Adventuring with Junyuan Bags: LaTonya Yvette

As we mentioned a few weeks ago we are starting a new series here on the Junyuan Bags
Blog featuring some of our favorite influential mamas and sharing more about their story, their family and how they like to adventure together! You will get to dive in a bit deeper with these families and also get to know some of their favorite local spots to hang out + eat out in their area! We hope you will enjoy coming along this journey with Junyuan Bags
!

Today we featuring LaTonya Staubs, also known as LaTonya Yvette, who began her career as a stylist, working in various New York City boutiques. As her clientele grew, she stepped from under larger brands and assisting on sets to develop her own image consulting company. LaTonya used her talents to help pregnant women and new mothers transition their wardrobes to accommodate their new roles and bodies. Now, she works directly with brands to bring their creative ideas to fruition, by styling their shoots and events. Her styling eye is a natural extension of the beauty she sees in the world. She is naturally drawn to the beauty of color, and the way garments create art and stories.

LaTonya writes full-time on LaTonya Yvette. She also contributes to Essence.com, The Kitchn, and A Beautiful Mess.  She has been featured in various publications; Elle, Refinery 29, Double Or Nothing, Huffington Post, Pregnancy and Newborn Mag among others. She’s modeled for brands like Stone Fox Bride, Banana Republic, and Sonnet James. We are honored to be able to share more about LaTonya + how she adventures in NYC with Junyuan Bags
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Tell us a little bit about you and your family? 

I am the mother to River (almost 7) and Oak (3) and we live in Brooklyn, NY. I was born here and mostly raised in Brooklyn and surrounding areas, so it feels fitting to raise them here—to have my childhood familiarities become their own. 

What is life like being a working mom + raising two kids?

In the beginning I tried to stay home, and with Oak, I took a good three or so weeks off, and even though time with my kids was invaluable and I felt so so grateful to be able to do it, be a working mother has been invaluably fulfilling. I read an article that kind of referenced motherhood as more of a selfish thing, we have kids and we get mohave pieces of us scattered into the world way beyond our time; how cool is that? But also, instead of being “locked” into something as is the over-arching identity of motherhood (not necessarily given by mothers themselves), i find that motherhood has opened me into all these worlds and people I want and need to be. And so, as a working mother, I get to touch on like two of those 5 or so worlds, that truly exist within myself and often exist with women as a whole. We are so multi-layered, so working while being a mother, just feels like a true answer to my life’s paths.
 

Tell us a little bit about where you live + what you like to do there?

We live on the cusp of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. I was brought home from the hospital in Prospect Heights, River came home from the hospital in Bushwhick, Brooklyn and I labored with Oak right down the block from where we now live. It is really important to raise my children in a diverse community filled with art and culture and play, and where we live offers that. We walk everywhere, downtown, back to Bedstuy, over to Porspect Heights. We hop on the train to the East Village and grab lunch on the Lower East Side. It feels like we are at the epicenter of something kind of grand and beautiful and completely beyond us, and we truly love it.

What do you like to do as a family? 

Music and art are large components in our day to day, so there’s always lots of dancing and naked painting.
 

What inspires you?

Vulnerability in odd places.

What is one of your favorite quotes? 

“Sometimes when you pick up your child you can feel the map of your own bones beneath your hands, or smell the scent of your skin in the nape of his neck. This is the most extraordinary thing about motherhood – finding a piece of yourself separate and apart that all the same you could not live without.”

What are some of your favorite local food places? 

We eat at Dino a few times a week, we like Primrose of coffee and croissants, and Two Boots Pizza in the East Village for spicy slices. Truth is (knock on wood) we eat out often in our neighborhood and everyone is always so accommodating and lovely.
 

 What advice would you give to other moms?

Ha! There’s so much advice! My advice would be don’t listen to advice. Sounds weird, but its important to find your own rhythm and path as a mother and to really learn how to tune out the noise. 

Tell us what you love about your Junyuan Bags
bags?

River is really into style and designing lately, and often watches me get dressed in the morning and wants to replicate or take something from my own looks. The bags are comfortable and functional, and super cute, which makes them even better to style. They’re also light weight, which is a necessity when roaming the city with two rambunctious kids and needing to carry supplies all day for the day.