Meet Stefanie Valverde | Founder & Member of MarlynMaatStudio LLC – Artist, Writer & Mental Health Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stefanie Valverde and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stefanie, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
Don’t work “hard.” Work aligned, instead. Live in alignment. Get your clarity. I believe we come into this world to learn and re-learn how to love, how to spread happiness, and how to be accepting of ourselves and others. We’re here to utilize our personalities, passions, and talents to evolve ourselves and everyone we encounter into beautiful, ever-growing souls. Working hard will get you to some places, but being in alignment and following an emotionally intelligent and mentally strong path will take you to where you really want to be and are meant to be. It will not only transform you, but it will help others around you rise. I disagree with societal’s conventional advice to “keep grinding” and “hustling” for more energy out of your body to “one day” have what you desire or envision. The most wholesome, pure way (and often, quickest way) to do this is to listen to your heart, your soul, your inner child–your “highest self” and follow that path of excitement. The one that makes you smile and lights your brain up on fire with how much ecstatic energy you immediately develop at the mere thought of it. Consciously aware emotions are such a clear “antenna” if you will, for indicating which decision is your best option on the journey to yourself. If you want to succeed at what you most love, fall in alignment with your core values and everything else will follow. Don’t settle for anything outside of your boundaries, but instead, unapologetically create a natural filtering process of all that doesn’t serve you or belong with you anymore…and allow what does to come sweeping in, in exciting and healthy ways.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What & How We Are:

MarlynMaatStudio is a one-woman team! The name “Maat” comes from the Egyptian goddess and concept of truth, harmony, morality, and balance. I opened this shop because I saw so many people just like me wanting to heal, but not enough support outlets. Being inspired by the beauty and balance that “putting yourself first” brings, I decided to create stickers, prints & enamel pins with designs and words that encapsulate the lightness and happiness that I had found through prioritizing my mental, physical, and emotional health before anything else. I take pride in having started a small, one-woman business, born out of the hope that these creations help people celebrate life, self-love & mental health wherever they go. The shop aims to help people heal by nudging them in the direction of pure, unapologetic self-identity and strength because everyone deserves to feel full & live fearlessly. Whether the angst, sadness, or simple numbness comes from a job, a relationship, or any other experience, the solution is simple: keep unapologetically giving yourself space to BE and LIVE.

Best Friends with Earth:

I want to make sure what I produce aligns with my efforts to keep our beautiful planet green. My Eco-Friendly Promise to keep it green starts with all orders being Made to Order in an effort to reduce waste. All prints are made out of 100% recycled card stock, which is uncoated, has a smooth finish, long-grain, & is FSC Certified and lignin-free. It’s also manufactured with 100% renewable wind energy by the papermillstore! Even the equipment used is chosen with this promise in mind. I use an Epson Printer & EcoFit ink bottles which are powered by precisionCore Heat-Free technology to reduce energy consumption. It uses eco-solvent ink to reduce waste, which means no cartridges are used, which also means less waste!

ALL Packaging & Shipping is chosen with an environmentally conscious heart: from materials to equipment and shipping carries, I use 100% recycled, biodegradable, sustainable & waste preventive partners and tools to maintain our world beautifully healthy. I research and learn more every day to ensure my products and mission don’t interfere with our beautiful planet’s growth. Visit www.MarlynMaatStudio.com to learn more about my eco-friendly promise 🙂

How it began:

In a world where it may be easy to fall into the abyss of negative, heavy feelings and mental states, there needs to be a stream of light. For me, it was recognizing the really good moments and trying my best to remember them when depression settled its way into my daily life. But I needed something that existed in my immediate environment to help remind me that life, self-love & mental health were worth celebrating. That I was worth celebrating. And even more, that it was all worth putting first. Taking a look at the world around me and really taking the time to “be,” filled me with so much joy and relief. It was like I was learning to breathe for the first time again. The world was different, freer, and magical… because so was I.

Lessons I learned on the way, start with the phrase: “the way you feel now, is the way you’ll feel when you get there,” among a few others. Challenges came over and over again, asking me to be clear about my core values. Doing so has taken me on a journey where self-love and mental health meet healthy boundaries and limitless exciting opportunities. Ultimately, becoming clear in my intentions for following what makes me happy, has allowed me to see life in a celebratory way, no longer feeling stuck, alone, or depressed, like my soul and my very self was fading… starting my business welcomed me to a safe space, and I want to offer this safe space to everyone in the world.

What the future holds:

PS: I’m starting small, but in time MarlynMaatStudio will open a physical space, where together we will form a community and create a space where others heal and feel supported. Our health and love are everything. I’m excited for you to join the journey!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This actually happened! My best friend Libby came to visit me from Wisconsin, and we really did have the BEST, most MAGICAL time EVER! The way we work is pretty insane. We just flow with what the universe offers us. Like in theatre school, we simply say “Yes, and…” to whatever life throws at us. This way of taking on the world took us on a wonderful rollercoaster of meeting cool, interesting people, going on ferry boat rides, visiting “italy” (universal), and seeing an immense amount of synchronicities in our path communicated through numbers, signs, words, colors, etc. It stopped us at a heartfelt car parking lot scream-singing Rihanna’s “Umbrella” song, and having dear friends come meet us even though some were hours and hours away, and others had a long week. We watched silly shows about love, did each other’s tarot readings, ate the best Mediterranean food, and danced like no one was watching! We laughed at how beautiful the world is and cried when it was almost over. We had heartfelt conversations and became closer. We accepted each other and everything that we were, are, and will be.

Thank you, Libby, for being you. Without you being you, I wouldn’t have found you.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Source Energy always deserves a huge shoutout for guiding us into trusting our intuition and following our biggest dreams. My mom, Angie, is the biggest supporter I’ve ever had. She, like many moms, was a single parent working a thousand jobs, doing her best to support not only my dreams, but her own, and that of her family’s. I am always grateful for her, my best friend, for joining in on my excitement at any hour and going on conscious self-transformative adventures with me to become better people for ourselves and others. My partner, Sam, is the most beautiful & intelligent soul I’ve ever met. The amount of unconditional love and kindness is a magic I’m in awe of every day. My stunning friends: Sondee, Alina, Sasha, & Libby–they are a fountain of wonderful creativity, holistic living, unlimited love and ever-growing self-awareness. I learn from them every day, and I’m utterly appreciative of their existence in my life. I love them all SO much, and I’m so grateful to call them my friends. I have to thank my fur babies: Titan, Mazikeen & Benji–they teach me about strength, the power of play, forgiveness & self-love.

So many books to thank! Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson, Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Aleph and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller, Fallen Series by Lauren Kate, and many more! Movies and TV series like Anne with an E created by Moira Walley-Beckett, She’s the Man directed by Andy Fickman. Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium directed by Zack Helm, Aquamarine directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, Byzantium directed by Neil Jordan, Cloud Atlas directed by Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, & Lilly Wachowski, and I have to include Finding Nemo and Cars, to name a few….

Website: www.marlynmaatstudio.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/marlynmaatstudio

Other: Etsy Shop, Pinterest & TikTok at @marlynmaatstudio Email: marlynmaatstudio@gmail.com

Image Credits
EcoEnclose for Sustainable Packaging Partnership