
At Home With Multi-Talented Mama Shanlynne Silvestre
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Imagenfotografi
“Art for Everyone” is the mission of Imagenfotografi. The photo-driven family business, created by Shanlynne (“Shay”) Silvestre and her partner Francisco, most often results in creative styling and images of the couple’s two sons—Adonay, 8, and Adonis, 6—decked out in a variety of independent brands. “We believe in making high quality content for everyone,” explains Shay. “Art is sometimes not accessible and my passion is to help smaller brands and always have a workable budget for them.” The “ballin’ on a budget” phrase and ethos came up many times during our interview with the Philly-based 28-year-old mother, as she showed us around her home (which includes a variety of DIY built-ins to maximize the petite space), and discussed everything from her new jewelry line, NIN9 GEMS, to becoming a parent after enduring a traumatic childhood.
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Meet the family! Adonay, 8, Adonis, 6, Shanlynne ("Shay"), and Francisco ("Fran").
Adonay and Adonis wear clothing by Main Story. Shay and Fran wear jackets by Granelito.
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"At the moment our home is a rental. We're in Philly, but we are usually everywhere (New Jersey and New York). We love roaming around and finding all the gems around the coast. Our space is a small 2 bedroom apartment, but we utilize the whole space. It's been almost 2 and a half years since we moved in. I love it."
"We are really friendly with our neighbors on our block, but unfortunately we're seeing them move out slowly since everything is buying off the street, which saddens me the most because these are the residents who have been living in this community for years."
"We actually found our rental online and it was the only listing we got to see in real life. We had our fingers crossed that we would be approved to rent it out! We came with the moving truck after traveling 15+ hours, moving from the South."
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"Honesty, most days it's just a crazy mess! I love the whole plywood vibe we have going on. We built everything in our apartment since it was cheaper to do so. Most likely all the stuff we built will last longer anyways."
"I find most of my stuff at flea markets and thrift stores, sometimes I'm lucky and find something Nordic and Scandinavian. In reality, I'm not searching for an aesthetic until I own something for myself."
- "I usually do most of the designing with all our DIY projects and my partner, who went into the construction field straight out of high school, builds all of my visions! I'm so happy to have him building my creations! We also reuse most of the wood from our projects, and love seeing them in different forms."
- "I don't have anything that's my favorite aspect, but I love that we can use every inch of it to our advantage. I love that I can change our space into a photo studio whenever we want. I don't really ask for much, it's just my favorite all in all because I'm just grateful we have a roof above our heads."
- "I think home is what you make it. I've lived in horrible places before and I'm at home when I'm with my family. My mind has evolved that home is who is living in your heart, and as long as you have that then you are forever home. Nothing has changed during this time except for a few DIY projects."
- "This is my altar. The funny story is we found this ancient statue at a thrift shop and they told us it came from an estate sale. It's labeled with museum artifacts information in the back and I could just tell it's an old Buddha. I decided to just keep it because I think its energy is attached to us already and I'm just kinda scared to part with it at this point. We found it back when we lived in Tennessee. We always find some weird ass stuff."
- "We actually moved their space into an open space that wasn't being used. My partner turned their old room into a recording studio. The boys' new space is right next to our room, so they don't have to run a mile to get to our room (some of our apartment is very narrow and long). We did move the bunk bed from the older room, and Fran (my partner) rebuilt it so that it can fit in the new space."
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"Adonay is 8 and Adonis is 6. Adonay is really into art toys (toys designed by artists). He loves creepy scary characters, which I think is super cool, but he loves KAWS, unfortunately. He wants a KAWS for his collection, which costs an arm and a leg. He gets what we can afford, but his collection is pretty impressive without the KAWS."
"Adonis is just into whatever Adonay likes. He looks up to his big bro all the time. One thing they love is Minecraft and just games in general. They dream about being famous gamers on YouTube."
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"I think learning about their personalities. I love that I can compare them to how I was when I was younger. Just watching them grow into happy little humans makes me so happy."
"I'm also learning more about myself throughout this journey. Motherhood isn't glitz and glamour like how the media portrays it, so what excites me is learning things I would never know about myself without going through this motherhood journey."
- "Even with them growing, that still scares me. Only because people are so quick to judge and my boys are just different. They can be themselves and unfortunately we've had incidents of them getting bullied. I want them to be comfortable in their own skin and thoughts. The real world gets scary and not everyone will be as open and as kind as they are."
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"We raised the boys being gender neutral. They both just found out what they liked and I was cool with it. I didn't force them to wear blue or play with cars. We used to buy most of our toys at antique malls and they would just pick whatever they liked, and it was cars and dinosaurs. Now it's just video games and scary looking toys!"
"I don't think gender is a thing that we should worry about. What most parents should worry about is if their kids are happy, not if a boy decides to play with a doll or a girl plays with cars. Let them live their best lives and let them decide who they want to be. We found out Adonay's sex, but with Adonis it was a different story in matters I couldn't control."
- "Maybe not at a young age but hey, we are doing good for being younger parents now. I love being a mother. I was abandoned by my mother at a young age, so my grandmother legally adopted me and became my legal guardian. But for half of my life I never felt wanted. Motherhood has definitely helped me fill that void of hurt. I'm not the perfect mother, but I'm so fortunate to be in their universes and to get to raise these little humans."
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"Both of my birth experiences were dangerous and I still can't believe I'm here. When I had Adonay I was diagnosed with a rare pregnancy disease. I was induced and was forced into labor. It was one of the scariest days of my life. The doctor said I had to have an emergency c-section, which I was not mentally prepared for. I was completely drugged up by the hospital medication and all of it was a blur. I had to be cut open twice because the doctor thought they left something in my stomach. The doctor kept putting me through several x-rays and a CT scan and I couldn't enjoy Adonay's birth."
"After we switched doctors, the second doctor told me the whole problem was that I was losing too much blood. The first doctor was stuffing me with too many fluids and didn't realize I needed a blood transfusion. At this point I was on my deathbed, but if that second doctor hadn't come, she told me I would be dead."
"The whole time I wanted Adonay right next to me. I tried breastfeeding every chance I could get, even when the lactation doctor told me my milk wasn't enough. (I ended up breastfeeding Adonay until age 2). That experience really changed me."
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"I grew up an only child, my grandmother tried her best to raise me. She was a single mother and an immigrant from the Philippines. She worked really hard to get her 4 children to the USA, but unfortunately missed out on so many years of her kids' childhoods. So, it was hard for her to transition into being a mother again. My father is an alcoholic and was ready to be out and about with his friends and—as I mentioned—my mother left when I was young. We used to live in a basement in my grandmother's apartment building in Chicago and at one point most of my family lived in that basement. If you can imagine lots of drama and craziness all the time."
"I grew up mainly by myself with no friends or family. My grandmother was a business woman and juggled renting out an apartment building in Chicago. I spent most of my childhood begging for attention or playing video games, I always had to find ways to entertain myself. So, of course when I became a mother I wanted Adonay to have a forever friend. And now those two kiddos are unseparable! I love seeing them bond, they can drive me crazy sometimes, but it's worth it."
- "Both Francisco and I had really traumatic upbringings, but I think that's why we click! Just learning from our parents' past mistakes makes me want to break our generational curses. I never want my kids to suffer the way we did. I want to give them everything I didn't get to have or experience. I want to give them love, unconditional love. I want them to be proud of us and happy to have both parents. I want them to be able to share their emotions with us without a fear in mind. I just want them to know that we are always here and we have so much love to give them."
- Adonis wears an outfit by Co Label.
- "We are both still learning. It's hard to find a certain parenting style, especially if you don't know what a healthy one looks like. But we are both working on our emotions and how we share them. We are not perfect parents. We are always trying and there's always room to improve. Sometimes it's hard not to spoil them because we feel that's the only way. Our style is just being there, to hear and to comfort them."
- Wooden toys by DETSKAYA. Fish bag by Don Fisher. Baskets by Twenty One Tonnes.
- "Adonay is actually my partner's middle name, which has a long story that goes behind it. And Adonis has the same meaning as Adonay. The name Adonay is actually Hebrew and has a long history, but is weirdly connected to El Salvador."
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"The past year had its ups and downs, but I really feel like we've been through worse. During lockdown we went through an enlightenment. I realized my worth as an artist and decided I deserved to be paid and credited for all I've done. I spent too many years blindly allowing people to take advantage of me and my family."
"For others it paused them, but for us it felt like our lives were finally starting in our favor. We struggled for so long and just finding my worth made me realize our art and time is so much more. It's weird to some, but some already had it all before everything happened. We finally thought it's our chance to change something for us."
- "My kids LOVE Minecraft. We try to limit it by doing school at a park, sometimes just outside. But in reality, school is more on the computer than ever (so this helped a lot in some ways). We typically don't watch shows or TV, but I do LOVE cartoons myself. It's really a balance and some days are just different from others."
- "I have never had a self-care day or anything of sorts. Maybe art is my self-care, but those kinda things don't really appeal to me. I don't care for face masks, makeup, etc. I haven't had a real haircut in like 6 years (unless my husband cutting my hair counts!). We do try to have a healthy lifestyle when it comes to eating or just being in nature from time to time. Maybe that's self-care, but I'm simple. Self-care can mean anything to me."
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A pile of back-to-school shoes by Classic10is.
The boys bedding is from the French label OMaYbI.
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"We are always ballin' on a budget, honestly. My kiddos always get the free stuff (thank goodness for that). Me on the other hand (and my partner) usually get stuff thrifted. It's always been like that even when I lived with my grandmother. It was either thrifted or on sale, so that's why we get along so well, my partner and I."
"I'd love to own more environmentally sustainable pieces, but H&M is the only thing I can get ballin' on a budget. I'm far from bougie, I just want to help the Earth whenever I can and unfortunately, some people can't afford that lifestyle (including me). A sustainable $400 dress would be a wardrobe for 3 years of used or on-sale clothes."
"So, my style would be ballin on a budget until I can buy all the lovely minimal, sustainable clothing or anything that fits my curvy frame."
Shay wears a dress by Devon's Drawer.
The kids wear outfits by Repose AMS.
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"I rarely get stuff gifted to me, but the brands that did help me at least look decent for this profile are Nonna Lietta, Devon's Drawer, Stutterheim, and Shopkeepers. If I could afford one brand it would be Cold Laundry, I just adore the colors and all the amazing things they make!"
"For kids' brands I love Granelito, The Campamento, Main Story, Co Label, The New Society, Sem Label, Vote For Cotton, Repose AMS, Même, and Packpack."
- "Water is the best beauty product I've ever used, I mean nothing can get better than water. I drink it, wash in it, everything...and sometimes it's free. I really don't use anything but water and soap on my face, and people still can't believe I look too young to have two kids haha!"
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"Honestly, we (Imagenfotografi) do everything creatively. For every project, I'm picking out the clothes, I'm doing the styling, location scouting, creative direction, taking the photos, and editing. For a year, I've been working with an awesome clothing brand hand-in-hand with the best person I can think of—Moa, owner of Granelito. She has given countless opportunities to me and my family and I've been able to show her my true potential. We work on social media management, helping build an aesthetic for her brand, and doing all the content for the brand (videos, photos, etc.). I'm so lucky to have gotten this opportunity and to meet such a great family and brand."
"Also, we have been helping smaller (and sometimes bigger) brands with content. At Imagenfotografi (our creative service business LLC) we believe in making high quality content for everyone. My passion is to help those smaller brands and always have a workable budget for them. Our motto is we make art for everyone and I mean what I say. If you are a musical artist, local shop or restaurant, or a small business with 5 followers, we will work and help find a budget that will work for the both of us. Art is sometimes not accessible for others and we just want to provide our creative services to everyone."
"Now NIN9 GEMS is my most recent project. It's really been so amazing and overwhelming. I've always wanted to find a way for people to physically have my creative work. So, I guess handmade jewelry is one of the ways—and hopefully more than just jewelry. I believe my jewelry should also be for everyone, no matter what you are, that jewelry is for you."
- "Right after high school I went to art school for interior design and I quit mid-way. I could just tell my grandmother couldn't afford it and I was working a part-time job at a kiosk at the mall. But it just wasn't my calling. Art school was too assertive for me. Art should be your own work, not what someone tells you to do. I don't think I'll ever go back, but I already love what I'm doing and what I'm providing for others and it's my own art, not the washed down art my professor told me to make. I'm 28, though, and I have more to learn. Maybe one day I'll do something else. We've just lived everywhere, my life has just always been in different places."
- In their home-slash-impromptu studio, Shay wears a sweater by Nonna Lietta. The boys wear outfits by The Campamento.
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"Like I said earlier, I used to work at a kiosk at the mall. And the funny thing is that it was owned by a jewelry artist who made African jewelry. I remember them teaching me how to bend wire to make rings this one time I even brought my own designs. I haven't really made jewelry since then and that was almost 10 years ago. I just wanted to design something that was mine, since it's always been something I wanted to do but never had the means to do it."
"I just wanted to express my art in some kind of way and share it with others. When I see people worldwide tagging NIN9 GEMS I really can't believe it. Y'all really made me believe I can do something like that."
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"I've been an artist since forever. My father was an artist, but he was always too intoxicated to pursue something for himself. Even if his presence was a blur in my life (I didn't call him dad until I was in my late teens and it still feels weird, but I'm trying to be a better person), for some odd reason I looked up to him even though he was embarrassed about being a father. My grandmother always had my back when it came to art supplies, etc., she always wanted to try to help me. She's really been the only person that always believed in me."
"My kids are always telling me how much they want to be like me, it's the sweetest thing ever. I just never thought in my life that I could inspire two little humans to want to be artists. My kiddos tell me when I'm working how much they want to be like me, how they want to make necklaces, take pictures, etc. I just love that so much. We are constantly taking them to art museums. I just want them to always have that drive and I'll always be there 100% for whatever art they choose to do."
- "I just live my life. I see beauty in everything, literally anything. I'll be in the Asian market like, 'Oh time to take a photo.' Beauty is everywhere, you just have to open your mind to it. I don't need an expensive trip, or a nice ass camera (I started my Instagram using my old iTouch). Creativity and inspiration is what you make it. Living in my experiences just shows me this other eye I feel like nobody else has. I can look at a dumpster like, 'Wow the colors are amazing.' Or maybe I'm just weird!"
- "I thought I would just be a stay-at-home mom. Before we started everything, Fran was busting his ass at a construction job with a 9-5 for almost 6 years with no breaks. But I'm just sooo lucky to have a partner that pushes me and sees my true potential. Fran always knew my worth and pushed me to go for it. Being a mother showed me what I really wanted to do. They both work hand and hand. Though it's not easy having to reply to emails and make necklaces all night after I get them tucked in, it's worth it."
- "I had to teach myself motherhood. I had to teach myself to have a career. The best advice is from myself, and my advice is trust the universe. Trust it in every way possible with your abilities and know your worth. Once you know your worth, it's just blessings after that. Manifest to yourself everyday and tell yourself how great you are, even on your worst days. It's not easy and the only self-care and advice I ever needed is to love myself."
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"I just want to share whatever I can, once I get my family straight. I'm sharing it with everyone. That's just who I am, a healer and a giver. I want art to be accessible to the youth, I want to build programs and safe spaces for young artists. Investing in the younger generation is my main goal. I know what it's like to feel helpless and alone and art is the only pathway to my happiness and I just want to share that with everyone."
"I have so much gratitude to be sitting on my sofa writing for Mother Mag, that's the news. I can't believe it sometimes, I want this for everyone."
- A family jaunt to New York in rain jackets by Stutterheim (in collaboration with Mau/Mau Collective).
- "Ballin' on a budget ain't easy, but money is always the main concern when traveling. Just have fun. Live those moments with your family even if you're on the last dime. Those are experiences you'll never get again. I know it's not the best advice, but networking also helps and packing your food!"
- "Just being able to create and work with so many amazing people and their brands. I really love creating for others. I'm at my happiest when they tell me how happy I made their brand look."
- "Self-love. Heal your past wounds and move on. Realize your worth and share that love and frequencies with everyone that comes in your path. We are all trying to make it."
- For more on Shay and her family, be sure to follow @playfulmodernkids, @nin9gems, and @imagenfotografi on Instagram.
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