Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshelle Jackson

Hi Joshelle, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

​In 2013, I became a mother to a beautiful baby girl. At that time, I was living in Atlanta for only a year, miles away from my family in Connecticut. After having my daughter, I ended up developing post partum depression. I never understood how I could feel overjoyed becoming a mother yet have extreme feelings of sadness and anxiety at the same time. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and started on my journey to being happy again. After researching natural forms of healing, I began creating natural beauty and aromatherapy products to use during my ME time. Even if I only had 15 minutes, I made sure to make my selfcare a priority. After many sessions of therapy, meditation, journaling, and using my products, I began to feel like myself again. After sharing my products with other family members and friends, I decided to open Retro Elle in 2019. Retro Elle quickly became a success and then COVID happened in 2020 which changed a lot for my business and things began to slow back down. But, it was through this slow season, I reconnected with my reason of starting Retro Elle in the first place and prioritizing my own selfcare again. Covid was a challenging time for many of us parents bc we were navigating being home more with our kids and taking on the roles of not only being parents and teachers and also still working full time jobs from home. I often found myself beyond exhausted at the end of day and my cup feeling depleted. I started finding pockets of selfcare time and reconnecting with our mission statement of “getting back to her.”

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

OMG yes! Unfortunately, there were seasons that I had to step away from Retro Elle to deal with personal matters that required my full attention. I ended things with my daughter’s father, lost my mother in 2022 and decided to move back to my home state of Connecticut to be closer to my family and support system. Of all these, losing my mother has been by far the hardest. She was the first person that introduced me to selfcare and instilled in me at a young age to always pamper myself. She was also my biggest cheerleader for starting Retro Elle. She encouraged me, listening to my many ideas and was the first person to actually buy my products and convinced others to do the same. Life without her hasn’t been the same but she’s always with me. I feel her all the time. Once I got settled in Connecticut, I decided to reopen Retro Elle in the Fall of 2023. Let’s just say it’s been really hard for a lot of small businesses to sustain their businesses due to the economy but I haven’t given up on my dream.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I’ve always been a creative person since a young age. I come from a long line of musicians, singers, dancers and actors on both sides of my family. I also attended arts schools growing up and major in Dance while attending my arts high school. Creativity runs through my veins, so starting Retro Elle, doing all of my branding, packaging and product creation by myself was natural. I’m constantly getting compliments on my creative gifts. I create from the heart. I’m most proud of doing all of my branding for Retro Elle and Nordrsom reaching out to me back in 2020 to sell my products in their stores nationwide during their Holiday Pop up Shops. It feels good to have your creativity recognized and appreciated by others. Lately, I’ve been reconnecting more with my YouTube channel and grown to love content creation and video editing. I enjoy making things looked visually and aesthetically pleasing. I love making art!

Any big plans?

Yes, I am actually in the process of rebranding Retro Elle and making it more about community and a safe space of selfcare for mothers. During my own healing journey, I’ve come to realize I don’t want Retro Elle to just be a retail or e-commerce business but a platform for mothers to get inspired and prioritize themselves no matter what stage of motherhood they are in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://retroelle.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/retro.elle
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXnoVS-z_psUtjmUsgnsdLA