Airyka Rockefeller and Kelley Swenson live in San Francisco with their 14mo son, Lollino Rose. Airyka is a photographer across diverse fields of art, design, food, viticulture, landscape special events and interior design. Kelley is a consultant and designer for small business owners and in a master's program for clinical psychology. They graciously opened up their home to us for an intimate peek into their world balancing work, school, parenthood and city living.
Airyka wears Sabrina in Burgundy Endless Knot and Kelley wears Mazadoor in Pomegranate Brushed and Harshad in Black Quilted.
Airyka wears Mitra in Brown Plaid Block Print
Kelley wears Azad Tee in Maroon, Akash Coat in Brown Plaid, Hoodie in Khes Indigo and Veda in Indigo.
Airyka wears Saanvi Dress in Black Endless Knot.
Kelley wears Kabir in Beige Tweed.
Airyka wears Mitra in Brown Plaid Block Print and Rasha Overshirt in Beige. Kelley wears Azad Stripe Tee and Veda in Indigo.
Kelley wears Harshad in Black Quilted and Hafi Sweater Melange. Airyka wears Hemani top in Silk and Ruhi Shirred Skirt.
Airyka wears Sabrina in Burgundy Endless Knot and Kelley wears Mazadoor in Pomegranate Brushed and Harshad in Black Quilted.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Airyka: Artist, mother, photographer, writer. I’m food-obsessed, but I’d rather be dancing than cooking. I’m from a tiny island in the PNW but have lived as a renter in SF for 20+ years & can STILL not decide if I’m a city or a country person.
Kelley: I am a consultant and designer for small business owners. Additionally, I am working toward licensure as a psychotherapist. I am an erstwhile musician and bartender who spent my formative years playing in punk bands in the Pacific Northwest. I currently live in San Francisco with my two loves Airyka and Lollino.
Airyka wears Mitra in Brown Plaid Block Print
Favorite part about living in SF?
Airyka: Architecture, perpetual produce at the farmers markets, dramatic clouds, walking to all the amenities, and the light, be it sun or a foggy gauze over the valleys.
Airyka: Architecture, perpetual produce at the farmers markets, dramatic clouds, walking to all the amenities, and the light, be it sun or a foggy gauze over the valleys.
Kelley: A dip in the ocean is often only 20 minutes from wherever you are, men hugging in the Castro, and yearlong farmer’s markets.
Favorite quote or personal mantra.
Airyka: Voila!
Favorite quote or personal mantra.
Airyka: Voila!
Kelley: It’s important to stay loose.
Kelley wears Azad Tee in Maroon, Akash Coat in Brown Plaid, Hoodie in Khes Indigo and Veda in Indigo.
What are you currently reading?
Airyka: The emotional life of the toddler by Alicia Lieberman & Fioretti, a book of poetry by my best friend Rachel Corry.
Airyka: The emotional life of the toddler by Alicia Lieberman & Fioretti, a book of poetry by my best friend Rachel Corry.
Kelley: Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Italian cookbook author Marcella Hazan. I love the poetic way she writes about cooking, the simplicity of her recipes and the emphasis she places on technique, those tiny details that made the recipes classics.
How do you approach wellness/self-care?
Airyka: Urgently, then as slowly as possible.
How do you approach wellness/self-care?
Airyka: Urgently, then as slowly as possible.
Kelley: I worked for several years with an acupuncturist who impressed on me the importance of a healthy liver. In Chinese Medicine the liver is the leader in charge of “strategic planning.” Without a plan your body doesn’t know what to do with the rest of itself. If something feels off, I visit the office of “strategic planning.” Self-care is a balancing act, between my mindful-self and my goal-oriented-self – it’s a constant negotiation.
Airyka wears Saanvi Dress in Black Endless Knot.
Daily Rituals?
Airyka: Eyeliner. Breastfeeding my baby in bed. Being barefoot. Herbal tea, any temperature. List making. Cooking.
Airyka: Eyeliner. Breastfeeding my baby in bed. Being barefoot. Herbal tea, any temperature. List making. Cooking.
Kelley: A cold shower (30 seconds to two minutes) followed by a cup of warm tea; if I’m able, I take a morning coffee at Neighbors Corner and say hello to my neighbors.
How do you stay creatively inspired?
Airyka: I look carefully, & often, toward flora & fauna, interior design, recipes, foreign films from bygone eras, and try to keep replenishing friendships with people who I admire for the ways they live artfully & resourcefully.
How do you stay creatively inspired?
Airyka: I look carefully, & often, toward flora & fauna, interior design, recipes, foreign films from bygone eras, and try to keep replenishing friendships with people who I admire for the ways they live artfully & resourcefully.
Kelley: I spend time in ritual dialoguing with the characters in my imagination. I pay attention to those working in the margins and revisit the artists who inspired me in my youth. I follow the Slow Doses newsletter which follows emergent music that lives between genres, the selections appeal to my punk ethos and constantly challenge me as a listener.
Kelley wears Kabir in Beige Tweed.
How do you enjoy spending your downtime?
Airyka: Reading, taking hot baths, cooking, picnics, searching for vintage delights for my home & closet, laying in the sunny window seat, making foraged greenery/floral arrangements.
Airyka: Reading, taking hot baths, cooking, picnics, searching for vintage delights for my home & closet, laying in the sunny window seat, making foraged greenery/floral arrangements.
Kelley: A hot bath and a Rockabilly record.
Airyka wears Mitra in Brown Plaid Block Print and Rasha Overshirt in Beige. Kelley wears Azad Stripe Tee and Veda in Indigo.
Favorite part about parenthood?
Airyka: Hearing my baby’s laugh, & seeing his face take in the world with a gorgeous combo of total seriousness, tenderness & curiosity.
Airyka: Hearing my baby’s laugh, & seeing his face take in the world with a gorgeous combo of total seriousness, tenderness & curiosity.
Kelley: As an adult you’re reinitiated into the world of children.
Ideal date night?
Airyka: In the city: Soak at a no frills Korean spa then have a scrub & oil massage, dress slowly, don a silk dress, meet Kelley for an early, long dinner at my fave SF restaurant The Progress, then am transported home instantaneously to watch a film while eating chocolate mouse with fresh raspberries from my mom’s garden. In the country: Have a leisurely, bee-free, delicious Mediterranean picnic & lots of pink & orange wine with Kelley and a small array of our friends, then realize it’s a full moon and end up skinny dipping in a nearby, blue green lake at sunset. After that we’d all get warm and cozy and wind down the night talking in a textile and pattern-filled mid-century modern house, until it’s just Kelley and Lollino and I in a sleepy pile by an indoor, roaring fire while old blues & occasional ragas play.
Airyka: In the city: Soak at a no frills Korean spa then have a scrub & oil massage, dress slowly, don a silk dress, meet Kelley for an early, long dinner at my fave SF restaurant The Progress, then am transported home instantaneously to watch a film while eating chocolate mouse with fresh raspberries from my mom’s garden. In the country: Have a leisurely, bee-free, delicious Mediterranean picnic & lots of pink & orange wine with Kelley and a small array of our friends, then realize it’s a full moon and end up skinny dipping in a nearby, blue green lake at sunset. After that we’d all get warm and cozy and wind down the night talking in a textile and pattern-filled mid-century modern house, until it’s just Kelley and Lollino and I in a sleepy pile by an indoor, roaring fire while old blues & occasional ragas play.
Kelley: Losing track of time, a spontaneous decision and kisses in the street.
Kelley wears Harshad in Black Quilted and Hafi Sweater Melange. Airyka wears Hemani top in Silk and Ruhi Shirred Skirt.Photography by Peter van der Pas.