The innovator behind the brand Ceremonia finds inspiration from Tuxedo Park.

By Todd Plummer

 

Having it all isn’t a myth—just ask Babba Rivera. The Tuxedo Park, NY resident, mother of two, wife and founder somehow finds time each day to do school drop-offs, shop the local farm stands, run a successful startup and still manage dinner on the table. An Upstate transplant by way of Chile, Sweden and Brooklyn, Rivera is the brains (or rather, the flowing locks) behind Ceremonia, an award-winning clean hair brand rooted in Hispanic heritage. Her heavenly-smelling formulations benefit from active ingredients derived from Latin American fruits such as guava, papaya and pequi. And while there’s no shortage of creatives and entrepreneurs who have decided to call Upstate home since the pandemic, there are few that make it look as good (or as easy) than Rivera—just ask her nearly 200,000 Instagram followers.

What brought you to Tuxedo Park?

My husband and I grew up in Sweden, so having access to nature has always been very dear to us. We were living in Brooklyn and loved the vibrance of the city and the creativity but were really craving nature. We wanted something not too far from the city, so we condensed our search to a 1.5-hour driving radius, and that’s how we found Tuxedo Park. It’s a gated community and such a hidden gem. The first time we came here, it felt like driving into a different world, almost like the South of France or something—inside the gates there’s so much nature and many hiking trails. We bought our home in 2020 and started spending time here. Then after not using our Brooklyn apartment enough we decided to move here full-time.

How did Ceremonia come to be?

I was running a brand marketing agency working on brands such as Glossier, YSL Beauty and Hermès, getting my foot in the door with beauty and doing all this research about the new generation of consumers and their expectations. I started to notice this huge urge for ingredients transparency and a stronger emphasis on hair health. For the longest time, the hair category was predominantly focused on styling—celebrity hair stylists and toxic hair sprays that would last all day, and the equivalent of makeup for your hair as opposed to the care of your hair. There was also a time in my life when I was bleaching my hair, using a hair straightener, and the result was that my hair got extremely damaged and really dry and prone to breakage and wouldn’t grow beyond shoulder-length anymore. I hit a point where I thought, “Who am I doing this for and why am I treating my hair like this?”

Where do you find inspiration for your products?

I am Latina, and I grew up with a hairdresser father. We’re from Chile but grew up abroad, and his approach to hair was always about using his own oil tinctures and remedies using natural ingredients—fruits and plants that I had never heard of but were active during his upbringing in Latin America. I grew up with these beautiful rituals. So Ceremonia was born out of that idea of giving people the tools to embrace the natural beauty of their own hair.

Describe your perfect day in Tuxedo Park. 

My perfect weekday is when I get to merge my personal and professional lives in a very idyllic way. I can be very present with my kids without having to give up my career. I usually do school drop-off and then I’ll take a Pilates class, and then come back to my desk and work from home. When the kids come home from school, I’m able to open my backyard door and we can just roam. Nature is so accessible here. The perfect weekend day is about immersing myself in the family aspect of life. We start by eating breakfast together in our sunroom that overlooks our backyard, and then we usually go out and visit one of the many farms in the area to pick berries or pumpkins or pet animals. I love All One One All Farm (AOOAF)—it’s French owned and they do pick-your-own wildflowers and everything is so beautiful and thoughtful. 

So, tell us, Babba… What does success look like to you?

The million-dollar question! Success is more a feeling than an end destination. It’s feeling like I have a life in flow without friction or irritation. I’m really trying to optimize myself toward that state of flow—my professional life, my creativity, my family life and my personal wellness. And I think I’m on my way.

Comments are closed.