{"id":168999,"date":"2025-07-11T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/?p=168999"},"modified":"2025-07-11T14:02:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T18:02:55","slug":"carissa-potter-carlson-mother-essentials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/carissa-potter-carlson-mother-essentials\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother Essentials: Carissa Potter Carlson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oakland-based artist Carissa Potter Carlson<\/a> is one busy lady. Not only is she constantly making artwork and delightful products<\/a>, writing deep thoughts for her Substack<\/a>, and interviewing fellow deep thinkers on her Instagram live<\/a>, she’s also hosting art shows, raising her 5-year-old daughter, and<\/em> writing books. Her latest title, written alongside Vera Kachouh, is called Breathe Through It: An Interactive Guide to Ease Your Anxiety Through Meditation, Visualization, and Breathwork<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Created for stressful, mind-racing times like these, the book (Carissa’s fourth) encourages readers to get back in touch with their life source\u2014their breath\u2014in order to evoke a sense of calm. This comes through in simple exercises and calm-down hacks that readers can easily incorporate into their busy lives (exercises take from 1 minute to 1 hour).<\/p>\n

Below, Carissa shares the other favorite hacks\u2014both products and practices\u2014that are currently getting her through her packed days.<\/p>\n

To read more about Carissa and take a peek into her colorful home, check out her MOTHER Stories<\/a> profile from 2022.<\/em><\/p>\n

AG1.<\/strong> “Okay, I didn\u2019t want to be that<\/em> person. The one who sings the praises of a green powder like it\u2019s a miracle. But here I am. I\u2019ve been taking AG1 for over a year now and\u2014confession\u2014I haven\u2019t had a single sinus infection since. No antibiotics! They\u2019re not paying me to say this. In fact, I almost quit it recently to save money. And then I thought, ‘Do I really want to risk it?’ Nope. I stayed loyal.” AG1 Pouch, $79.99, AG1<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.<\/strong> “When Margaret was born, her life expectancy was 30. Today, she\u2019s 5\u2014and it\u2019s 65. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation<\/a> is changing everything. They\u2019re not just extending lives, they\u2019re rewriting futures. Ours included.” CFF.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bellicon.<\/strong> “After a brutal hospital stay with Margaret\u2014when she was so sick and doctors told her she had to jump every day\u2014I started bouncing too. It\u2019s now my morning nervous system reset, lung-clearer, and joy-inducer. Honestly? It\u2019s fun. Like kid-on-a-trampoline, flying-through-the-air fun. I\u2019m never going back.” Bellicon Fitness Rebounder, $749, Amazon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nuuly.<\/strong> “I\u2019m 42 and clothes are\u2026complicated. My body\u2019s changing and shopping feels like gambling with my self-esteem. Enter Nuuly: the no-strings-attached fashion fling. Six funky, fresh pieces every month. I try weird stuff. I take risks. I don\u2019t worry about spills or tears. It\u2019s freedom in a box.” Nully.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Moleskine.<\/strong> “I am that person. The one who swears by one type of notebook: extra-large, plain Moleskine. No lines, no grid, no exceptions. It\u2019s not just a notebook\u2014it\u2019s my brain in book form. I cannot function without it. Ever.” Moleskine Classic XL Notebook, $11.90, Amazon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cray-Pas.<\/strong> “Oil pastels: messy, unruly, glorious. I\u2019m learning to love them not despite their chaos but because of it. They force me to surrender control and embrace the raw, imperfect beauty of whatever shows up on the page.” SAKURA Cray-Pas, $21.59, Amazon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Harklinikken.<\/strong> “My hair\u2019s thinning and I care\u2014maybe more than I\u2019d like to admit. Enter Harklinikken. I\u2019m doing the drops, the routines. I want to keep my hair. Do you have a full head of hair? I\u2019m low-key jealous.” Hair Gain Extract, $88, Harklinikken<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Neti Pot.<\/strong> “I\u2019m back on my neti pot game. A daily nasal rinse? Yes. It\u2019s my tiny, unglamorous ritual to stay healthy. Satisfying in a weird way.” Ceramic Neti Pot, $10.95, Amazon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Mother Code by Ruthie Ackerman.<\/strong> “Reading The Mother Code<\/em> felt like sitting across from a soul-friend who just gets what it means to mother. Not just children\u2014but yourself.” The Mother Code: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Myths That Shape Us, $27.90, Bookshop<\/a> and Amazon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Julia Rothman\u2019s Figure Drawing Class.<\/strong> “There\u2019s something sacred about figure drawing\u2014slow, steady observation. Julia Rothman makes art feel like community. Her work reminds me that creativity is a collective experience, and I dream of building something like that here in the Bay.” TheFigureAssembly.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hidden Brain (Podcast).<\/strong> “It\u2019s my weekly brain snack. Hidden Brain never misses.” HiddenBrain.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Williamstown Theatre Festival.<\/strong> “Every year I try to go. It\u2019s theater in the wild, out of my comfort zone, full of risk and magic. Like summer camp for my grown-up soul. It nourishes my art-school-kid.” WTFestival.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Milk Teeth.<\/strong> “Mix, match, and pattern play. I love the whimsy, the softness, the why not? energy of it all.” ShopMilkTeeth.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Conscious Parent by Dr. Shefali.<\/strong> “This book cracked something open in me. It reframed my rage, my expectations, and helped me re-parent myself so I could show up for Margaret\u2014not as a perfect mom, but as her mom. Whoever she wants to be, I want to meet her there.” The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children, $20.41, Bookshop<\/a> and Amazon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Curtis Sittenfeld Books.<\/strong> “Books for anxious women who overthink everything, especially past relationships, while living quietly underwhelming present-day lives. In other words: my genre.” Show Don’t Tell: Stories, $26.04, Bookshop<\/a> and Amazon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

For more\u00a0<\/em>MOTHER ESSENTIALS<\/em><\/a>, peep our recent features on actress & activist\u00a0Hilary Swank<\/a>, the co-founders of\u00a0Hearth Display<\/a>, author and organizer\u00a0Aida Mariam Davis<\/a>, design consultant\u00a0Joyce Lee<\/a>, self-care advocate\u00a0Rachel Garahan<\/a>, DJ\u00a0Va$htie Kola<\/a>, designer\u00a0Rebecca Minkoff<\/a>, VEERT founder\u00a0Julia Lang<\/a>, cookbook author\u00a0Jenn\u00e9 Claiborne<\/a>,\u00a0Neha Ruch<\/a>\u00a0of Mother Untitled, model, writer, and activist\u00a0Cameron Russell<\/a>, author\u00a0Nasozi Kakembo<\/a>, kid-lit talent\u00a0Bo Lu<\/a>, artist\u00a0Suzy Ultman<\/a>, Super Smalls founder\u00a0Maria Duenas Jacob<\/a>, Lanee Slaughter of\u00a0MAMA & OG<\/a>, and the mamas behind\u00a0MAJO IDEAS<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oakland-based artist Carissa Potter Carlson is one busy lady. Not only is she constantly making artwork and delightful products, writing deep thoughts for her Substack, and interviewing fellow deep thinkers on her Instagram live, she’s also hosting art shows, raising her 5-year-old daughter, and writing books. Her latest title, written alongside Vera Kachouh, is called…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":169003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[66,108,7],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168999"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168999"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169132,"href":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168999\/revisions\/169132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mothermag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}