This post is dedicated to the Black woman owned businesses that inspired me this year. Shop Black owned this holiday season! ✊🏾

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Valentina grew up with a love for nature. As she traveled to various regions of Venezuela with her family, she learned about Indigenous, Latin American, and Afro Caribbean cultures. She became passionate about documenting the stories of women through photography and design.

Our next creative spotlight is Mia Raye Smith, a playwright and actress, born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Queens, New York. She studied acting at the William Esper studio before developing her own solo play, “I Am Hope.”

Your journey is exactly that: yours.  A lot of times, I think, it can be discouraging when other people don’t see your vision or back your project, but nobody has to believe in you more than you. 

When I heard the term "mental health" for the first time, it was an aha! moment. I had always focused on my mind and soul as a part of my overall well-being but never knew the correct way to describe it. It wasn't obviously discussed in my home. But I will acknowledge that my parents always emphasized that their children never do anything that decreased our peace of mind.

July is Minority Mental Health Month, and as a mental health advocate of Caribbean descent, I'm acutely aware of the deep stigma around mental health in my culture and community. This July, I want to shine a light on mental health stories that often go untold. I’ll start with talented writer Talia Leacock-Campbell, who hails from Barbados.

The first feature is of a woman I’ve known and admired for years now, Mari Corona. Mari is the creative mind behind Living in Mommywood, and she’s also a photographer with her first artist reception coming up on July 6th. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mari about her creative life and she shared some #MommywoodGems with me below!