Profile: Kelly Sawyer Patricof

I met Kelly years ago through one of our closest mutual friends, Ali. Since then, she has become a close friend as well, and I am lucky enough to see her often at all things Baby2Baby. Along with Norah Weinstein, Kelly serves as Co-President of Baby2Baby, a charity very close to my heart, and of which I am proud to be a board member.

Besides helping countless children in LA get everything they need to have a fair start at life, and serving as Creative Director of Satine, Kelly is an amazing mom to two beautiful girls, Sawyer and Riley. She and her husband Jamie purchased a beautiful beach house in Malibu, which they recently finished with the help of our friend, the talented Brigette Romanek. A cozy cottage built in 1955, it is the perfect mix of polish and ease, and just the place for a weekend getaway. I hope you enjoy this look inside. XXJKE

Beauty

R+T: What are your go-to beauty products? Why?

Honest Company Healing Balm – I use it on everything…lips, cuticles, any dry patches, and even on my eyelids and cheekbones when I go out at night for a little sheen.

Biologique Recherche VIP O2 Mask – this is literally a miracle mask; whenever I’m feeling tired or blah looking, I put in on for 20 minutes and it gives me a healthy, dewy glow. It’s magical.

R+T: Is there anything special you would like to share about your beauty routine?

I have been getting facials from Francesca Paige since moving to LA…she is the best and I swear she is keeping me the same age!

R+T: What are the 5 products you couldn’t live without?

Honest Company Healing Balm, Biologique Recherche VIP O2 Mask, Biologique Recherche oxygen spray for my face, grapeseed oil from any health food store (I use as body lotion), and the best night cream I’ve ever used, Francesca Paige Restore cream.

R+T: Bath or Shower?

I’ll sometimes have a bath with my girls and they love it, but I generally have zero time for that, so shower it is!

R+T: What do you sleep in?

Last night…a Rick Ross t-shirt.

Health

R+T: Do you have any health tricks?

I drink tons of coconut water and water with lemon…the second I feel anything coming on, I run to Pressed Juicery for the apple, lemon, ginger cayenne juice that heals all!

R+T: What do you do to stay healthy and balanced?

I try to get 8 hours sleep a night…sometimes it’s hard but I try my best!

R+T: Do you workout, what do you swear by?

I have a trainer, Fred Khorshidid, and I try to workout with him at least 3 times a week. We do everything…yoga, intervals, abs and weights…he plays gangster rap to keep me motivated and even comes to my house when I try to get out of my workout, so I have zero excuse!

R+T: What do you do to relax?

Read…I’m a real novel reader…no electronic anything…real paperbacks…my latest favorite, The Light Between Oceans, had me crying my eyes out…definitely a must read.

Decor

R+T: What is your design philosophy for your home?

Let Brigette do it! I’m incredibly lucky that one of my good friends Brigette Romanek offered to help. I let her run with it and she got exactly what I wanted. Since it’s our beach house, I wanted it to be relaxing but still chic – she made it feel inviting and cozy but still polished.

R+T: What are your favorite pieces in your house?

The built in blue couch Brigitte had made for us. I rarely get off of it on the weekends. The black leather chairs in the sitting room are amazing – I would never have thought to pick them myself but they really add an unexpected touch. And the coffee table Brigette had made for us is so beautiful that it might be my favorite, but it’s hard to choose!

R+T: What are your favorite home stores?

I love the Jenni Kayne home store in Montecito…I got a lot of great pieces for the bookshelves and great kitchen stuff there. I love Maison Midi for tableware and placemats and napkins, and Bountiful for vintage tablecloths and other vintage gems.

R+T: What is your favorite room in the house?

My kids’ room…I love hanging out in there with them. It’s so peaceful and relaxing. We lay on the floor and play boardgames, make friendship bracelets and read on the weekends…it’s my favorite time with them.

R+T: Can you describe style, era, architect, and any distinguishing features of your home?

The house was built in 1955. The best way to describe it is a beach cottage. It is really the perfect type of house for how my family lives. It’s not a distinguishing feature, but I just found out that what I thought is the guest house is actually called the mother-in-law unit. Kind of genius.

Entertaining

R+T: Do you entertain at home?

We have bbq’s almost every weekend…we have a great outdoor space and my husband loves to bbq shirtless, which is quite a conversation starter for guests!

R+T: What are your tricks for entertaining?

I always set the table with my vintage Battenberg lace tablecloths…they make everything prettier. A perfectly set table excuses many things, so I always make sure that it looks perfect. The rest is up to the bbq gods.

R+T: How do you set the scene when you have people over?

Music, flowers and Baies Diptique candles go a long way.

R+T: Are there any tips for what to do or what to avoid?

Avoid bad party guests!

R+T: What is your favorite song/playlist when you have people over?

Pandora Tribe Called Quest radio.

R+T: Plated, Buffet, or Family Style for a dinner party?

Family style.

R+T: What are your favorite flowers and where do you buy them?

Peonies! I’m always terribly depressed when the season is over, otherwise dahlias, hydrangeas or cabbage roses. I try and get them from the flower mart when I can because I love going there, otherwise I love Botany as they have a great selection that is always beautifully displayed.

R+T: Do you do them yourself or do you use a florist?

I always do them myself. I try and go to the flower market when I can, but if not I have a secret spot for wholesale flowers, and no, I’m not telling where!

R+T: Who is your favorite florist?

If I’m sending flowers I use my favorite Botany or Maurice from Bloom & Plume – he’s insanely talented and always make something extra special.

Fashion

R+T: How would you describe your style?

In the past few years, I’ve started dressing up a bit more – its really easy in LA just to live in jeans and t-shirts, but I feel better when I’m a little more polished. I don’t mind being the dressiest person in the room!

R+T: Who are your favorite designers?

I love Nina Ricci, The Row, Chanel, Chloe and Preen …

R+T: What are the 5 pieces you can’t live without this season?

Nina Ricci leopard coat, Tabitha Simmons Josephina pumps, Chanel bandana bag, Jenni Kayne Brogues and my Chloe silver sweater.

R+T: What is your uniform?

It changes day to day, depending on my mood.

R+T: What is your newest purchase?

I can’t stop buying sweaters….I just got a great one from Chloe…cream and chunky and perfect. Now I just need some cold weather!

Kids


R+T: Are there any kids finds you want to share with Rip+Tan?

I am obsessed with traditional English nighties for the kids, they’re so sweet and classic…I stock up from Bonne Nuit when I’m in NY.

R+T: What are your favorite places to shop for kids?

Eggy and Jenni Kayne have the cutest stuff for my girls, but I am definitely a Bonpoint traditionalist!

R+T: What is your favorite restaurant for the whole family?

Café Habana …my kids can’t get enough, and neither can I!

Shopping & Blogs

R+T: What are your favorite stores to shop for clothing?

Satine, obviously, and Barneys for shoes and bags, but I love to save my shopping for my travels…I do a lot of damage in Paris, and love shopping there to find things no one else has!

R+T: What is your favorite city for shopping?

Paris.

R+T: What are your favorite sites for shopping?

Moda Operandi has such a cool selection and I love their “shop it now” section because I am all about instant gratification.

R+T: Are you an impulse buyer, or do you wait to commit?

Impulse!

R+T: What are your favorite blogs?

Rip+Tan!

Charity

R+T: Can you share a bit about Baby2Baby, and how you came to be involved?

Baby2Baby provides low-income children ages 0-12 with diapers, clothing and all the basic necessities that every child deserves. By distributing new and gently-used items to 60 non-profit partners including homeless and domestic violence shelters, Head Start programs and children’s hospitals Baby2Baby will serve over 80,000 children this year

R+T: How have you seen the organization grow since beginning your leadership role as Co-President?

When my partner and I took on Baby2Baby, it was a small grassroots organization doing great things in the community, but we saw the opportunity for much greater growth as there was such a high need in Los Angeles among low-income families. We are now serving over 80,000 low-income children in LA and are growing everyday.

R+T: Tell us about the challenges of this role… Any good lessons learned?

The only challenge is it is a lot more work than I ever imagined….luckily, I love almost all of it and am happy to go to work every day. And if I ever need reminding, all I need is to spend the day with one of the children we serve and they make me want to work harder.

R+T: How has your role with Baby2Baby impacted you as a mother? And has it had an impact on your children?

I think it has just made me more grateful for how lucky I am and how lucky my children are, and made me want to instill a sense of charity in them. They come and help sort at the warehouse, bring in their own items to donate, and help at events….and as they get older, I really see it making an impact. My older daughter just gave away all her birthday money to help save the elephants…I was a little mad it wasn’t to Baby2Baby, but at least she’s giving it to charity!

R+T: What is the best way for someone to get involved and contribute?

We like to say give stuff, give time or give money…many organizations just need money and for good reason, and so do we, but something unique about Baby2Baby is that we aren’t just looking for that. We want your gently used children’s essentials…anything from cribs or strollers to clothing or books. We collect all the excess stuff parents have, and put it into the hands of children who need it most. We also always need volunteers to help sort all these items so we can get them into the hands of the children. So if you’re looking to give back to the community, we would love to have you!

R+T: What’s new and next for Baby2Baby?

We are growing at an extraordinary rate, and just opened a secondary warehouse because we are growing so quickly. Our goal is to serve more and more children every day, and we are always striving to do that.

R+T: What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Seeing the kids faces when they come to our headquarters for our monthly “play dates.” We have lunch, a music class, arts & crafts and a face-painter or balloon maker – and their faces light up because they really never get special days like this.

We send each of them home from the event with a gift bag so they don’t feel like they are receiving a handout, but it’s full of the essentials they need like clothing, shoes, underwear, hygiene products, educational toys and books. And oftentimes, it’s the thankfulness of the parents that is so rewarding. They are so grateful to give a day like this to their children. And by providing their families with these essentials, you can really feel the weight off of their shoulders in that moment.