The Luxury of Presence: Crystal Anderson on Motherhood, Creativity, and What Really Matters

The Brooklyn-based creative on slowing down, showing up, and spending time like it matters.

Throughout the article, Crystal is wearing Arc Double in Gold.

In the chaotic cacophony of notification pings and deadline whooshes, Crystal Anderson has tuned to a different frequency: one where stillness isn't just a luxury, it's the whole damn point. The South Carolina native, now living in Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy with her wife Kiesh, their son Jack, and their dogs, carries a refreshing view of time that hits differently in our overscheduled, over-notified lives.

"Being still is a virtue we don't make enough time for," Crystal says. "When the world moves too fast, I remind myself: it's not my job to keep up. What's for me will still be there when I start moving again."

This Mother's Day, her words land with particular weight. As mothers everywhere navigate the impossible juggling act of care, ambition, and selfhood, Crystal's approach offers a radical reframing: true luxury isn't measured in material possessions but in how we choose to invest our most precious resource–time.

As co-owner of the creative agency a very good job and creator of the toddler event series Wake Window, Crystal understands the professional demands that compete with family life. Yet since welcoming Jack, her perspective has crystallized around what deserves her attention.

"Every moment is a chance to make a memory with my little family," she says. "So I value my time deeply now that Jack is here. If I'm away from him, that time has to be meaningful and for a reason."

That clarity shows up in how she moves: confident, considered, never in a rush. And it mirrors the JBW mindset: time is precious, and it's always something you’ve earned.

"I've always viewed time as something you don't get back," she explains. "It's not ours to gamble with. Now more than ever, my time is an investment. I only spend it where I absolutely want to be."

Perhaps most radical in today's productivity-obsessed culture is Crystal's embrace of rest as essential rather than indulgent. "The investment of rest and relaxation, it's our birthright to rejuvenate," she says. "Rest is the ultimate time well spent."

For Crystal, motherhood hasn't diminished her creative identity; it's simply added another dimension to who she already knew herself to be. "I'm lucky to have deeply known myself before I had a baby, and that pre-baby version of me still leads my creative vision," she notes.

Among the many rewards of this chapter, one moment rises to the top: "Seeing Jack start to realize that we belong to him... That we're his safe place to land in a world that can be unkind. That's filled me in ways I can't explain."

Looking toward Jack's future, Crystal hopes to instill in him the freedom to chart his own course. "We're not in a family business," she says. "He doesn’t need to follow in our footsteps. That his life’s work isn’t wrapped up in ours unless he chooses. That his path is for the choosing and that we will be on the sidelines cheering him along, no matter where he decides to land.”

To fellow mothers navigating the delicate balance of creativity, career, and caregiving, Crystal offers solidarity and permission to reject impossible standards: "First, I see y’all! It’s hard out here trying to raise a good person, be a good partner AND pursue our creative passions! I deeply see my other Moms on that! My message is that you are enough as you are. You are not a productivity machine and if all you got done today was put on a new t-shirt, good for you!”

As Mother's Day approaches, Crystal's wisdom serves as a timely reminder: you don't have to do anything more to be worthy of time. The greatest gift we can give ourselves and those we love isn't more accomplished tasks but honoring those present moments. Like Crystal shows us: just showing up fully and honestly is already enough.