Nora Sibley Sanders
We visited with Nora in her charming Santa Rosa home she shares with husband Noah and son Beau. While touring her space, we could see that creativity stems from deep within her bones. Nora’s discerning intuition and creative soul is evident throughout her space and work. Read on to learn more about Nora’s daily rituals and routines, and her creative roll with SCRIBE winery over the past fifteen years.
Tell us a little about yourself and background.
The daughter of a letterpress printer and a modern dancer, I grew up outside Washington, DC as an only child to a pair of hippies. I was lucky to have cousins close by but I did spend a lot of time on my own using my imagination or hanging with my parents, whether it was in the garden or out antiquing. Growing up I was very independent and traveled a lot by myself, living in NYC, London, Umbria and Paris. After graduating from RISD, in Apparel Design, I decided to head west to California when many of my friends were heading to 7th avenue. My first real job was designing the windows at Anthropologie and later I became a florist in Hayes Valley at the now closed, Rose and Radish. Then I worked in local clothing production, spending my days visiting sewing factories all around SF. I met Andrew Mariani in those early years and we started conceptualizing what his new wine project would be — it later became SCRIBE.
What are your daily rituals? How have your rituals changed since having a baby?
I’m a pretty introverted person. I love quiet reflective time and gathering inspiration. Showers and baths have become more spalike, tranquil moments for me so that I can calm my nervous system and reset. Self care is so important for creatives and often it’s the last thing we remember to focus on. These days, the 30 mins after we put our son to bed in the evening, I’m able to step away and relax. (P.S. sleep training is everything!!)
You’ve been with Scribe since the very beginning, tell us about your journey there and what your role is creatively?
Next year will mark 15 years at SCRIBE. And, wow, it’s been such a lovely adventure so far. And even before there was a payroll, Andrew and I worked together on the brand story. I felt such an energetic pull to the farm from the very first time I visited and I knew there was the potential to create beauty, to inspire, and to create community. My role is to guide our team in staying true to the brand — a brand that was in many ways born intuitively and grew organically. Our goal is to celebrate place, and be stewards of the land on which we stand. We tell our story through gathering community at the farm, creating transportive art & illustration and most importantly, making wines with the utmost care and quality. I love working to ensure that each element speaks to the creative soul of SCRIBE.
What does a typical day or week look like?
My husband, Noah Sanders, and I are both creatives and always have personal projects going on. It’s important to us to have quality time together and time apart, to focus. With baby Beau now in the mix, we’ve become a real team, and, there’s a lot of dividing and conquering. We currently have our shared meal as a family in the morning. We have coffee, fruit, eggs or cereal and then walk him to daycare. Then wow! The day feels wide open. Ha! We will often spend a few minutes extra on a walk connecting with each other. In the evenings, we switch off making dinner which gives us each some alone time to decompress from the day. Additionally, we are both able to cook which shares the responsibility and allows both of us time for that creative outlet.
Outside of work, what other interests bring you joy? What are you passionate about?
We LOVE to garden. Setting up seeds or starts to welcome a new season is very grounding and watching them emerge from the soil is seriously rewarding and keeps me in an optimistic frame of mind. Each day something new is happening in the garden. The simplicity of that fact is very inspiring to me.
“Our goal is to celebrate place, and be stewards of the land on which we stand. We tell our story through gathering community at the farm, creating transportive art & illustration and most importantly, making wines with the utmost care and quality. I love working to ensure that each element speaks to the creative soul of SCRIBE.”
How do you find balance between work and motherhood?
Honestly, I’ve found that working remotely is the only way I can find balance. I commuted for years and that was incredible for different reasons. I was able to get quiet and let creative ideas untangle and work themselves out in my brain. Now, there’s so little time, I’ve made an art of pivoting from one thing to the next. We kept our son home until he was 1 years old. My husband and I both work from home and activated a rigorous nap schedule and a sort of “pomodoro technique” to trade off getting work done and watching him. I’m the opposite of routine oriented but I had to follow Noah’s lead here and lean into it. Structure helped us create balance.
You recently started consulting as a travel concierge, tell us how that came about.
Totally by accident and I’m completely in love. Hotels have always been a source of inspiration for me. It’s the true immersive brand experience. For me travel is a way to make dreams come true. Whether it be for someone who’s always dreamed of traveling abroad, or traveling solo, or splurging on a luxury escape.
I look forward to working with more couples on honeymoons and curating itineraries that match the magic of their wedding planning experience. It’s really just so much fun.
What are your must-have travel items?
Socks for the plane. My bandolier iPhone case and straps. My Cuyana Panama hat. Hunza G bathing suit. Jungmaven tees in every color. Cheap sunglasses (bc I always lose them). Josh Rosenbrook’s Hydrating Accelerator. Birkenstocks.
Where do you dream of traveling to next?
Japan and Scotland.
Where do you find inspiration?
I feel the most inspired when I’m activating my senses and these days, that happens the most when I travel. The anticipation perks up my attention to new tastes, sounds, and visual design. I love history and antique materials… the worn marble of European streets, the flavors of a meal at a family-run restaurant, the color of the sea… Creativity for me is all about making connections and how something new makes you feel. I have endless ideas after being present in a new place.
Any projects you’re looking forward to?
Yes, I’m very excited about an idea I have brewing. That’s all I’ll say :).
