WOMEN WE ADMIRE - MEET IVANA COOK BURBAGE

WOMEN WE ADMIRE - MEET IVANA COOK BURBAGE

Posted by Sienna Swim Team on

Welcome to our new series – WOMEN WE ADMIRE. Here, we're shining a light on the incredible women within our community and our Sienna Swim Collective. Whether they're friends, leaders, creators, mothers, daughters (or all of the above!), these women are truly inspiring, and we want to create a space to showcase their magnificence. We are beyond grateful for the special community we're building through our brand – a diverse group of women achieving remarkable feats and inspiring others by simply being themselves and following their dreams. This monthly series aims to spotlight women we love and invite you to connect with them. We're all about uplifting others, celebrating successes and showing how truly special, layered and powerful we are as women. *Read our first in the series featuring Taylor Hayden here

 

Ivana Cook Burbage (@ivanacook) is the photographer behind some of today’s hottest brands, including Aloha Collection, Reef and of course, Sienna Swim. She’s also captured stunning images as the photographer of choice for many women – one look at her web site and you’ll see why so much of her work is pinned on inspo-boards across Pinterest. Ivana and her husband Justin live on his home island of O'ahu, where they raise their daughter, Poerava (“Rava” to friends and family). Her book – With Love, Motherhood – is a guided journal she wrote to help expectant moms document their pregnancies.

 

We asked Ivana and Rava to model our new MOMMY & ME collection, which launches Monday, April 29 – just in time for Mother’s Day in the U.S. To us, they are the perfect mommy-daughter duo out there!  

 

We sat down with Ivana to ask a few questions and words of advice she would share as the second woman to be featured in our new series:

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Q. AS A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER, YOU'VE WORKED WITH SO MANY BEAUTIFUL WOMEN OVER THE YEARS. WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON? 
A. Oh my gosh, beautiful not only on the outside but the inside too! I think I come out of every job with a new best friend because I get to work with such amazing people around the world and in different industries. From super gnarly spear fishers to surfers, from top models to fitness girls. What they all have in common is their confidence in the niche they are in. They aren’t looking for validation anywhere else except from themselves, and I think that's so powerful. As a photographer this makes it so fun to shoot, too, because they really know what to do in front of the camera.

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Q. HOW HAS THE JOURNEY OF MOTHERHOOD INFLUENCED YOUR SELF-PERCEPTION & YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD AROUND YOU?

A. Wow, I could write a book about this question alone. Motherhood, in one word, is just living selflessly. I remember as a kid being embarrassed by my mom (given she’s from Europe and just really different than most, which now I absolutely love about her). She did things because she wanted to and felt no fear of what other people thought of her. Once I became a mom I understood why. The world is no longer just about you. Becoming a mom let me release any selfishness or ego I had around me. Motherhood simplified a lot for me in all areas of my life and allowed my priorities to be aligned and in order. I feel that most people in society think that once you become a mom your goal is to “get back to your old self and your old body" but it couldn’t be more opposite. To fully embrace the person I am now as a mom is better than who I was before, because of how I see the world now and how I have grown as a person. I believe I will always be growing in each stage of motherhood, and can’t wait to see how it shapes and molds me through the rest of my life.

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Q. MAINTAINING BALANCE CAN BE CHALLENGING; HOW DO YOU PRIORITIZE SELF-CARE IN YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE?

A. Every day has something new, especially being on the freelance side of work. My husband is super disciplined in this area of life and has made a really great morning routine for us that we stick to pretty much anywhere we are, even when traveling. It keeps us sane and our daughter too. Someone once told me if you have one win in the morning the rest of your day that follows will almost always be good, and I feel like our morning routines are always a win for us.

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Q. HOW DO YOU PRACTICE GRATITUDE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE, AND HOW DOES IT IMPACT YOUR OVERALL WELL-BEING?

A. I have journaled since 5th grade and, even now, I always start with things I am grateful for; thanking God for all the things he has blessed me with big and small. It's why I wrote the Motherhood journal too, being able to look back on your thoughts and feelings while pregnant is just so powerful! I think music also keeps me in a grateful state, so in the mornings we always play worship music and set up the rest of our day to be grateful for another day in the sun.

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Q. HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS, AND HAS YOUR DEFINITION CHANGED OVER TIME?
A. Success and being “rich” to me has always been pretty clear. I find it in my health, my community and relationships around me, and being able to spend time with my family. I feel so blessed to be able to spend pretty much every day with my daughter and be home with her. And that’s success to me. Even before I had Rava, my goal was always to live a flexible life and be my own “boss.”
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Q: WHAT INITIATIVES OR CAUSES ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT?
A. I am super passionate about birth. Since having my daughter at home and experiencing it on my own, I want to educate women so that they can do the same. I think eventually I will become a doula but first I’ll have all of my kids – so it might take a while! I am also passionate about homeopathic medicines and treating your body well with natural remedies and eating clean. My dad’s health was poor in my high school years, and it drove me to find ways to let food nourish and heal you. I love as I grow older finding new things that spark my passions and interests, but always having them align with who I am at my core.
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Q: YOUR FAVORITE SIENNA SWIM STYLE/S?
A. It’s really hard to choose when my sister (Nikki Gomez) is the artist behind the prints and my sister-in-law (Sienna Gomez) is the one designing the suits! So I would say all of them, but the AVILA ONE PIECE IN FLORA and the TULUM SET IN FLORA are my most worn suits ever.
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Q: IF YOU COULD IMPART ONE PIECE OF WISDOM TO YOUNG WOMEN, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU SHARE?
A. I think it would be to not let other people’s opinions stop you from doing the things that are in your heart. If I would have listened to people around me instead of myself and God, I would definitely not be where I am now. It’s always important to seek wise counsel in your life and take advice from them, but the other noise from people who truly don’t know you or your aspirations are usually not worth listening to in the long run. And I would say to just have fun and surround yourself in a solid community. Nothing is better than being around people who make you feel free and love you for who you are when you are being 100% yourself. I have my daughter watching me and she is my biggest reason for being true to myself, every day.
 
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Follow Ivana on Instagram @ivanacook and see her and her daughter Rava in our new Mommy & Me collection online and on our Sienna Swim Instagram, launching April 29. Please let us know what you think of our new series! Email us at collective@siennaswim.com.
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