In Bloom

Owner of LA-based floral design and luxury gifting company Valleybrink Road, Barrett Prendergast opens up about her growing business and family.

This mama is awaiting her second baby!

MINI | Tell us about your home! How would you describe the place?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | It’s a small, cozy Spanish style home in Atwater Village. We have lived here for over seven years now and absolutely love the neighborhood. It’s filled with lots of young families and it’s flat, so you can easily walk to the local bakery or park with the kids.

MINI | Do you have a favorite room in your home?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | Most definitely the kitchen. It is one of the reasons we bought the house. The space gets incredible light, it feels airy, and is easy to move around in. It’s one of those open floor plans where the kitchen leads into the dining room and living room. People always want to hang out in the kitchen when they come over, so this allows for that.

MINI | What are some of your favorite elements in your home?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | We have a beautiful collection of ceramics, from Heath plates and bowls we received as wedding gifts to some incredible vases by Helen Levi and Victoria Morris we have collected over the years.

MINI | Where do you spend the most time?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | I am always in the kitchen. I love cooking with my son Costa and teaching him our love of food and good ingredients. My husband is also an amazing cook, so we are kind of always in the kitchen together.

MINI | Talk to us about your son’s room. What are your favorite elements in his room?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | His room is all dinosaurs, cars, spaceships, balls. There is a wonderful open wood bookshelf we found on Craigslist years ago that is the focal point of the room. It is filled with toys and tons of books that he can easily reach and explore on his own.

MINI | What about the new baby’s nursery?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | I have literally done nothing yet for the nursery! The second time around you realize the baby needs very little in the beginning and will be in our room for the first few months. We plan on having a small bassinet in our room and a little changing station.

Books on the soon-to-be mom of two's nightstand

Barrett's gluten and dairy free cookies

MINI | How is the naming process going this time around? Have you decided?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | We had a few names we loved when we had Costa so we are using one of those for the new baby. My husband and I both love it, so it was pretty easy to decide. It is the middle name we can’t agree on at this point.

MINI | Is this pregnancy similar or different than your first?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | It is a little bit of both. I feel the same as my first: same amount of morning sickness, carrying the baby in the same way. But the pregnancy is very different. The first time it’s all naps, prenatal yoga, and long walks thinking about how everything is about to change. With the second, you are so busy dealing with your toddler that you barely realize you are pregnant until you are about to pop.

MINI | What are you making most during this pregnancy? Any foods you’re staying away from this time?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | I always stay away from the normal pregnancy things like unpasteurized cheese, alcohol, raw fish, caffeine. I have been making lots of homemade granola and eating it with fresh berries and greek yogurt. It has been my go-to snack recently.

MINI | Valleybrink Road does the most beautiful florals. What are your favorite flowers to work with in the spring?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | The flower mart in spring is heaven. Right now, flowers like peonies and poppies are starting to appear which are always a favorite. To be honest, I feel like I rarely have flowers in my house because we are always using up everything at work!

MINI | What would you say is the greatest challenge of being a working mom?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | Finding a sense of balance. It is easy to feel pulled in so many directions and beat yourself up about it.

MINI | What has been your proudest career moment to date?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | Reaching the five year mark. So many small businesses never make it this far, and I feel so blessed that Valleybrink Road is growing and that I am able to do something that I love everyday.

MINI | How do you manage to keep all of the plates spinning?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | I believe in taking one day at a time. It is the only way. Each day I try to do my best, and some days are better than others.

MINI | What is your greatest joy of motherhood?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | The bond and love between you and your child. It is like no other relationship I have ever had. It is a different kind of love than romantic love; it’s hard to explain. I always tell people, you can’t know until you have experienced it.

Valleybrink Road offers florals like this!

Just a few of Barrett's favorite cookbooks!

MINI | How would you describe your personal style? Has your style changed at all since becoming a mom?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | I think about function in clothing much more than I ever used to. I want to feel good, but I also have to be able to get on the floor or pick Costa up in whatever I am wearing too. Nothing that is too delicate or precious anymore.

MINI | Where do you like to shop?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | For me, Doen, Ulla Johnson, The Lady and the Sailor, Elizabeth and James. I love dresses. For Costa, it’s lots of Zara Kids, Old Navy, Mabo, Patagonia, Nico Nico, and Little Moon Society.

MINI | Your favorite places in LA to visit with kids— GO!

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | Griffith Park Train Station, Travel Town, York Park in Highland Park, and Descanso Gardens.

MINI | What is most important to you in raising your kids?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | Teaching them kindness, compassion, and grit.

MINI | Looking back to your first days as a mom, what advice would you give yourself?

BARRETT PRENDERGAST | Enjoy those first precious days. It is such a magical time.

Barrett prepares Olive and June's new beauty teas

FAST FACTS

IF THERE WERE MORE HOURS IN THE DAY I WOULD Nap and meditate.

TYPICAL COFFEE ORDER While pregnant, a decaf oat milk cappuccino.

IDEAL DATE NIGHT Dinner at Rustic Canyon.

CAN’T STOP LISTENING TO The War on Drugs.

GUILTY PLEASURE Milla Chocolates Hazelnut Praline Chocolate Bar.

ON MY NIGHTSTAND How to Get Sh*t Done by Erin Falconer.

ALWAYS IN MY FRIDGE Homemade almond milk.

FAVORITE KIDS MOVIE Moana.

LAST BOOK I READ Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat.

FAVORITE KIDS BOOK Iggy Peck Architecht.

SIGNATURE SCENT En Passant by Frederic Malle.

Photography by Morgan Pansing