Natasha Zoe on Letting Go, Managing Mental Health, and Staying Present in Motherhood

by Jessie Wiener

I met Natasha Zoe for coffee in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, a quiet moment carved out in the middle of new motherhood. She's thoughtful and open, someone who has spent years building creative things and is now figuring out what it means to shift gears. We talked about the move from running a business to raising a baby, burnout, and the slow, ongoing work of finding your footing in a new season.

She’s a new mom (her little is five months old). A longtime vintage collector. A former stylist and designer. She spent years working for herself. Then, at a point she didn’t fully plan for, she stepped back—not because something failed, but because something needed to change.

Her story isn’t about reinvention or the next big thing. It’s about presence. Perspective. And the permission to not have to do it all at once.

From Styling to Creative Independence

Natasha grew up in Northern California with a deeply creative mom who set the tone for much of what would come later. “We didn’t have a lot of money, but my mom took me to flea markets and estate sales from a really young age,” she said. “That’s where I found my identity, through style. I was always drawn to vintage. It felt like something I could make my own.”

That love led her to New York at 19, where she enrolled at FIT and dove headfirst into the fashion world. “I started assisting stylists right away; it was a total Devil Wears Prada pace,” she said. “Exciting but intense.”

She moved to LA and stayed in styling for a while, but the industry started to feel too wasteful, too temporary. “I’d always collected vintage,” she said. “People were asking me to find pieces for them, and I thought: maybe I could sell this.”

Around 2015, she started selling vintage on Instagram, which wasn’t nearly as common as it is today. “It grew really quickly. I was doing pop-ups, sourcing, learning as I went, about fashion history, composition, all of it.”

Eventually, she launched Roam Studio, a vintage-forward lifestyle brand that began with curated secondhand pieces and evolved into a small line of original designs. “I’d be sourcing and think, I love this, I just wish it came in different sizes for different bodies,” she said. “Other people were saying it too, and I started wondering if I could make it.”

She ran every part of Roam. “I was self-funded. No investors, no co-founder. It was a lot. And honestly, even before I got pregnant, something wasn’t quite working. I was overworked, barely paying myself. The burnout started to outweigh the momentum.”

When she became pregnant, things crystallized. “I realized there was no way I could be the kind of present mom I wanted to be and keep running the business. I had to make a decision. So I let it go. And I was okay with that. If it’s supposed to be in my life later, it will be.”

She misses the sourcing, but not the rest. “Manufacturing was so much work. So much money. So much energy. You feel like you’re letting people down, trying to meet expectations you didn’t set. That part wore me out.”

Becoming a Mother

“I always wanted to be a mom,” Natasha said. “And I always knew the first year would be so exhausting, but I don’t think I ever fully clocked until becoming a mom that it’s truly 24/7/365. I’m not sure you can even comprehend it unless you’re a parent.”

“My ability to keep doing this every day, I’m amazed at myself,” she said. “I’m amazed at this new level of patience and endurance I didn’t think I had before becoming a mom.”

“To be so worn out, so spread thin, and I’m singing this silly song to my daughter while she’s screaming as I put on her pajamas—I can’t believe I can do that. And everyone does that. I look at other parents, and I’m like, what the hell? You’ve been doing this every day?”

Exhausted as she may be, she’s in awe of her daughter. “She brings me so much joy. I love her so much. It’s the coolest thing to watch the lights go on in her head. She’s discovering new things. She’s making the craziest pterodactyl sounds, like it’s the first time she’s realizing, I can do this. I can make sounds. And my mom and dad react.”

“She’s finally registering that the dog exists. She’s still confused,” Natasha laughed. “But she’s registering him. And I get to steward the life of this amazing person.”

What No One Talks About

Pregnancy wasn’t easy for Natasha, especially emotionally. Physically, things were fine, but mentally, she struggled. “I had known about postpartum depression and thought that might be something I’d deal with,” she said. “But what caught me off guard was how much anxiety and depression showed up during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester.”

“I was questioning if I was even supposed to be a parent because I wasn’t feeling how you’re supposed to,” she said. “But you can have a really hard pregnancy and still be the best mom. Your mental health doesn’t define your ability to love or care or show up.”

Taking care of herself became non-negotiable. “It meant therapy. It meant medication. It meant resting when I could. It meant feeling terrible some days, and better on others.”

What helped most? Letting go of the pressure to be constantly joyful. “There’s so much pressure to feel amazing during pregnancy. And when you don’t, it’s easy to spiral. But you don’t need to feel amazing to be doing an amazing job.”

Support, Reimagined

“I’ve always been aware of my nervous system,” Natasha said. “Anxiety has been part of my life. I’ve used things like yoga, walking with friends, baths, therapy, and being in nature to reset.”

But now, even the idea of self-care feels different. “You’re thinking about the baby the whole time. You can’t just step away as you used to,” she said. “I’m still figuring out how to access those things again, how to carve out time and feel like it’s mine.”

She’s also learning to let go of the idea that she needs to snap back into anything. “We’re told we should be able to go back to who we were immediately. But if you’re doing everything, are you really showing up to any of it fully?” 

Redefining Creative Energy

Creativity didn’t disappear in motherhood; it just changed shape. “Right now, I’m working with a few brands I genuinely like. Modeling, content creation, shooting at home—things that feel aligned and flexible. It’s a nice way to stay creative and still be present with my daughter.”

She’s careful about what she takes on. “I know how hard running a brand is. I’ve done it. So when I work with someone now, I want it to be seamless and genuine, not performative. I love fashion, wellness, taking care of myself. And this feels like a good fit for where I am.”

But there’s still something missing. “I really miss movement. Not just for fitness, but to feel embodied again. Right now, I feel so far away from being in my body because so many parts of me are elsewhere. My body is literally useful to this other being, and it’s not just my own anymore.”

A yoga class, a hike, just something to feel grounded again. That’s what she’s craving.

As for what comes next professionally, she’s giving herself until around six months postpartum to reassess. “That feels like a natural point to check in. Is this bringing me joy? Do I want to go back to selling vintage? Work at a company, on a team? I don’t know. But I’m okay with not knowing.”

What Holds Her Up

“My mom is my ultimate inspiration,” she said. “She’s a creative force—an interior designer with amazing style—but she was always present. She didn’t dim her light to be a mom. That’s the kind of example I want to follow.”

And her friendships keep her grounded. “One of the things I’m most proud of in this life is my female friendships. They’re these creative forces, really amazing moms, and very present. I feel honored to be among them and learn how they balance things without diminishing those parts of themselves.”

“I have some friends with babies one and under, and some with slightly older kids who have a little more time to go to that workout class or get back into a hobby. It’s not ever easy. But it gives me perspective. It’s all waves. And all of it counts.”

Choosing a Different Pace

Natasha isn’t chasing a comeback. She’s not mapping out a five-year plan. Right now, she’s learning how to stay close to herself, through the demands of new motherhood and uncertainty.

She built things. She let go of others. And she’s still in motion, just in a different direction.

Maybe that’s the real shift in motherhood: not how much you’re doing, but how fully present you can be—when you’re able—for the things that matter. Trusting that your worth isn’t measured by output, but by honesty, alignment, and care. Even when it’s hard, even when you’re stretched thin.

There’s no big message here. Just a reminder: it’s okay to shift. It’s okay to evolve. And it’s more than okay to be right in the middle of it, still figuring it out, still showing up.

***

Shop Natasha's favorite pieces from the Spring Collection:

Ultra Soft Maternity & Postpartum Cardigan
The Sunday Lounge Duster
The Sunday Maternity & Nursing Maxi Dress
The Sunday Maternity & Nursing Pajama Set