MEDIA MOMENT––Sibs & Co.

March 16, 2023

Recently, the Impact team has had the pleasure of collaborating with several Hudson Valley influencers and content creators including the trio behind Sibs & Co. and this month, we’re excited to feature them for our Media Moment series. Keep reading on to get the full scoop on the siblings who created the growing Hudson Valley lifestyle blog and brand!

Thanks for being our guests this month. Can you tell us a little bit more about yourselves?

Thank you for having us! We are honored to be a part of your Media Moment. I guess first off, we are siblings! My                  name is Janna and I’m the eldest. I, along with my siblings, Jared and Jenneka founded the lifestyle blog and brand Sibs & Co. I will spearhead most of the questions in this interview, as when you get us all going we tend to be even more long winded than just one of us.…maybe it’s because we were homeschooled (before the pandemic made it more mainstream/cool).

While we have a ton of similarities, we are each very different and have divergent ways of looking at life and have our own idiosyncrasies in problem solving. It’s funny, because that’s where we find we have some of the most contention, even though we oddly, almost always draw the same conclusions, we each have our separate ways of getting there. We have lived in the Hudson Valley for most of our lives and are passionate about business and building businesses.

Can you tell us a bit about your experiences and what inspired Sibs & Co?

I think looking back at the inception of Sibs & Co. so many of our experiences were inspiration to just start our blog. We love the Hudson Valley and we love fashion, food and travel! It became a bit of a documentation and truth be told; I really needed a creative outlet. My siblings can attest! During the summer of 2016 I had to take time off from my cleaning business to do an intravenous antibiotic Lyme treatment that just wrecked me. Looking back, I basically started with what felt like only a very tiny sliver of my brain working. I felt worse doing the treatments before I even had a glimpse of feeling better! I cried building the blog because I had never built a website before. I had zero clue what I was doing and at that point in my health journey I was having trouble reading due to the effects of Lyme so, forget trying to build and understand coding a blog! Despite that, yes, I went right for the gusto using WordPress, but I did need that as a distraction and refocus. The blog has come a long way! Thank God for our friend who helped create the current version with his company, Evolve Tech Solutions.

The name Sibs & Co. came from a catering client (yes, we briefly had a catering business) as she would always call us “The Sibs”.  It’s quite a special piece of us because it’s a brand that continues to evolve and grow with us!

As kids we oddly knew we at some point wanted to start at least one business together. Today, besides Sibs & Co. we have an all-encompassing property maintenance business, J & J Property Pros. We merged our separate business two years ago to create a multifaceted one-stop shop for our clients. We offer landscape maintenance, design, eco-friendly, zero emissions lawn mowing, interior cleaning, organizing, decorating and pet sitting services. We also are hoping to launch our lip balm and cosmetic company Bee Obvious later this year.

What is your favorite part about working side by side with your siblings?

We feed off each other. One can have an idea and we each build on it. We love creating together! We all agree it’s also just nice to know someone has your back. There is a level of trust and loyalty that allows us to fully and completely work from and in a space of stability. Even when, let’s be real, it’s complete chaos! We know each other’s weaknesses and strengths so we can help one another grow and focus on the things we each thrive in. At the end of the day, we try to do what’s right by each other, our employees, our clients and our companies.

Where do you find inspiration for new content?

Inspiration is a funny thing! I feel like my brain doesn’t stop. Jenneka’s brain doesn’t stop, and Jared swears he has a nothing box where he just zones out, but, that’s not true! We all always have something to contribute — constantly throwing ideas around and working towards making things better.

While at times we have more ideas than we can write down, other times, nothing seems to come to mind. I think coming from parents who met at art school and were artists in their own right, taught us to be open and enjoy the little things. Inspiration can strike at any moment. We are inspired by nature, history, people and places around us. Travel! Old movies! Architecture! I guess you could say we are easily entertained and just enjoy life.

Is there a type of content that you find engages your audience more than others?

At the moment, FOOD! Recipes, specifically sharing our family recipes! We get it. Food brings people together and we love it!

What are your favorite strategies for stimulating engagement across the platforms you use for Sibs & Co?

Being consistent and just being us! Over the years it’s been easy to become distracted and at times even think “why are we doing this?”, especially after our mom died in 2017. She left such a huge impact on us and whoever she surrounded. It’s felt at times like a five-year mental rollercoaster. Yet, in moments where we have questioned creating this content, remembering and hearing our mother’s voice encouraging us to continue always makes it all worth it. For instance, when we get an email or DM from someone saying how a post inspired them, made them smile or when people comment saying they feel like they are part of a family! Anyone in the social media space has to understand that you have a very unique voice and no matter how much noise is going on around you, if you are faithful to tell your story you will have an impact!

Are there any blogs or content creators that you admire or that inspire you?

Oh, so many! Do we have a cut off? Rosie/The Londoner has such a lovely way of storytelling. A few others include: Jenny Cipoletti, Sazan & Stivie Hendrix, Mary Orton, Lindsay Gurk, Valeria Lipovetsky, Juniperfoxx, Zio & Sons, Behida Dolic, AndNorth. We could go on!

What are some of your favorite hidden gems or local hotspots in the Hudson Valley?

That’s another tough question! We love hiking in the Catskills. The Wittenberg is beautiful! We love the rich history of so many historic homes. The Vanderbilt Mansion has always been a favorite and the Saugerties Lighthouse is a quaint, magical place!

Should we even get started on restaurants? Smoky Rock and Buns are go-to’s when we forget to take something out for dinner and The Amsterdam is synonymous with celebration for us! But that is just the tip of the iceberg in Rhinebeck alone!

What can we expect to see next from Sibs & Co?

We are so excited for so many things to come! We are thrilled to continue to build community and family through social media and looking forward to working with more local businesses and brands to highlight people, places and things that make The Hudson Valley such a special, vibrant and unique place. We are continuing our Saturday Sips with The Sibs series and have quite a few travel plans for this year. There’s a lot to look forward to!

If someone wants to follow Sibs & Co as well as your other family businesses, how can they connect with you socially?

For Sibs & Co. you can follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube (@sibsandco) and our blog here or feel free to drop us a line at hello@sibsandco.com. For J & J Property Pros you can follow along on Instagram and Facebook @jandjpropertypros or visit our website. For Bee Obvious, visit the website and follow us on Instagram @beeobvious.