#CULTIVATECALM Spotlight on Heather Long

Heather Long is mama to Ella and the co-founder of Marvé Juice, our favorite juice company created to promote a healthful lifestyle and efficient food supply chain. Marvé's mission is to make delicious, healthy and sustainable drinks available to all by creating juice out of "ugly" fruit that often gets wasted or discarded due to appearance. We chatted with Heather about her rapidly expanding company and the ways that she cultivates calm through it all!

We absolutely love Marvé's mission of producing delicious juice out of "ugly fruit" to reduce waste and make your product accessible. Tell us more about your philosophy and how Marvé came to be.

Upon the birth of our daughter my husband and I had a ‘ah ha’ moment and began changing to a healthier lifestyle. We quickly discovered the premium cost and time that goes along with maintaining it. Plain and simple — it’s not easy. We felt that maintaining a healthier diet should be easier than this, and should be accessible to everyone.

From here, the Marvé journey began, and it led us down a path to a healthier, more sustainable, affordable juice. As a part of that journey we discovered that millions of pounds of Grade A fruit and veggies go to waste each year because they don't fit our cosmetic standards. By using these "ugly" fruit & veggies in our products we can do our part in reducing cost and passing it on to our customers and helping the environment. We place high value on the way that we produce our product, packaging and supporting our community.

As a successful entrepreneur & mom - what are some ways that you #cultivatecalm personally and with your family?

I believe that children are our mirrors and absorb so much from their environment. We try our best to maintain a calm disposition as a example for our daughter. I found that mornings in our house were getting a bit stressful - getting out of the door on time can be a challenge. For me, by waking up 30 min before everyone else I am able to prepare and start the day, and keep the craziness of the morning at bay. I think some of the credit goes to getting a lot of things taken care of early, but much of it probably has to do with my energy as well. If I am more calm, then the rest of the family is as well.

What is one piece of advice you would give to mamas trying to balance motherhood and a career?

I found that I was at a point of being 75% present in the moment, divided into many places at once. This caused some serious feelings of guilt that I wasn't doing a great job at anything. Over the past few years I've learned to manage my schedule, and dedicate time for family that is uninterrupted. For instance, I set aside time one day each week to pick up my daughter from school and have time to connect; no laptops balancing on my knee, no cell phone in my ear while I do an art project. This means I work later into the evenings on the other days, but we both feel good knowing we have our special time and look forward to it each week.

What does being mindful mean to you?

As an entrepreneur mindfulness can be especially difficult. Entrepreneurs most always have the mindset of “what's next”. To focus on the here and now instead of constantly wanting more is a challenge, but also brings a lot of clarity and definitely helps to live a calmer, less stressful life. I'm still working on it :)

What is your favorite toy or activity in the Calm Mind Kit?

I love the bean bag. The activity in the kit where you place the bean bag on your belly and take deep inhale and exhales that are likened to the waves on a beach is my favorite. I love incorporating it into my daughter’s bedtime routine.