Roselyn John is an all-around Nigerian creative setting the pace in the creative industry through styling, art direction, modelling and of course entrepreneurship. We were curious on what it takes to manage so many skills and talents at a time and here's what she had to say:
I would say being versatile has always given me an upper edge in the industry. I am a lover of creativity whether it’s fashion or crafts. I don’t believe there are limits to anything creative. I just switch boards whenever I need to do any of my jobs, and it has helped me increase my network. Wherever I find myself, I discover that I can impact knowledge and assist other people, even though I have a role I’m playing already. So basically it’s a great thing for me, and I love researching and learning creative things; it’s always fun for me.
Set designing and art directing are two different things. Set designing involves putting a production set together for each scene, while art directing goes further into making sure even the characters, outfits, makeup, and the entire production conforms to our goal. When I want to design a set, the first thing I do is to go through the script, to know what the client needs and then send pictures for references. It's a similar process for art directing; the difference though is that you are more involved in the whole process—overseeing the makeup artist, stylist and other members of the crew.
I used to be envious of people who were doing one thing and are good at it, especially when money is involved. I was my biggest critic; I felt my gift was a blessing and a curse because I couldn’t pick one thing to focus on. But at the end of the day, I had to understand that these gifts are seeds— if I plant and nurture them, they'll develop to the point at which I can summon labourers to help continue the nursing while I pay them.
There’re people with multiple companies, and there are no rules, guidelines, or scripts written down to show the outcome of events. So if everyone is following one thing, I follow all the things I can, making sure that I succeed in all 3 establishments, by God’s grace. I am a warrior, ready to fight as many battles as possible! My only motivation is, as long as my passion is making me good and legal money, I am doing it—critics or not. You know, none of these critics will pay my bills.
I own a brand called JARs, under this, I have jars-fro, jars-crafts, creative’s room and Oba Rose’s Touch. All are babies going to become giants soon by God’s grace in 5 years definitely a known brand and my clientele are those who can afford to patronize my brand, none is exempted.
For now, I don't have any challenge...every event comes with its challenge, but we move. So I would just say that whichever situation you find yourself in, make sure you are 100% sure you have done your best and leave nothing at all.
What narratives to you intend convey about 'Blackness' and 'Africanism' through Jars Fro's collections?
Jars-fro was birthed a while ago, when I wore afros a lot and people loved it, but they never understood why I rocked them. I wasn’t blessed with so much hair, which is why I am mostly on low cuts. I have always desired full hair; it makes me look bold and chic. So I told myself, why not share this blessing with those who might feel the same way as you do? If I can’t beat them with my natural full hair, I will join them with my super full afro wig!