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My name is Laure Bawejski, I was born in Reims — not a coincidence, as I’m a big fan of champagne.I’ve lived all over France because my dad was a fighter pilot. We moved a lot, but we’ve always had a little family home near the Ocean, on the West Coast. After four years in Paris, for my first job, living a fast-paced life, I left my marketing position in a big French company because I wasn’t happy with this “metro–work–sleep” lifestyle, far from nature.I felt disconnected from what I loved, and I had the feeling that life was slipping by way too fast.I felt like I was slowly burning out and suffocating.I needed to get closer to the Ocean and to nature to find myself again. So I left Paris and my full-time job to start the adventure of entrepreneurship.I trained in vinyasa yoga, women’s yoga, yin yoga, and prenatal yoga to become a professional in the wellness field. I then created my business around ocean-inspired wellness: Santa Mila.For the past three years now, I’ve been sharing this vision of well-being through digital content: blog articles, social media, online workshops and classes, and two “off-screen” formats — my book Ocean Therapy and a new audio format with my podcast channel Ocean & Happiness Therapy. I also wanted to bring this experience and this vision of well-being to life.So, two years ago, in partnership with a travel agency, I launched my “Ocean Therapy” retreats — a salty break to recharge and learn to take care of yourself by the Ocean.These retreats are held once a month between the Basque Country, the Landes and Morocco! Another question I often get is: “Why Santa Mila?”Santa Mila is the name of my grandmother, Mila Santacruz, a beautiful Andalusian woman who grew up and lived in Morocco by the Ocean.I chose this name to pay tribute to the women in my family — my mother and grandmothers — who passed on this vision of well-being to me. For them, “taking care of yourself” didn’t mean being in constant control of your fitness, body, or nutrition.Well-being meant finding the keys within ourselves to be happy, more fulfilled, and at peace: eating good, simple food that comes from nature, enjoying life, exercising through activities you actually like, and most of all, finding what makes you feel good — to enjoy life and the present moment. My grandmother Mila loved life. She loved gathering her grandchildren around tapas, drinking good champagne, dancing, going to the beach to enjoy the Ocean.She used to tell us that we had to live life to the fullest, take care of ourselves, and treat ourselves without guilt. That was her recipe for happiness! I’ve always had this vision of well-being.So I wanted to share this lifestyle. See you very soon,Laure
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Clémence joins the ambassador crew!
A former professional dancer, I am now a yoga and Pilates teacher.
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From Venezuela, with love: meet Yohanny, kitesurfer from Los Roques
Rendezvous in paradise at Los Roques with our Sowe Girl and kitesurfer Yohanny... Between fine sand and turquoise waters, here's an article full of sunshine.
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Sowe Girl: once upon a time, Pauline, Antoine and the ocean...
If you too dream of packing your bags and moving to the other side of the world...
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Winter is coming… and so is the end of the year.Since we’re often caught up in the daily hustle, we’re taking this little break between two collections to finally reflect on everything we’ve done and gone through this year—almost without even realizing it! So yes, we can now officially say it: 2018 was a wonderful year for Sowe (and I’m not just saying that because it’s the year I joined the team ;-)).A year of change, new ideas, and beautiful encounters. A year that marked a real turning point for the future of the brand. Let’s look back, with a touch of emotion, on the past 12 months... January 2018: the team grows as Perrine hires her first employee (spoiler alert: it’s me!).It’s not the beginning, but rather the continuation of a beautiful story with her—we’ve known each other for years, and now we’re writing the Sowe story hand in hand. 2018 begins with a more motivated team than ever, ready to take on any challenge. And with a new team comes a new office! Just a few weeks after I arrived, in early February, we moved into a bigger, brighter space where we could finally set up a showroom to present our collections. It was also at the start of 2018 that we began working on the 2019 collection: designing new styles, selecting fabrics, curating our color palette and prints… everything had to be ready by the end of May for the photo shoot. This year, due to the very wet and unpredictable Basque weather, we decided to shoot further up the Atlantic coast for the first time ever… Destination: Cap Ferret!Aurore (our host), Camille (our model), and Damien (our photographer) joined us for two days full of… laughter and magic. Another highlight of 2018: the opening of our very first pop-up store! We headed to Bordeaux in June to meet you in person and present our limited edition “Summer Fever” during a little apéro on the riverbanks. At the same time, the 2018 collection launched on the e-shop and in around 30 selected boutiques. The new one-piece Elaia, with its lace neckline, sold out in just two weeks, and we had to rush to restock it sooner than expected!The Sirène print was a hit, and once again, the collection was loved by influencers, helping more and more people discover Sowe. In June, between the photo shoot and the opening of our pop-up store, Perrine flew to Miami for a week to represent Sowe alongside a selection of European brands—our first steps into the U.S. market! In early July, the long-awaited sunshine finally arrived and we could fully enjoy the Basque coast, lunch breaks on the beach, and evening drinks by the sea. As summer came to an end, we were already working on tons of new projects for summer 2019. December… it's cold, it's rainy… and we’re back in full-on hustle mode!The 2019 production launch is just around the corner—scheduled for release in early March.Perrine is back at the drawing table, surrounded by fabric samples and color palettes. 2020 has already begun for us! Just a few more days until 2019—we can’t wait to show you everything we’ve been working on for over a year! Of course, we want to take this moment to thank you for being more and more of you joining the Sowe Girls community every day. Perrine and I wish you a joyful holiday season and all the best for the new year! See you very, very soon,Clémence
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