it’s a smoothie for me, or lunch for the kids. I love how the kids can play while I get everything ready. My favorite thing about this house is hands down the incredible light we get. It’s so bright and happy and every window is a little picture frame for the ever-changing leaves and sky outside.

MINI | How about your kids’ spaces? What inspired you in creating them and what are some of your favorite elements there? LANEY CROWELL | I want my kids’ spaces to be a safe place for them that feels sprinkled with magic and opportunity. My goal is for them to think of their rooms as a happy space that they love spending time in. In Isabella’s room, we transformed the closet into a reading room with a special chair, bookcase, and a special calming wall color.

MINI | You are the mother of two girls! Can you tell us what has surprised you most about motherhood thus far?

LANEY CROWELL | How you can love something more than anything; that’s simultaneously so hard. My

girls have limitless energy and so many opinions. I love how they are forces of nature, but wow, is it exhausting.

MINI | What is most important to you in raising your girls?

LANEY CROWELL | That they are happy, healthy, and never hesitate to stand up for their personal boundaries. We never tell them to give someone a hug or kiss, instead we encourage them to listen to what feels right for them. It is not their job to make anyone feel comfortable or loved, especially when it involves their bodies. Similarly, we never speak negatively about our bodies or food. Instead, we help them listen to their bodies and teach them about nutrient-rich ingredients. When my girls have instinctual responses, we talk to them about listening to their gut and to trust the relationship with their natural instinct. Encouraging and supporting that confidence and empowerment is my #1 goal.

MINI | What is your greatest parenting worry or fear?

LANEY CROWELL | I am very scared about drugs, social media, and climate change. I plan on having a lot of conversations with them about all of these topics, which I know will have evolved even more by then.

MINI | How was your transition from a mom of zero to one, then two kids?

LANEY CROWELL | They were both equally

hard for me, but in different ways. From zero to one, I went from maiden to mother and there was definitely a grief period for me in that transition. Postpartum was incredibly difficult for me because I wasn’t prepared at all, which made it even harder. From one to two, I was already a mother so the personal growth wasn’t as profound, but being torn between the two girls has been so much more of a challenge than I was expecting. Because they’re so close in age, they each really want all my attention!

MINI | What advice would you give to moms about to have their second baby?

LANEY CROWELL | Accept all the help. If a friend wants to make dinner, say yes please. If the grandparents want to take one of the kids to dinner, tell them to go ahead.

MINI | Tell us how you decided on your daughters’ names.

LANEY CROWELL | It was really important to me to give the girls family names. My name is Helane Isabella Crowell. I was named Helane after my grandmother Helene, and Isabella after my dearest Aunt, and I’ve always felt that my names were so special and meaningful because of that family connection.

[For my daughter, Isabella Sage]: Isabella is a name that actually goes back over ten generations in my family. Sage is the name of a woman named Olivia Sage in

M I N I124 s p r i n g ‘22

Sag Harbor, New York (where we live) who gave all of her money to support women’s education in the early 1900s.

[For my youngest] Rose Harbor: Rose is my husband’s great grandmother’s first name. She immigrated to the United States when she was very young, like my grandfather who grew carnations and roses. This name is in honor of our immigrant grandparents who sacrificed everything to come here. Harbor is after Sag Harbor, where we moved full time during the pandemic and has been a safe haven for us.

MINI | We are so inspired by Saie! Can you tell us how the brand came to be?

LANEY CROWELL | Saie started after a conversation with my community I cultivated through my blog. They told me what they wanted and the brand is a direct response to that— it’s also where the brand name comes from! We still reference those conversations all the time in what we now call the Feel Good Five: Conscious, Luxury, Earth-friendly, Award-winning, and New. Everything Saie does has to make sense in the context of the Feel Good Five.

MINI | What has been your proudest career moment to date?

LANEY CROWELL | Winning Beauty Inc’s Marketer of the Year was so fun and such a thrill!

MINI | As the owner of a beauty brand, we have to ask! What is your current beauty/skincare routine?

LANEY CROWELL | My routine is very simple because I don’t have a lot of time. I can do my makeup in two minutes, sometimes even faster. I don’t have to prep my skin at all because all of our products are SO hydrating. I start with Glowy Super Gel all over, then Slip Tint in shade 3.5. Next, I apply Dew Blush in our new shade Spicy high up on my cheeks, then I dust Airset on with The Fluffy Brush to set everything. A couple swipes of Mascara 101, a quick brush of the brows and a swipe of gloss or balm and I’m all set!

I wash my face at the end of the day with Mara Beauty oil cleanser and then I apply a face oil like Vintner’s Daughter or Le Prunier— I love them both.

MINI | What do you think about the idea of “having it all?

LANEY CROWELL | I think it’s a mindset. I don’t have it all, but I practice gratitude every day and at the end of my meditation. I feel like the luckiest person in the world. So, do I think I have it all? Yes, but I think it’s a choice to look at it that way.

MINI | What has been the greatest lesson you’ve learned in business thus far?

LANEY CROWELL | Don’t give out sweat equity. If someone wants part of your business, they need to pay for it.

MINI | What are you most looking forward to about raising your kids in the Hamptons?

LANEY CROWELL | Spending lots and lots of time outdoors.

SUNSCREEN I wear either Sunvisor or Slip Tint every day.

FACE OIL Vintner’s Daughter or Le Prunier are my go-to’s.

MASCARA I look a million times better with mascara on.

CUTICLE OIL I have really dry hands and this really helps (I’m obsessed with the Rose one from Tenoverten).

CBD I take CBD every night and during the day sometimes to help with anxiety. It’s a game changer. I like the brand Jupiter.

LANEY ON THE CLOCK

KIDS BOOK The Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain ($5; amazon.com)

KIDS MOVIE “The Sound of Music.”

COFFEE ORDER “Decaf almond cappuccino.”

IN MY FRIDGE “Almond milk.”

NOW PLAYING “Country music.”

DATE NIGHT IF I HAD

“Sushi and MORE TIME a movie.” “I would do more of what I’m already doing.”