FRĒDA WOMAN: SARAH WRIGHT OLSEN
You’ve seen her a few times before, but that’s just because we love her so much. Meet Sarah Wright Olsen–forever FRĒDA Woman, momma to the world and just an all-round incredible human. We sat down with her recently to hear more about her podcast, “The Mother Daze” and her upcoming tour with it!
TALK TO US ABOUT YOU.
I’m from a small farming town in Kentucky, and now live in Los Angeles with my husband Eric and our 3 kids Wyatt, Esme and Winter. My most favorite job and passion is being a mama. For most of my career, I have been an actor. I started acting as a child in local theaters, then went on to do commercials in Chicago and I booked a pilot which brought me to LA when I was 20 years old. After having my first baby, my friends and I created an organic eco-friendly skincare line for the whole family called Baeo. Following my passion for motherhood and drive to find connection in a much larger less intimate town, my bestie Teresa Palmer and I created a blog called “Your Zen Mama.” We wanted to create a space that felt like a community where women could share their stories and we could share the challenges and joys of our collective motherhood journey. That led us to start one of our favorite creative ventures, our Podcast called “The Mother Daze.”
WHAT INSPIRED “THE MOTHER DAZE”?
Teresa and I wrote a book together about motherhood. The creative process of writing the book was fascinating and we both fell in love with every aspect of the parenting journey. It was hard to fit all of it into one book, so we decided to create a podcast so that we could have weekly chats, interview amazing professionals in the parenting space, tell our birth stories and have other mamas tell their stories as well. As our podcast has grown we have started to lean into the spiritual “woo woo” intuition, meditation and manifesting world and have been blown away by how many people all over are just as fascinated by these subjects as we are.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM “THE MOTHER DAZE TOUR”? WE’RE SO EXCITED!
YAY, we are so excited to connect with our community!! We are going to start with two events in San Francisco and from there we hope to add more events in the fall in other cities! Our IRL event with be co-hosted by Rachel Bilson and Olivia Allen from the “Broad Ideas” podcast and in partnership with FRĒDA SALVADOR. This will be a way to connect with our collective communities on a whole new level and we hope this will only be the beginning of some magic.
HOW DO YOU BUILD COMMUNITY WITH “THE MOTHER DAZE”?
It has been really important for us to share the ups and downs of motherhood. So, as much as we love to talk about all the things that light us up, we also have episodes where we share the real-life challenges we are facing. For example, last year I had a mammogram scare followed by a biopsy, and then a pregnancy loss shortly after. It's very vulnerable to share those intimate details in real time of your life but it was received so beautifully and our community reached out like never before sharing their stories that made me cry and made me feel so held. We read and respond to as many DMs as we can and we are going to start virtual gatherings to connect on a more personal level. We believe that community is everything in parenthood.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR LISTENERS GET WHILE TUNING IN?
We hope they feel seen as a parent, we hope that they get some major laughs and a few good cries. We hope that our listeners walk away feeling inspired and that they have two mamas who are rooting for them every step of the way. We hope to soften the hard days and lift our listeners when they are feeling blue. Mostly we truly feel we are all so deeply connected in more ways than we can see so knowing that we are in this together will hopefully take some of the pressure off all of our shoulders.
HOW DO YOU SPEND TIME OUTSIDE OF WORK?
We have family dinners every night and we spend the weekends at the farmers market and the beach. The weekends are slow and focused on being together in nature. This has been so important for our family. We thrive when we are having downtime on the weekends.
WHAT IS SOMETHING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU?
I go to bed at 8 pm. In high school, I was in the marching band. I like to play cards a little obsessively. I love golf and lots of other sports. I am addicted to pickleball. Scrabble is one of my favorite games. I sang and wrote a song about losing my dad. I hate olives but love olive oil. Japanese food is my most favorite food ever.
YOUR MANTRA?
It's a mantra from my father-in-law and I ended up writing a children's book based on this saying. “Happiness is the journey,” all the magic, love and beauty are made up in the small moments along the way. We get so caught up in the destination but the journey is the goal.
WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL SUPPORTED FROM THE GROUND UP?
My family. The unwavering champion support from my husband who just wants to prop me up in every way possible and be my biggest cheerleader. My bestie, nanny, doula, sister wife Sonya who I love with all my heart. She is my teammate and fills our home with so much love and the greatest friendship. My girlfriends. The women in my life who I love and have become our family.
WHAT IN YOUR CLOSET MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD?
My Citizens of Humanity jeans. I LOVE and have always loved a jean but their jeans are the best and they feel amazing on and whatever style I am wearing from them they just make me feel good. Also my dresses from Christy Dawn and DOEN. It feels so good and easy to throw on a dress with some FRĒDA sneakers. I love Clare Vivier her whole brand and vibe are pure joy and I have been a fan of her bags for years. I LOVE everything I have from THE GREAT and Ozma Of California has my favorite sweaters that are the coziest dreamiest thing to throw on and feel cozy and chic.
HOW DO YOU LIVE LIFE IN FRĒDA?
I'm not sure I live life without FRĒDA, hahaha. If I am dressing up or dressing down FRĒDA shoes are the magic that brings my whole outfit together. I have always loved a boot and for years before FRĒDA, I searched for a boot that I could wear all the time and could never land on a style I loved that was also comfortable. FRĒDA boots are my absolute favorite and elevate every outfit rain or shine. I also have fallen in love with your ballet flats and find them to be the easiest addition to my wardrobe. The FRĒDA style and brand is a fashion muse for me. I look to the IG and emails to get ideas on styling and LOVE the community FRĒDA has created. I think that is something that sets your brand apart from so many others. It feels personal to wear FRĒDA.
