Vivian Edoja, a Creative Force and Business Owner

"I wanted a name that tied me back to my Nigerian roots and settled on Julie Mango, which is the type of tree that sits right in front of my grandparents’ estate in my mother’s village back home," Vivian told us in the studio this past weekend. She stole our breath from the first.

Vivian Edoja, a 31-year-old stylist, model, and owner of Julie Mango, was born in Columbus, Ohio to Nigerian immigrant parents. Dawned out of a desire to not only share her love for the timelessness and sustainability of vintage clothing with others, Julie Mango also serves as a creative outlet for Vivian to break away from the monotony of corporate life and motherhood during the COVID-19 pandemic. Julie Mango is a showroom that houses vintage clothing and accessories for models and stylists to pull for projects, as well as vintage clothing, accessories, and home goods available for purchase to the general public.

I mean, look at those film and digital portraits! She went on to say of her mother's village, "We’d spend holidays there, playing under the tree and throwing rocks at it to get the mangoes to fall out before my grandmother could catch us. It’s a place that I can think of and remember nothing short of happiness."

All models styled by Julie Mango Style.

I love the backstory to Julie Mango's namesake. It helps me think each timeless article of clothing and jewelry is plucked from a sweet tree with a little bit of mischief and a whole lot of love. She says she's been sourcing forever, but started her studio in 2020 and started putting up collections for sale thereafter. Check her out for your styling needs, and be sure to keep up with her on Instagram to see her next collection drop!

The Julie Mango story speaks to the importance of community and having strong women in your life you can look up to. She's a wonderful person, and I'm honored for the opportunity to capture her as our #CenteringBlackVoices campaign continues while we fundraise for Brown Girls Mentoring. The sign-up link is live! We’ll be offering 30-minute portrait sessions for 150 dollars, 50% of which will be going to Brown Girls Mentoring. If you can't make it this month for your professional portrait, consider donating directly to their cause on their website.

So, grab your slot while they’re still available and help us reach our goal of $1000.00 for Brown Girls Mentoring which does such important work in our community.

All photos are taken by Emma Parker Photography except those photos of Julie Mango's models which were pulled from her website with permission. The photographers were @youkenlook and @kendramlee

For more information, please contact Emma at eparker.photo1@gmail.com.

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