BECOMING

Midlife woman with gray hair standing in a minimalist, Japanese-inspired living room with wooden furniture, shoji doors, and a large window overlooking a garden.

I quit my high-paying state job eight days after my fortieth birthday and never looked back.

Woman reviewing a collection of photographs and design materials on a wooden table. Includes notebooks, a pencil case, a stone, and a cup of coffee.

A year later, I took a trip to New Mexico that reignited my creative fire.

Standing in Georgia O’Keeffe’s courtyard, where she painted Black Door with Red, sweat crawling down my face, I was struck by the quiet power of a woman who had built a life entirely on her own terms. Seeing her simple, intentional studio in the desert, deeply hers — it moved me.

It was a reminder that we get to choose how we live, create, and show up. I vowed then to always stay wild.

Since then, I’ve been dedicated to helping women establish aligned brands that reflect the lives they’re creating, just as I’ve done with mine.

A person with gray short hair, glasses, and multiple rings on their fingers, drinking from a mug while writing in a notebook at a wooden desk filled with photographs, notebooks, and a laptop, in a cozy room with a large window showing trees outside.
Minimalist interior with wooden furniture, a vase with dried grasses, large windows, and an outdoor view.
A midlife woman with gray pixie hair sitting on wooden stool in cozy room next to large window, wearing earthy-toned clothing and scarf, surrounded by indoor plants and natural light.

Classically trained with a B.S. in Graphic Design and a B.A. in Photography

Intentional, Soulful Brand Identities & Squarespace Websites for Women

The Heart Behind Studio Crone

This isn’t the end of the story. It’s where it begins.

We crones are shedding old roles and reshaping who we are — not to go back, but to RISE.

To refine. To return to self.

I guide women to lead with intention, express with clarity, and own their evolution.

The crone doesn’t chase. She stands in her knowing.

I work with women who’ve outgrown what no longer fits and want a visual presence that reflects their depth, edge, and evolution.

We’re not disappearing.

We’re sharpening.

And we’re just getting started.

4/6 Splenic Projector
Triple Pisces (sun, moon, rising)
Cat Mama of 3 (Sam, Pip, and Cowboy)
Fav Movie: Out of Africa

What Inspires Me:
The shadow cast by my coffee cup (at exactly 9:22 am), the first six notes of “Sur Le Fil,” cobblestone streets, texture, layers, old wooden tables, soulful talks, dirt on my boots, the existence of a line and a circle, silver 10 gauge wire, silence, small Italian wine glasses, candlelight, monochromatic hues, scribbles, leafless tree branches, delta rides …

I’m Steph Zangeneh Azam, founder of Studio Crone. With over 20 years of experience in branding, web design, photography, and creative direction, I guide clients through a grounded and intuitive design process.

I’m a country girl at heart. I grew up in the hills of Northern California, building forts out of manzanita branches. At 11, I lived in Sweden — an experience that sparked my love of travel and shaped how I see the world. It taught me how deeply environment and emotion are connected.

I’m here to guide, not push. I listen deeply, ask the right questions, and help you connect the dots between where you’ve been and where you’re going, so your visual identity matches the caliber of your work.

Let’s work together.

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