Bria Robles, founder and designer of Räys by the Ocean | Santa Barbara, California
Leah: Living in Santa Barbara must be a dream! Have you always lived there? What is your favorite part about living in a beautiful coastal town?
Bria: No, I’m from Maryland. But I moved to Santa Barbara when I was 18 and I’ve been here for 10 years now. I just love living in a small beach town. SB has so much to offer - nature (hiking trails), beach, wineries, amazing eateries and good fashion stores!
Leah: Following up on the previous question - where would you recommend we must-stop if we only had one day to spend in SB?
Bria: I would recommend going to The Boat House for brunch, rent a bike and bike to the rose garden and have a picnic and maybe end the day in Summerland (go to the beach), Field and Fork, and Summerland Winery.
Leah: What inspired you to create a sustainable clothing line?
Bria: I’ve always loved supporting slow fashion brands. I care about our environment and believe fashion shouldn’t cost us our earth.
Leah: What is the best part about designing your own collection? What does the future look like for Räys by the Ocean?
Bria: I love being creative and buying + sourcing everything for my store. I think I would love to expand into home decor and baby + toddler.
Bria Robles, founder and designer of Räys by the Ocean | Santa Barbara, California
Leah: As a mom to two daughters, what are your tips for balancing motherhood and owning a business?
Bria: I think it’s important to give yourself grace. Raising + staying home with my two daughters is a dream come true and I’m lucky to WFH + create time for photoshoots, post on Instagram and have support from my sweet husband to ship out orders. I think having support [is important].
Leah: We love following along with you on social media...you make every beach outing, coffee run and everything in between look chic and effortless! How would you describe your style?
Bria: That’s so sweet! Thank you, I would describe my style as bohemian, effortless.
Leah: Speaking of social media...we've noticed you share a lot of intentional quotes and short posts around mindfulness - do you have any good podcasts, books, or other recommendations as your source of inspo.?
Bria: It’s important to me to live a slow inspired lifestyle. Creating a conscious, staying present and living with intention/ self awareness. I learned over the years that our society loves to normalize the “hustle” culture and I just think it’s important to slow down and just enjoy where you are now and soak it up. My favorite book is: Wherever You Go, There You Are, by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and currently listening to the slow home podcast by Brooke Mcalary. This podcast expresses how to live slowly in a fast paced world. I also have been loving Melissa Wood meditations and taking sound healing + yoga classes to keep me feeling grounded.