Welcome to our ongoing series: “In Harmony with” in which we invite people who inspire us to share their stories.

To begin the year, we chatted with Sarah Dubbeldam, a mother and founder of Darling Media. We soaked up the sun in her Los Angeles backyard, spent time with her newborn, Roen, and talked about how she stays grounded while wearing many hats.

Describe the journey that brought you to where you are.

I moved to California from Oregon when I was 19, and studied Studio Art, which led me to Los Angeles after college to pursue a career in art direction for film in 2006. I ended up falling into acting and modeling as a side career, which eventually inspired the idea for Darling. I got married to my husband Steve in 2011, and now we still reside in Los Angeles with our three sons, Judah (9), Aaro (5) and Roen (8 months). 

How did Darling Media come to be?

In the modeling and acting industry, I saw how unrealistic the beauty ideals for women were, and everything was Photoshopped as well, creating an unattainable standard. My good friend Kelli and I were talking about this over coffee one day, and decided to start our own magazine that was actually uplifting to women, and didn’t Photoshop. We wanted it to give true wisdom to young women such as ourselves, and not be fake with shallow messaging like so many of the publications we saw out there. We put our idea on Kickstarter, and the rest is history! Darling has produced 26 print issues to-date, and now has shifted to a digital platform. Over the years we’ve also curated many Darling Dinners, which are phone-free gatherings for women who want to gather and discuss relevant issues and uplift one another.

You call women a “work of art.” What does that phrase mean?

I believe that every woman is created unique, with an impact on this earth that only she can have—each of us are irreplaceable! We are each like a painting, beautiful and inherently valuable. Some of the lines from our mission statement capture this well: 

Darling, you are a work of art.
You have the ability to fully display beauty apart from vanity, influence apart from manipulation, style apart from materialism, kindness apart from passivity, strength apart from competition and dignity without degradation.

You are a catalyst to transform the world around you through your wit, wisdom, character and courage—all the while creating beauty and embodying love.

You are not only interesting, but original, not only good enough, but exceptional—not just here, but here for a purpose.

Being both a female entrepreneur and mother requires grit, patience, and confidence. What’s one thing that surprised you about entrepreneurship and one thing that surprised you about motherhood?

What surprised me about entrepreneurship is the amount of hats that you have to wear. You have to know how to do EVERYTHING in your business. Sure, you can hire out help, but if you don’t have eyes on every detail, you can get into trouble. 

What surprised me about motherhood was the amount of sacrifice it takes. There is constantly another human (in my case, three humans) needing my attention, so you have to learn to be interrupted, and constantly evaluate what’s actually important. For instance, sometimes all I want to do is finish a load of laundry, or put on my makeup, but my son will ask me to play catch, or another one to draw with him. So I’m learning to lay down the non-important for the moments that matter.

Favorite skincare ritual?

I am fairly basic with my skincare, a simple wash, moisturizer, and of course, the Paris Face Mist that locks in moisture. The scent of the rose, peppermint, lavender, and other notes is simply heavenly. It’s like my own little spa moment every day.

You’re a mother of three. How has this changed your perspective on life/your business?

I have worked very hard over the years, and in this season, I’ve consciously chosen to step back a bit, slow things down, and spend more time with my kids. They are only young once, and every elderly woman I see says, “The days are long, but the years are short, so savor your kids.”

I’m still creating community through events and sharing my voice through Darling, but not building or scaling, so I’m happy to be in this place of a bit of work, and a lot of mom time. Motherhood is one of the most valuable and formable things you can do with your time, so I’m very grateful to be in this season. 

Favorite place to travel outside of Los Angeles?

Paris (hence why I love the face mist)!

What does living in harmony mean to you?

Living in harmony means slowing down to truly live each moment, and make sure that I’m designing and actually living the life I want. It means doing less and having an intentional “yes” and “no” so that I have margin to care for myself and see others around me. It means valuing the small joys and choosing gratitude day to day. 

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Interviewed & Photographed by Micaela Hoo, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, My July