How I Thrive takes an inside look at founders, entrepreneurs and leaders and the behind-the-scenes self-care work they do to in order to live balanced, happy lives. Today's edition is with NAOMI NOMI founder Naomi Mishkin, who's all about lighting a candle in the name of self-care, among other things.
Name: Naomi Mishkin
Age: 30
City: New York, NY
Company: NAOMI NOMI, made to order workwear for the working woman
Role: Founder/artist
Beyond the role: I'm a sculptor and trained as a glassblower. When I'm not making NAOMI NOMI, I'm making everything else in my life.
Morning routine:
The first thing I do after work:
I try as best I can do go swimming at the end of the day. If I start my day with thinking, I like to end it with not thinking. It clears my head for a solid 45 minutes, because I dare you to try to have a logical thought while bobbing up and down during a breast stroke.
Dinner ritual:
I eat late and I usually cook with my boyfriend. He has the vision, and I'm the sous-chef.
Nighttime routine:
I usually go back into the studio and clean up. Someone once told me that once you finish a sculpture you should sweep and, only then, look at what you made. I take that as both metaphorical wisdom and practical.
Self-care guilty pleasure:
Is it okay to say a joint? Oh well, it's true.
Workday self-care hack:
Lighting a candle. It doesn't have to have a scent ... it just has to burn and remind me there are things you can't control.
How do you define self-care?
Making sure I believe in what I'm doing, all the time.
Favorite childhood toy or hobby:
My stuffed animal, Pongo, who was obviously a Dalmatian. I loved him and I still love him. He is 18 inches tall and still has his spots (kinda). I think he was the first object to show me that the imagination can play an active part of your life. He was big and could be dog-sized so he blurred the lines of make believe for me. Has he influenced me today? Yes. He is a polka dotted dog. There is nothing chicer.
State of your (email) inbox:
My inbox is a sad attempt at inbox zero, but I do try. It's not my task list, but if I'm out and need to make sure something happens, I'll email myself a note. I archive everything and never delete. A big part of one of my past jobs was managing an insane inbox, so I picked up a lot of good habits there.
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Illustration by Megan Behrendt