lifestyle photography - The Project For Women

Mary Gonsalves Kinney

Stylist

Photography & Story by Lauri Levenfeld

It seemed perfect to feature Mary Gonsalves Kinney, stylist extraordinaire, on the day of Fashion’s Night Out and hours before this talented lady dresses sixty (yes 60!) of Sacramento’s finest. Not only is Mary gorgeous, smart, successful, and loving…she is my partner-in-crime (Style Army-whoop whoop!) and an amazing mom to three sweet children. Every day, I am in awe of this woman’s energy, drive, creativity, and humor. And I think one child and a business (or two) is crazy…Read on, you will be inspired.

My name is Mary Gonsalves Kinney. I am 35 year old mother of three, wife of Jason Kinney and fashion stylist, editor and co-owner of the Style Army. I am a ball of energy – probably, though not entirely, due to the large amounts of caffeine I consume. A girl’s gotta get through a day…

I am a fashion stylist, editor, and co-owner of the Style Army. Since I was a child, I have loved fashion. I love the creativity behind piecing together a look. I love the anticipation of not knowing what you’re going to wear until the last minute and having to rise to that challenge. And I love to push the envelope. I went to UC Berkeley and graduated in Political Science. I deferred law school for a year and pounded the pavement as a lobbyist for 7 years before I decided it wasn’t my cup of tea.

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Stephanie Franco

Event PlannerPhotography by Lauri LevenfeldStory by Lauri Levenfeld

This is the heartwarming story of my dear friend Stephanie and her battle with infertility. A tremendous woman and mom (all of which you will hear about later) who through much persistence and many years spent, opens up on her struggle to become a mom and the awesome power of will and way as she welcomes her second baby into the world next month. Stephanie is a business owner, a baker, a chef, an artist, a mom, a wife, a girlfriend, a risk taker, a good connector, and a hairstylist…and the list goes on. Today also marks the redesign and relaunch of her meeting, events, and wedding planning business SpotOn Events. A business that has gained worldwide success due to Stephanie’s keen eye, tack sharp organization, as well as, her tremendous originality and vision.Here’s a little more on Stephanie and her successful but complicated story of how her family began to grow.

I’m organized chaos – though no one would ever think it. I’ve always been called “put together” or “grace under pressure”. I’m relatively calm on the outside, steady, and solid while juggling a lots of details, thoughts, emotions underneath. I’m able to look at the big picture and break it down into smaller parts. I’ve very detail oriented when I want to be but not overly fussy or anal about everything. I learned to loosen up the reigns when we began our uphill battle to get pregnant.

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