Aurora James: Changing The World One Shoe At A Time
47:18 Share

The Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's is fighting for a different future. This is near and dear to us, right, Albert? Yes. My father recently passed away from Alzheimer's after a long, long battle, and we wished that he would have gone for testing way earlier on, and early testing definitely will help.

Walk side by side with your family, your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers. In the world's largest fundraiser to fight the disease, we're closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer's. But to get there, we need you. There's a walk in your community. Find yours at alz.org slash walk.

Guys, you know how I shared my lip lining trick on Instagram? Well, Thrive Cosmetics has a new Empower Matte Precision Lipstick Crayon and I can't wait to try it. It's a two-in-one lipstick and liner and I think I'm gonna love it. You can take their lip style quiz and find your perfect shade. Mine is Jessie. It's waterproof, sweatproof, and lasts up to 12 hours. Refresh your everyday look

with Thrive Cosmetics, beauty that gives back. Right now, you can get an exclusive 10% off your first order at thrivecosmetics.com slash off camera. That's Thrive Cosmetics, C-A-U-S-E-M-E-T-I-C-S dot com slash off camera for 10% off your first order. She also told me this Nigerian proverb that I keep with me, which says, until the lion has a historian...

The hunter will always be the hero. Well, write that down, Albert. Somebody going to cue me or do I cue myself? Cue yourself. Okay. Hey, everyone. We are back with Let's Talk Off Camera. So let's get talking. I love that we applaud ourselves. Always. It does. We have the applause track, but I wasn't allowed to use it. No, if you can't applaud yourself, I mean, what's the point? What's the point? Am I right?

Today, we will be joined by a young woman whom I've never met before, but when I read her new book, Wildflower, I wanted her to be on the podcast because she's really an amazing example of not letting your beginnings define you and more importantly, like channeling your past to do good in the world.

Her name is Aurora James. I'm sure that everyone I'm talking to has already knows about her. I'm always late to the party. Every time I discover someone, everyone's like, yes, Kelly, congratulations. Welcome to the world. Sebastian Maniscalco. Sebastian Maniscalco, Aurora James. If you're not familiar with her, I'm excited for you to meet her. At the end of the podcast, don't forget to stick around. We're going to be answering some more of your Ask Kelly questions and

I'm being told these are all my children centric. Is that correct? Yes. They are. A lot of all my children questions. Jan and Albert, maybe you'll learn a thing or two. So I've been on the brothervelleys.com website, which is...

Aurora James shoe label. It's a shoe label and then she's got bags. Other things, bags. There's a bodega section, which I kind of love, but really unique, like, you know, totes and journals, mules, socks, sneakers, loafers, heels, boots, nudes, nudes, click on nudes. Yeah.

I'm such a child that if you tell me there's nudes, I click on it like I'm going to see boobies. But no, these are shoes in nudes. In nudes. But boy, they're gorgeous. When you online shop...

Yes. Does Mark have your devices automatically when you hit add to cart do a sigh? No, because he I have the account that's connected to both of us and then I have my side hustle account. So he doesn't know about that. Glenn gets an alert anything over $100 and I'm like, but it's our money. I'm like, so why is this? It's never a problem, but I do get the. Yeah, of course. I definitely.

So I sometimes break it up. I'm like, put like 90 on here for this year's cash. Yeah, right. I break it up because I just don't want to hear the – Can you make this in three charges? I don't do that anymore. I used to be very like – I don't want to use the word sneaky, but I would stealthily charge things because I didn't want to deal with it. And then I was like, no, you know what?

I work hard. You work hard, Jan. And let him huff and puff and blow the house down. Huff and puff. You both. Huff and puff. You both deserve anything you want to buy online. Because guess why? When he wants to buy something, he buys it. Do you think we need a wrestling match? No.

With the Mexican flag emblazoned on it in our basement? No. Do we have one? We sure do. My husband just bought a golf simulator. I'm like, what is this? A golf simulator. What does that even mean? Yeah.

I don't know. It's on its way. I'll let you know. When you divvy up the wrestling mat and put it on 19 different charge cards because you're afraid of my reaction, that's when I'll divvy up a pair of boots. I think Aurora's on. She's on? Yeah. Okay. Should we get to it? Yes. Yes? Okay. Whether you know her as the winner of CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund or...

From her tax the rich Met Gala creation for AOC or as the entrepreneur who launched the 15% pledge, she's a designer, an activist, an author, a changemaker. Please welcome the founder of the fashion label Brother Vellies, Aurora James. Thank you.

You look like a 21-year-old. You look like all of my daughter's friends. Really? Oh, my gosh. Well, I'm about to turn 39. So thank you. That's very sweet. So we were talking a little bit about Wildflower before you logged on. And first of all, congratulations. Thank you so much. Because I wrote a book. It was a light, frothy...

collection of personal essays that are funny, like funny stories for the most part. I can't imagine writing a memoir so beautifully that deals with so much. And I want to talk to you a little bit about that and what that process was like for you. And this is a question that I ask a lot of writers that come on this podcast is how much of your life did you journal and how much of your life did you have to rely on other people or...

Take me a little bit through your process. It's so fascinating that word journal. This definitely feels like a journal, but more so to be honest with you, Kelly, it feels like a diary journal.

because I really had to take myself back to my childhood, right? Because when I set out to write it, it was really about, you know, who I am now, making impact exactly where you are, how to affect change, how to really be a voice for the things that are important to you in your life, to your own community. And I think really to kind of understand what I've done in my work now, you kind of have to understand where I was also as a child, right?

too. And so I really just wrote and poured out from the heart and said to myself, I'll edit out a bunch of these things later. I'm going to edit out a bunch of the stuff with my mom later because God knows I can't share that. We spend so much time as humans just like

straightening our own costumes of identity to be like, quote unquote, presentable for the outside world that I was like, there's no way that I'm going to be able to put out into the world that I hit my mom, right. Or got arrested or any of these things that people who like go to galas can't possibly have ever participated in or done. Right. And then at a certain point, I realized that

Who I am is an exact product of all of my darkest moments, as well as all of my brightest moments. And so even with my editor, like the things that we would end up taking out, to be honest with you, Kelly, it was like mostly about like romantic partners. Cause it was like, what did that guy even add to the story? Literally nothing. Right. So they left, you know, you sort of,

glossed over a lot because you said, you know, I couldn't possibly write about hitting my mom, you know, and then being the person that goes to a gala. Right. But I think that when right when going back into your childhood, it's sort of you didn't just one day wake up and hit your mom. Right. I mean, it took a lot to get you there.

Yeah, totally. I mean, I had to see violence and experience violence to know that violence was an option, right? And then I had to also be violent to understand that I was not a violent person.

And then I had to love myself and believe in myself also to know that that one act of violence did not define me, right? It showcased who I was in the sense that I had had a bunch of experiences that I had to live and survive through that were violent, but didn't mean that I had to be a product of that that then continued to perpetuate that. You know what I mean? So for me, talking and working through all these things, it's been so fascinating to me, Kelly, because people are like,

I had no, I mean, some of my closest friends had no idea that I survived, you know, abuse and, and, and all of these things. And people were just like, I don't know how you made it through all of that. And the reality is Kelly, like,

We've all survived complicated relationships with our mothers. Like, I don't know a single woman out there that hasn't had a complicated relationship with their mother. Right. What I do know very few of are women who have managed to now create relationships with their mothers on their own terms that are not really dictated by societal standards. Cause that's a hard thing to do.

I think we feel a lot of pressure to have a certain type of relationship with our mothers, our fathers, our siblings, our friends, our partners. And I think for me, there has been freedom in redefining some of those in my own terms. And that means that some actually do look quite conventional, but then others don't. And the common denominator is it all feels great to me and is healthy for me right now.

The earliest costume a person does put on, particularly one that grows up in a house where there is violence or child abuse of some kind, is a mask of happiness.

and of like a smiley demeanor. And I'm curious, were you like an outgoing person in school? I think in the younger years, I was happy. I was like school prefect. Like I was all of these things. And then in high school, I think it just completely unraveled. And I became like pretty depressed, a little bit angry, right? In my book, I start talking about like

speeding in cars and doing all of that stuff. And, you know, that was a manifestation of my anger and also my eating disorder, right? Like I was anorexic. Like that was just a desperate need to like gain control and also like react to the fact that, you know, because I'm a woman of color and because I have certain curves that were like not, you know, what Prada was putting down the runway at that time. Like I just felt so ugly and

And, you know, all of these voices that the world was like,

shouting at me kind of just manifested in, I think a lot of self-loathing and then like destructive habits. You know, I did end up going to jail for a few days. Like that was pretty awful. And was that the turning point? Like talk about that. I think for me, it was kind of a turning point, right? Like I started racing cars and I was like 16, 17. And I,

That was definitely like a desperate cry for help. Like I almost died so many times. And then I think, you know, getting arrested and going to jail for me, that felt like the floor that you can't fall below.

At that point, it was like, okay, what now? And just seeing how one decision can change the trajectory of your life so quickly, I think floored me and terrified me.

So often we read stories about young people that have made a terrible mistake and it's over for them. The entire trajectory of this kid's life is probably ruined now because of this one stupid mistake. Because we are in a society where people are rarely given second chances. And I feel like you had this eye-opening experience where you...

turned it all around. And I'm just curious, like, explain it to me, like what transpired in that pivotal moment? I think at that point, I was like, this world is big, beautiful, vast, and can sweep you up in any direction you want to let it, right? And I just let it sweep me into the bottom.

And what I need to do is get a hold of what I know that my potential is and let it sweep me into what that potential could be. And so from there, I remember I had to go to anger management for speeding and I got court ordered to volunteer for an organization called Dress for Success.

And I was literally like going to the Salvation Army and like giving women who are unhoused like makeovers for jobs and like helping talk to them about like, okay, this is what we're going to do. This is how we're feeling. This is how you're looking like just like,

really having that connectivity with other women. The thing with me is I've always been curious about humans. People talk a lot about my grandmother. I have strong reactions to my grandmother in the book. She was this very traditional white Anglo-Saxon woman who went to church every Sunday and very casually used the N-word, which doesn't work out well when you have a Black grandchild.

the fact that she was also the person that I loved the most in the world, right? It's like, can she love me and be racist? The answer is yes, both things can be true.

And I think that understanding that all of us contain a multitude and it's our responsibility to unpack that, both of those, the joy and the fear as humans. And then as humans, we also have a responsibility to stay curious and nonjudgmental about others.

Right. That's been a huge driver for me as well, because if I wasn't curious about people, I wouldn't learn where the hate comes from or where the fear comes from. Have you had a ton of therapy? I need more, I think. I've got to tell you, I'm like, I'm like, wow, you could be a therapist.

I mean, you really could be a therapist. You know, when you said, can she be racist and still love me? And the answer is yes. It's like, that is deep thinking. That is like complex thinking that I don't know that I would have the skill set or the amount of therapy to navigate that. So tell me about this. You took a trip to Africa.

And I feel like it changed sort of the course of your life. Tell me about it. Yeah. So my father was born and raised in Africa, but he passed away when I was little. And I didn't know anything about his side of the family. And so I kind of started taking these trips to Africa. It was like...

very modest. I wasn't like going on crazy surprise or anything like that. Right. Right. And my mom was also adopted at birth and she taught me about fashion as like this anthropological study, but also very much a women's women's work. She also told me this Nigerian proverb,

That I keep with me all the time, which says until the lion has a historian, the hunter will always be the hero. Wow. Wow. And write that down. And she would say to me, women and people of color have not been.

properly archived throughout history. And so we have to look for their stories in unexpected places. And a lot of women's stories can actually be uncovered in fashion. And you must look for those and you must hold them sacred and you must stay curious about those stories. Going back to Africa, how did...

one of those trips like start your business? So I fell in love with a traditional African shoe that kind of was one of the very first shoes to manifest on the continent. Okay. It started out with just being leather wrapped around the foot. And then it was like a few pieces of leather tacked together. And then there's the rubber tree that ended up birthing a rubber sole on this shoe. And when British people came to Southern Africa, they fell in love with that shoe.

And they brought it back up to the UK. And that shoe in Afrikaans is called a felskoon or a veli for short. A veli. A veli. And they renamed that veli, that traditional African shoe, they renamed it a desert boot. And they launched a company that you and I know today as Clarks.

Okay. But that is a traditional African shoe. So I was floored to find this out. And I started traveling all around and meeting a whole bunch of different artisans who had been making this shoe for many generations. And I simultaneously learned that they were basically all kind of losing their jobs because there was no more work opportunities for them because they

Americans were just donating kind of all of their old clothes and shoes. And that was killing 70% of the local manufacturing in Africa. They just couldn't compete with it. And then I started doing some more digging and found out that there was approximately...

eight t-shirts for every one person in Africa sitting in landfills over there. We've just been like drowning them in our used, you know, Zara. Right. Like it was all of these things that were like converging in my brain where it was like, ah,

you know, and then falling in love with Vellies and trying them on and being like, wow, this is like the most wonderful shoe ever. It was made with so much care. I met all of these African artisans that were involved in the supply chain and just seeing how they loved the animals that were in nature. And then they would,

you know, those same animals. They would hunt the animals, eat the animals. That was how they fed their communities. And it was like this ecosystem, right? So I fell completely in love with this shoe. I worked with a bunch of artisans and made a little batch of the shoes. I put my entire life savings into this like first little like business.

batch of shoes. It was my life savings was $3,500. And I brought that batch of shoes and my suitcase back with me to Manhattan where I was living at the time. And, and then there was a flea market kind of thing called the Hester street fair in Manhattan's lower East side. And I rented a booth there on a Saturday. It was $70. And I brought all my shoes and, and that was in 2013. That was how my company was, was born. That was the birth story of brother bellies.

And did they just sell out immediately? Were people like floored by these shoes? I mean, I sold two pairs, which felt like a win for me because my booth was $70 and the shoes were like $200. Yeah, of course. But I ended up like a couple weeks later, this woman came back and she was like, oh, like I bought your shoes. I give them to my husband. He loves them. Like I want to buy more pairs. And she was asking me more about the story. I was telling her she was really asking me all these questions.

Kelly. I was like, this woman's very nosy, but she kept buying shoes. So I was like, you're my top customer. Anything you want goes. And she was like, can you make a website? And my mind, I was like, oh my God, this woman and her demands. It's kind of a lot, but I was like, of course, you know? And she's like, it was a Saturday. It was like 10 AM. She's like, can you make it by like Monday night? And I was like, um, like maybe she's like, I really just think you need like an e-commerce. Like I, you need to make it. Can you make the website and then send me the link?

on, you know, Monday night or Tuesday night. And I called my friend who was a web designer-ish. He like lived in his parents' basement, like playing World of Warcraft. And I was like, listen, Duncan, like I need you to help me make this website. I have a hundred dollars and I'll send you a pizza. And he was like, okay, cool. And so we put this website together. I send it to the woman.

She doesn't respond. I'm like, dang, like I did what you asked me to do. Right. And I was bummed, but I was like, at least I have a website. Right. And so then that Thursday she writes me back and she said, thank you so much for putting the website together. You should go get a copy of the New York Times.

You've heard all the buzz about micro laser fat removal at Sono Bello, right? It's remarkable how in just one visit, your stubborn fat is gone permanently. Once a year, Sono Bello invites listeners to their exclusive summer savings event featuring their best pricing of the year for a limited time only. A

Appointments are limited, so you need to hurry. Sonobello doctors are masters in micro laser fat removal using a brilliant technique that removes stubborn fat permanently wherever your problem areas are. Tummy, sides, thighs, arms, or even saggy loose skin. Chan!

It's gone in one comfortable visit. Jan, we're signing up. We are signing. You didn't tell me about the saggy loose skin. We may be halfway through the summer, but there's still time for a full body reset. And with the CareCredit credit card, you'll enjoy flexible financing and convenient monthly payments. Subject to credit approval. See website for details. Visit sonobello.com slash summer. That's sonobello, B-E-L-L-O dot com slash summer.

Are you the type of person that feels like you waste hours a week searching grocery aisles for the freshest fruits, veggies, and meats, but yet you're still left disappointed? Then you must try Fresh Direct. Fresh Direct is a farm-to-kitchen food source directly from farmers, fishermen, and ranchers and delivered straight to your door.

And the convenience is unbeatable. You can grocery shop from your office or couch anytime you want. I order all the time because of the convenience of it being delivered right to my door. They also have amazing prepared foods when I'm in a time crunch.

I'm currently obsessed with their harvest vegetables and goat cheese salad. It's my go-to for a quick and delicious lunch. For over 20 years, Fresh Direct has been delivering the freshest fruits, vegetables, and meats to the tri-state area. Don't take my word for it. Try it to believe it with $50 off your first order. Go to freshdirect.com and use code OFFCAMERA. That's freshdirect.com.

Code OFFCAMERA for new customers to save $50 on their first order. Terms and restrictions apply. Seaside for details.

Shifting your wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Good thing Quince offers timeless, high-quality items you'll adore and will ensure your wardrobe stays fresh without blowing your budget. Like their cashmere sweaters, washable silk tops, amazing leather products, and so much more. And the best part? All Quince items are priced 50 to 80 percent less than similar brands.

I just love how easy it is to shop. Their website is so convenient to navigate. They have everything from clothing to accessories to travel items and even home goods. And don't forget, they have a baby and kids section too. It's one-stop shopping from my laptop.

Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince high-quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash off-camera for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash off-camera to get free shipping and 365-day returns. quince.com slash off-camera.

And so we put this website together. I send it to the woman. And so then that Thursday, she writes me back and she said, you should go get a copy of the New York Times. And I went downstairs to the bodega and I opened the Thursday style section and there was

a picture of the shoes and a whole story about, you know, what I had been doing in Africa and all that jazz. And we, and we sold out that day. Wait, so this woman was like literally profiling you in the New York times. You didn't even know you're just like doing what she asked you to do. Totally. Totally. So tell me about the CFDA Vogue fashion fund. You win this award and you,

Now, so what? Now you're dealing with Anna Wintour, right? Yes, yes. What is she like? Because I've got to tell you, I find her intimidating and I've seen her at events and I will actually like walk in the opposite direction. No, imagine being, I mean, sometimes I put myself in her shoes and I'm like, imagine like everyone else.

feeling that way about you. You know, it's so fascinating. I think like, so my experience of her is that she's like very funny and very thoughtful and very driven. And I think it's so fascinating because so the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund, for those who don't know, it's like this once a year thing where her and a bunch of other judges like choose like 10 designers to compete and

And so I did that in 2015 and I won that. And now I'm a judge in that. So I'm able to pay it forward, which is really exciting. But like her love of fashion and seeing like these young creative people express themselves through clothing is so powerful and special. And the way in which she

supported me as this like girl from the flea that was like, I'm making like desert boots in Africa and like want to do heels and, and also want to be an activist. And I talk about this in my book, right? Like she was like, do you want to be a designer or do you want to be an activist? And I was like, I think I want to be both. And what happened when you said, I want to be both? Did the sunglasses come off? Yeah.

I think that she saw opportunity there, right? And knew how powerful fashion is, right? Because people always want to dismiss it. You know, my boyfriend's like, what did you say? Like, what's fashion? Like stripes, you know? And then he got to know me a little bit more, got to know the industry a little bit more, got to understand like the amount of impact that we can actually have and the amount of influence that's there, right?

right? Like chorus is so, so, so powerful. So do you have her phone number? Like, can you just like call her? I do. Yeah.

Yeah. And so is she in your phone? Like, cause when I have celebrities, I have like Anderson Cooper's phone number. Like, but if I have like somebody, I would love Anderson Cooper's phone. That to me, like that's our, our reverse thing. Like to me, I'm like, you have Anderson Cooper, the son of Gloria Vanderbilt. Yes. Phone number CNN. The least Anderson.

You know what? You know what? He would love, you two would love each other. I'm going to make a play date. I'm going to put you on text. You would, you would love each other. He's very much like you. He likes to advocate for people who might not necessarily have a voice or be able to find their voice. And you're very, you're very similar. Yeah.

But going back to you, thinking back, you're being written up in every magazine. You had orders from every store and you found yourself still in a financial pickle. You couldn't pay your rent. Explain to me how that happens. Yeah. I started the business with $3,500 and I was really self-financed. There's not a lot of people that want to invest in fashion brands, believe it or not, for a lot of different reasons. It's a complicated industry.

And, um, I ended up, the business started growing really quickly and I ended up being like

I think it was like $70,000 short to fill an order for a store. Right. And cause you have to kind of like pay for everything to be made, especially cause I was working in Africa. So we have to pay like really upfront and give all the artisans the money they need to make something. And then it ships to the store and then the store pays you like 30, 60 or 90 days after they receive that thing. So you really need to have all the money in advance. And

And so because we were growing so quickly, I was getting all these orders like we didn't have enough money to fund it. And so there was like a quote unquote mentor of mine and he had this like finance company and was like, oh, like I'll loan you the money. And I trusted him. So it was kind of the only contract that I never had a lawyer look over. And I signed it and it was just super powerful.

predatory and it ended up taking me years and years and years to get out of it. And that $70,000 loan ended up ballooning to over $1.2 million. Yeah.

It's crazy. And I mean, I just had like an anxiety attack listening to you say that because that has happened. I've had a couple of friends in the fashion industry where this exact... Oh, really? It's like the exact story. It's probably the exact same person. I mean, it's fascinating like how...

In every industry, there's so many different types of predators. And don't get me wrong, we definitely have weird sexual predators in fashion as well. A lot of that has been documented. But I think that financial predators are a more specific thing. And the way in which I've seen him really go after women too, I think is particularly problematic. And I think the shame that...

A lot of us carry for not being quote unquote business people or not being numbers girls or whatever is what they hide behind. A lot of these predatory people play the long game. Totally. They see a spark and they see a future and they will play that friendship long game and then...

They will ingratiate themselves in a way, align themselves in a way where they wind up costing you a ton of money. Oh, yeah. Speaking of money –

Can we talk about your AOC tax the rich dress? Yeah. I mean, were you shocked at the attention that dress got? Yes, I was, to be honest with you. People were like, you had to have known. I was like, I didn't know, girl. You know, my job as a designer, right, whether I'm dressing Solange or Beyonce or whomever, you know, Zendaya.

AOC is to help women feel like the best versions of themselves, right? And to show up authentically as themselves. And I think when it came to the Congresswoman and that event specifically, it's like, what are your values? How do you display those? And I think

by her wearing that dress that said tax the rich, that's exactly what we did. You know, I think it would have been so much easier for both of us just to kind of design pretty dresses and go in and wear that. And that's just it. Right. And not,

put ourselves out there or bring up an uncomfortable, I mean, talk about an elephant in the room, talk about an uncomfortable dinner conversation. Yeah. And I think when we talk about what do we want our elected officials to do, it's to take the issues that we voted them into office to fight for and continue pushing them forward. Right. And like the dress did not say like,

all rich people should disappear. It said that they should pay taxes, right? And I think taking that message into a space in front of an Elon or Jeff Bezos, who are people that she has like actively had conversations about and with before, right? Like that takes a lot of courage. And the fact that people were so enraged

Right. Like speaks more to the fear for people that there's these two women. Forget the fact that they're also women of color. Right. It's like women have the audacity, like the amount of times that people use the word audacity. Yeah. Like they would be like, I, you, I can't believe you had the audacity to, I'm like, what? This wasn't even your party. Cause I like to try to analyze the rage and,

I was like, so wait, what are they upset about? Are people at home on Twitter upset that rich people should pay taxes? I don't really understand. Like who's against rich people paying taxes? I mean, they had all kinds of feedback. I think the point is like, okay, this is what a dress can do. This is like the conversations that we can spark. And I think even for

even for me, because Kelly, there were people that came after me that were like, Oh my God, like you didn't pay your taxes in 2016. And I was like, no kidding. I started my business with $3,500. I'm from Canada. I didn't even know that I was supposed to file. I was at a flea market. Like,

You know, like, I'm sorry that I missed it. And also, like, yeah, it's really hard for working people to be able to manage to pay all of their taxes, which is why, like, the ultra rich should probably participate in paying their taxes, too, because the rest of us all have to do it, even when it's next to impossible.

Isn't it fascinating that like, I've got to pay my kids, you know, maybe I've got to pay for my kids' school uniform. I've got to file my taxes. Am I going to have enough money to pay the rent, keep the lights on? Like all of these decisions that are made, but nobody's like calling out people that are like tax dodgers, tax avoiders, moving to other states to not pay taxes. They'd rather call out

Two women that went to the Met Gala with a dress that said, tax the rich. Totally. It's fascinating. No, those guys are considered smart. Right. They're smart. Yeah, those guys are smart. Like, oh, he moved to Florida. He's paying less taxes. He's so smart. He's so smart. What? He's so business savvy. So, okay. So since you started in your business, I think probably the most –

and impactful thing you've done is you came up with this 15% pledge, which is the first time I started like hearing your name. You know, you start reading articles and Aurora James' name keeps coming up, the 15% pledge. Like, tell me about that.

Don't let the back-to-school season set back your nutrition. Green Chef is making it easy to stick to your healthy eating habits with a new, more flexible menu featuring over 35 customizable recipe options every week. And if you're in a time crunch, you'll also find over 15 weekly recipes that are ready in 25 minutes or less.

This weekend, I made their prosciutto and fresh mozzarella wraps and salad with pine nuts and balsamic glaze. Everything was delicious and took only 10 minutes to make. And now you can take your clean routine further with two times the support. Green Chef's healthiest menu ever and access to thousands of top-rated gyms and fitness studios worldwide from ClassPass. For a limited time, new Green Chef subscribers will also receive 50 free credits to use at

ClassPass, about a month's worth of membership. That's such a great deal. Go to greenchef.com slash off-camera class for 50% off your first box plus 50 free credits with ClassPass. That's code off-camera class at greenchef.com slash off-camera class to get 50% off your first box plus 50 free ClassPass credits.

Staying hydrated is so important. It helps me with my energy, my sleep, my skin, and my mood. Keep yourself hydrated and refreshed the way I do with Fiji water. Did you know that Fiji water really is from the islands of Fiji? It's true. Unlike some other top premium bottled waters,

Fiji water's electrolytes are 100% naturally occurring. Visit your local retailer to pick up some today for your next backyard party, beach or pool day, hike or even your home office. It's not just water. It's Fiji water.

You came up with this 15% pledge. Tell me about that. Sure. And what was the impulse behind it and how many companies are now a part of it? So in 2020, I think, you know, we all know what was going on, where we were. I was at home in Brooklyn by myself and, um,

George Floyd was murdered and I started getting a lot of calls and texts from friends and colleagues just saying like, hey, you know, what should I do? I'd love to talk to you. Could you look at this Instagram caption for me before I post it? I want to make sure I'm not saying anything wrong. Like,

you know, and, and I definitely was like that kind of friend, that black friend that a lot of people called and, and I'm happy to be that person. You know, honestly, I would rather someone ask me than just wonder and worry on their own. And, um, people were doing all kinds of different things and, and, and the usual things like going outside and marching or protesting or any of that just wasn't feeling quite right to me this time around Kelly. And, um,

A friend of mine called me on behalf of a major retailer that Saturday after he was murdered. And they said, you know, their headquarters are based in Minneapolis. George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. People are really upset. They're protesting outside and they've already, you know, done a lot. And I'm like, okay, what have they done? You know? And she was like, they donated $10 million to the NAACP. And I was like, okay, like that's cool. Right. I'm like, but.

you know, if your friend makes a racist comment, you don't say, Oh my God, like Mitch, that was so racist. Like I need you to make a donation. Right. You say, Mitch, that was so racist. Let's talk about why you're thinking and feeling that way or why that joke is funny to you and why it might be harmful to other people. Like let's unpack it. Right. Right. And, and,

you know, if this company is saying that they're anti-racist, like the donation is not what's going to do it. And by the way, black people spend more than $10 million at any given day at that store. So while that number seems like that's a lot relatively, it's probably not that much. Right. And so she was getting a little frustrated with me and she was like,

well, you know, they really love black people. And I'm like, oh, that's interesting. Like, what does that mean? Like, tell me what it means for a company to love black people. Cause I actually never really even thought about that, you know? Right. And she's like, well, they carry like a bunch of black owned products. And I was like, okay, like,

Like, what is that? She's like, I don't know, like a couple of hair care products. And I was like, okay, like, I don't know that that means that they love black people. I think that means that they probably, you know, want to stock products that they can sell to black people. But I was really fascinated by all the data that was coming in. It was 90% of black owned businesses did not get access to the first round of PPP money. Right.

44% of Black-owned businesses were projected to close, which was more than double the national average. And I was just seeing that the Black community and Black entrepreneurs were being disproportionately impacted because of the pandemic. And so I said to her, she was like, well, what would you want them to do? Because she was so frustrated with me. And I was like, listen, I believe that

that in order to fight racism and any other kind of injustice, people should do the thing that they do best in service of the communities that have been historically excluded. And she's like, well, what the hell does that mean in this situation? And I'm like, listen, that retailer is very good at selling products. Black people are almost 15% of the population. They should commit 15% of their shelf space to buying Black-owned products.

And there was like a silence on the phone. Because it suddenly made sense. To me. But to her, Kelly, she was like, they're never going to do that.

I mean, to me, that sounds like a very reasonable idea. I mean, that's what I thought. And so we got off the phone quickly and I sat down for an hour and I really thought about it. I grabbed my phone. I went into the notes section and just started letting my brain kind of flow into the notes section of my phone. I think that's where most of our brilliant ideas live, honestly, in the notes section of our phone.

100%. And I just thought about the impact it would have on the American economic landscape if major retailers started committing to stocking black products at that level. And I wrote it all out. And within that hour, I just screenshot it and I posted it to my Instagram and I tagged a bunch of retailers that I thought should commit to the idea of what I was calling the 15% pledge.

And what is the outcome? Okay. So that was a Saturday. So I stayed up overnight on Sunday with my web designer. I made another website and launched a petition on Monday at noon. By I think Tuesday, we had like a hundred thousand signatures on Wednesday. I started registering it to be a nonprofit by Thursday, like CNN and New York times were calling. And by day 10, we,

Sephora became the first major corporation to commit to the 15% pledge. Wow, Sephora. Sephora was the first one. And it has now officially been three years. So since then, we've had 29 of the largest retailers across the country commit with multi-year contracts to the 15% pledge. Everyone signs a contract. Nordstrom, for example, is a 10-year contract.

So every quarter we sit with them, we audit their progress, we make recommendations to them of Black-owned businesses that should go onto their shelves. And through all of those contracts, Kelly,

We are now in the process of reallocating over $12 billion, that's billion with a B, dollars of annual revenue to Black-owned businesses all across the country. It is incredible. It's so awesome. I still pinch myself every day because the idea that you can launch...

an idea into the world on social media and end up in a situation where we've put over 650 Black-owned brands onto the shelves of retailers all across this country. You know, Sephora looks like a completely different store now. And so when you go to the 15% Pledge website, does that feature all of the stores that are participating? Yeah, all the stores are there. And it's like...

Sephora, it's Ulta Beauty, it's Macy's, it's Nordstrom, it's Gap, it's like everyone, you know, it's Madewell, it's J.Crew. And the big one, you have all the big ones. We have all the big ones. There's a few that we're missing. We're missing Target and Walmart. So we really want Target and Walmart to take the pledge. But like just the amount of impact that we've been able to drive, like,

I was meeting with this girl the other day. We put her through after Sephora took the pledge, they pivoted their accelerator program to focus on black female founders. And so there was a few women that went through that program that I've stayed really closely in touch with and,

And one of them was just launching her brand and she went onto the shelves of Sephora about a year ago. She's now one of the top five fastest growing skincare brands at Sephora. She just closed her Series A fundraising round at a $100 million valuation and she's 26 years old. That's incredible. What's the name of her company? Her company is called Topicals. Topicals.

There's another woman named Danessa Myricks that has like the most incredible makeup products. She's going viral and selling it on TikTok every single day. She had been doing this for years and years and years and years and years and years and just needed a shot. And that's what's so amazing about this, Kelly. Like I was talking to someone who was very critical when I first started the pledge and they were like, I don't think...

that we should be giving shelf space just to black people. We need to be giving shelf space to the best products only. And to be honest with you, Kelly, I agree. What we need to realize is we have not been giving shelf space

to the best businesses. We've never even cast nets wide enough to find them. Because historically, if you're a retailer, it's just like, okay, what's the new L'Oreal product? Let's take that. What's the new Nabisco product? Let's take that. You're not giving chance or opportunity to some of like our homegrown heroes, whether they're black or Hispanic or white or women or whatever, right? And we can all agree. Everyone in this country can agree.

That small business is a heart and soul of America, right? 100%. And so getting retailers to invest more into small businesses across this country is a win for all of us. Listeners out there, if you are affiliated with Walmart or Target...

We all think you need to take this 15% pledge. I think it will enhance your business. I think that I speak for all of us, certainly in this room and Aurora James, who is sitting in her, I think at home office looking chic.

I think that it would really benefit your business. And by not doing it, you're really robbing yourself of 15% of extraordinary talent out there that has not been featured in Walmart and Target to places where America, yes, America goes to shop. So you got to sign up for the 15% pledge. Yeah, absolutely. Let's see if that helps. Thank you, Kelly. Thank you.

You are really a gem. You're a gem. And I'm so thrilled to have you on our podcast. Thank you for spending so much time with us. And don't forget to pick up a copy of Aurora's book, Wildflower. Aurora, thank you so much for joining us. Kelly, thank you so much for having me. It was such a pleasure talking to you. You're a very, very, very special light in the world. As are you. Bye. Bye-bye.

You guys have to go to her website, brothervellies.com, if you're at home. They're really gorgeous. Just gorgeous. Jan, also, these ankle, the brandy boots in caramel. Cha-ching, Glenn. You'll notice it on the credit card when it comes in over at $100. All right, we've got a couple of Ask Kellys. It's time for Ask Kelly! Yay!

All My Children edition. That was inspired. Okay, so from Michelle Winterswan, aside from meeting Mark, did you love being on All My Children? You know, it was really like a family. It was, I mean, we spent, when I tell you, 14, 16 hours a day together every day, five days a week, sometimes on the weekends because they would send us out to like various appearances. Yeah.

Um, so it, it really became my family. I mean, these people were my family. Um, did I love the hours? No. Um, but I loved everything else about it. I just wish that it wasn't as nowadays I hear they shoot the soaps completely differently than they did it back in our day. So I hear it's less oppressive hours wise, but at the time it was a lot of work. You were doing double duty at some of it.

I was working at Live and working at All My Children. From Jennifer Lee, what All My Children storylines were you most proud of being a part of? Oh, gosh. Um...

God, it's really, it's hard to remember because when you're cranking out that much material, it's hard to remember. I just think all my children was really, Agnes Nixon was at the forefront of everything. You know, she tackled interracial marriages. She tackled marriage.

She tackled abortion. I was just really proud to work there because all my children was at the forefront of every topic that nobody would cover until they dipped their toe in, you know, so.

All of them, but I can't really recall any one specific thing that I was like, oh, I'm so proud that I'm a part of this because my character was kind of a disaster and a hot mess. Like other characters were usually cleaning up my character's mess. So from Sharon Valashanas, I'm a huge fan of yours since the All My Children days. Other than Mark, what actors did you most enjoy doing scenes with? Oh, Dondre Whitfield, who played Terrence Hicks.

And Sherry Headley. We would get into so much trouble because we could not keep a straight face, so they would separate us. I mean, we were like children being put in punishment. If you two aren't good, we're not going to let you have storylines together. Yeah, Dondre and I went to – our characters went to prom together. That was our big – yeah, we went to prom. So we, like, have all of these crazy prom photos of us. Was that your first – no, you did go to prom. I forgot.

I went to prom in real life, but TV prom was way better. TV prom was way better. Okay, we'll have more Ask Kellys next time. Mimi, yes, Mimi. You got to say goodbye. Oh, that's right. You know, it's so funny. I keep forgetting to sign out because I just feel like you guys should leave. If you read my book, by the way, if you read my book, Livewire Long-Winded Short Stories, it's

All you really need to know about me is just read the epilogue. The epilogue tells you everything you need to know about me. I always want you to leave first. I feel uncomfortable saying goodbye. I'm not good with goodbyes. So I just want you to walk away. Okay. So then everybody should listen to Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa wherever you get your podcasts. And Kelly, we'll talk to you next week off camera. Bye. Thanks, Jan.

Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa is a co-production of Melojo Productions and PRX Productions with help from Goat Rodeo. Our theme song is Follow Me from APM Music. From Melojo, our team is Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Albert Bianchini, Jan Chalet, Devin Schneider, Michael Halpern, Jacob Small, Roz Therrien, Seth Gronquist, and Julia Desch.

From PRX Productions, our team is Cara Shillen, Genevieve Sponsler, Megan Nadolsky, Edwin Ochoa. Additional sound design by Terrence Bernardo. The executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzalez. This show is powered by Stitcher. From PRX.

Walmart Plus members save on meeting up with friends. Save on having them over for dinner with free delivery with no hidden fees or markups. That's groceries plus napkins plus that vegetable chopper to make things a bit easier. Plus, members save on gas to go meet them in their neck of the woods. Plus, when you're ready for the ultimate sign of friendship, start a show together with your included Paramount Plus subscription. Walmart Plus members save on this plus so much more. Start a 30-day free trial at WalmartPlus.com.

Paramount Plus is central plan only. Separate registration required. See Walmart Plus terms and conditions.

Everyone loves to share their skincare routine and the various products and serums they use and their exhaustive step-by-step process. But did you know that skincare can actually start in the laundry room? I'm partnering with our sponsor, All Free Clear Laundry Detergent, and tried it out. It's no surprise to me that All Free Clear is the number one laundry detergent brand recommended by dermatologists, allergists, and pediatricians

for sensitive skin. It provides an effective clean that's gentle on the skin while removing impurities like dirt and body oil without leaving irritating residues. For me, it's the best way to start my skincare routine. I also love that it's perfect to use for everyone in your household, from babies to those loved ones with sensitive skin or allergies to dyes. I suffer from seasonal allergies every

and All Free Clear removes 99% of everyday and seasonal allergens like dog and cat dander, dust mite matter, ragweed pollen, and grass tree pollen. All Free Clear is 100% free of dyes and perfumes. Plus, All Free Clear liquid is Safer Choice certified by the US EPA. For a clean you can feel good about, all you need is All Free Clear. All Free Clear is not intended to treat or prevent allergies.