Jennifer Sayre of El Segundo on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Jennifer Sayre and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Honestly, it’s the simple, grounding moments—the ones that remind me why I create art about wholeness in the first place.
My boys are 14 and 20, so I’m in that bittersweet season where I treasure every moment they still want to hang out with me. Whether we’re grabbing food or just being in the same room, those moments ground me.
I’m also practically living at the beach lately—daily walks to clear my head, and I’ve recently fallen in love with kayaking. There’s something about being on the water that mirrors my creative process: navigating currents, finding balance, surrendering to the flow while staying intentional about direction. It’s where I do my best thinking.
I just joined South End Racket Club too, which feels like another layer of honoring my whole self—mind, body, and spirit. Just like my art explores the full spectrum of being human, I’m learning to show up for all parts of myself, not just the creative side.
All of it—the ocean, movement, my kids—reminds me that transformation isn’t always dramatic. Sometimes it’s just showing up, staying present, and finding beauty in the ordinary.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a crystal resin artist and single mother of two boys, and I’m in a powerful season of reinvention.
After a significant life transition, I made a deliberate choice: to rebuild on my own terms. I run a salon in El Segundo while pursuing my true calling—creating large-scale art that holds space for transformation. Not the Instagram-pretty kind of transformation, but the real, deep, shadow-work kind.
My art explores duality and wholeness—light and dark, seen and unseen, the sacred space between. I work with resin and crystals to create custom statement pieces for discerning clients who understand that their environment isn’t just décor; it’s an energetic container for who they’re becoming.
My clients are successful women who’ve done their inner work, conscious entrepreneurs, and luxury wellness spaces that value intention as much as aesthetics. Each piece is designed to hold specific energy—whether that’s reclaiming power, anchoring abundance, or honoring the full spectrum of being human.
What makes my work unique is that I’m living the transformation I create art about. I’m also exploring something unconventional: transforming reclaimed materials into luxury statement pieces. It’s a metaphor for the work my clients do—taking what’s been overlooked or undervalued and alchemizing it into something extraordinary and sacred.
I believe luxury isn’t about excess—it’s about intention, craftsmanship, and investing in beauty that supports your evolution. My pieces aren’t decorations; they’re collaborations. I work closely with each client to understand their journey and create something that reflects who they’re becoming.
This is just the beginning of what I’m building.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The belief that I’m not enough—not smart enough, not polished enough, not worthy enough—and that I need to overcompensate by making myself smaller and more useful to earn my place.
For a long time, I operated from a place of proving. I said yes when I meant no. I people-pleased to the point of self-abandonment. I made myself smaller so others could feel comfortable. I stayed quiet about what I needed because I was afraid that asking for anything meant I was asking for too much.
That version of me served a purpose—she kept me compassionate, adaptable, and open-hearted. But she also kept me stuck in cycles where I gave everything and received very little in return.
Now, as I rebuild my life and my art practice, I’m learning that worthiness isn’t something I earn through sacrifice—it’s something I claim. That self-care isn’t selfish; it’s foundational. That boundaries don’t make me unkind; they make me whole.
I’m releasing the part of me that believed I had to shrink to belong, that my value came from how much I could give while asking for nothing. The one who stayed small because she was convinced she wasn’t enough.
I’m teaching my sons—and showing my clients through my work—that wholeness requires honoring all parts of yourself, including the part that says “I am enough, exactly as I am, and this is my value.”
That’s the transformation I’m living. And it shows up in every piece I create.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Honestly? The last three years have tested me in ways I never imagined.
I left a 20-year relationship, lost my home, and had to completely rebuild my life and business from the ground up as a single mother. There were moments when starting over felt impossible—when the financial pressure, the uncertainty, and the grief of losing the life I’d known became overwhelming.
I had to make hard choices: closing my salon in one location and starting over in a smaller space so my son could attend a good school. Letting go of comfort and security to bet on myself. Learning to ask for help when I’d always been the one helping others.
There were days I didn’t know if I could keep going.
But here’s what I learned in that darkness: transformation isn’t pretty. It’s not a gentle unfolding—sometimes it’s a complete dismantling. And in that space of having nothing left to lose, I found something unexpected: clarity about what actually matters.
I realized I could either let this break me, or I could create something from it. Art that honors the full spectrum of being human—the light, the dark, and the sacred space where everything falls apart before it comes together.
So I didn’t give up. I got intentional. Every piece I create now carries that truth: you don’t have to be healed to be whole. You don’t have to have it all together to be worthy of beauty, luxury, and transformation.
I’m still here. Still creating. Still becoming. And that’s exactly the journey my art represents.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
They’d probably say I talk about love more than anything else—love in all its forms. Self-love, compassion for others, loving your inner child, loving yourself enough to let your true self shine.
I’m endlessly passionate about empowerment. I want everyone around me to see their own magic, to do what they love, to stop dimming their light because the world told them to be smaller. I think my friends would laugh and say I’m always trying to uplift people—sometimes maybe too much—but I genuinely believe in people’s potential, often before they believe in it themselves.
Family matters deeply to me. Not just blood family, but chosen family too. And forgiveness—not the kind that lets people walk all over you, but the kind that frees you from carrying bitterness. I’m learning that forgiveness and boundaries can coexist.
Authenticity is everything. I can’t stand performative anything. I want real conversations, real connections, real laughter—the kind that comes from actually being yourself instead of who you think you should be.
And honestly? They’d probably say I care about inner child work and healing more than the average person. I believe so much of our suffering comes from abandoning the parts of ourselves we learned weren’t acceptable. My art, my parenting, my whole approach to life centers around this: love yourself as much as I love you. Let yourself be whole.
If I could bottle one message for everyone, it would be: “You’re already enough. Stop waiting for permission to shine.”

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
That nothing is permanent except the love we give—and that’s actually the most liberating truth there is.
Most people are terrified of impermanence. They hold tight to relationships, circumstances, identities, even feelings—thinking that if they can just control it all, they’ll be safe. But I’ve learned through losing everything that the fluidity of life isn’t something to fear; it’s where our power lives.
Thoughts change. Feelings pass. Money comes and goes. The life you think you want might not be the life you actually need. Even happiness and sadness are temporary visitors. The only thing that’s permanent? Being a mother. And even that evolves—my relationship with my sons shifts as they grow.
What I understand deeply is this: we are the managers of our own experience. Not in a toxic positivity “just think positive” way, but in a mind-body-spirit sovereignty way. We get to choose what we believe about ourselves. We get to decide if our struggles break us or build us. We get to create whatever we want if we truly believe we can.
Most people don’t realize they’re living in a self-created prison of “shoulds” and fears. They think their circumstances define them. But I’ve learned through my own rebuilding that you can start from zero and still create something extraordinary. I’ve faced financial devastation and still believed I could build a luxury brand. I’ve lost everything external and discovered I’m still whole.
This life? It’s a gift. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s ours to shape. We don’t control what happens to us, but we absolutely control what we do with it. That’s the space between—where transformation lives. Where we stop clinging to permanence and start dancing with what is.
That’s what my art is about. That’s what I’m teaching my sons. That’s the truth I wish everyone could see: you are not your circumstances. You are the awareness experiencing them. And from that place, anything is possible.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Thecraftedmermaid.art