THE MOTHER NATURE
THE FAMILY GROOVE’S PROFILE OF A MOM WHO’S MAKING IT HAPPEN

The days of the traditional coffee clutch may be over, but at THE FAMILY GROOVE we're doing it new school,
bringing people together to laugh, learn, share and commiserate in the global village called the Internet.

This month, we want you meet Cozy Friedman. This cutting-edge mother of two is the founder of Cozy’s Cuts for Kids,
a much-touted mecca of in-the-know cool for NYC’s half-pint hipsters, and So Cozy Hair Care. Her spirit, drive and
all-or-nothing fervor have garnered her great success in a field she created. Somehow, even with all her entrepreneurial
fast-tracking, she still manages to make her kids a top priority and get to the gym (read on to find out her secret).

She is the doyenne of kiddie ‘dos, the real head honcho, the cut above. She is our favorite scissor sister and she is our mom of the month.

1. Who are you?
Cozy Friedman

2. How old are you?
41

3. Where do you live?
NYC

4. How many children do you have? How old?
Two boys: Shane, age eight, and Riley, age six.

5. What time do you get up?
Early—5:45.

6. What daily rituals must you do to feel normal?
 I must exercise first thing in the morning—it gets me going. If I don’t have time to get in a run or practice yoga, I will walk to work just to get my blood flowing. Equally as important is something new that I just added to my daily ritual: meditating before bed. It’s the greatest! I feel so well rested every morning since I started.

7. What do you wish you'd do everyday, but haven't been able to incorporate into your routine?
I am currently working on incorporating a morning coffee with my mom into my daily routine.  It’s not that easy, but I would say we are up to three to four times per week. It’s important.

8. Do you work?
Yes.

9. What do you do?
I am the founder and CEO of Cozy’s Cuts For Kids and So Cozy Hair Care for Children.  Cozy’s Cuts For Kids are a chain of children’s hair salons and toy stores in NYC

10. Tell us about it.
Our mission is to take something that may be boring or scary to a child (haircuts, grooming, etc) and make it fun. Kids sit in special car styling chairs, watch DVDs or play video games while they get their haircut. We have people on staff whose job it is to blow bubbles or sing songs to the kids and each shop is set up as a toy store, which really makes it enjoyable for the children. Our So Cozy Haircare line is fun for kids, too—fun packaging, delicious fragrances and enriched with vitamins and minerals. Kids and parents love us.

11. What's the best thing your mother ever told you?
Many things come to mind immediately:
Do each day’s work each day.
If you always do the right thing, you never have to worry.
The early bird catches the worm.
Loose lips sink ships.
If you can’t get in the front door, try the back door.  If that doesn’t work, climb in the window.
If you can see them, they can see you.  Don’t duck anybody.
I can go on and on.

12. What does being a good mother mean?
 It means a million things, but probably mostly it means preparing your child for a happy and fulfilling life and making them feel loved while you do that.

13. What's your mantra/personal philosophy?
You’re either green and growing or ripe and rotting. I love that one!

14. What do you tell other mothers?
I don’t tell people what to do. People should do what they want.

15. Finish this sentence:  I want my children to know….
Their potential.

16. Who inspires you? 
I am constantly inspired by people who may appear to be unlikely inspirational figures. I am equally impressed by the newspaper delivery guy who drops my paper off every single day at 5 am, no matter what, as I am by more likely people such as Oprah or Martha. If you look closely, there are a lot of good things going on around you.

17. What are you passionate about?
I’m an all or nothing type of person, so I’m passionate about everything I do.

18. How do you balance your life as a woman, a mother, a friend?
Although all aspects are extremely important to me, being a mother is top priority. I feel it is critical to be well-balanced, so I make time for all (that’s why I get up so early!).

19. What do you wish you knew then that you know now?
I don’t think it’s possible to have known then what I know now. You have to live it to really know it.

20. How do you get your groove on?
By burning the candle at both ends (against my mother’s advice). I love trying new things and I believe that variety is the spice of life. Some of the new things I am recently loving are snowboarding, karaoke, Pilates, shopping online and about a dozen new restaurants. 

To find out more about Cozy, go to www.cozyscutsforkids.com