FDA announces new criteria for what foods can be considered healthy

Officials: Union Twp. water main repairs expected to be completed Saturday morning

Police: Hoboken shooting suspect charged with attempted murder

Jersey Proud: First responders parade drives past Boonton firefighters retirement home

‘Like I won the lottery.’ Dog struck by car in Hackensack finds new home

Street in Montclair taken over by giant inflatable snowmen

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News 12 Staff

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Take a look at these beautiful ladies here in the monitor. Youlia Jean Charles is the founder and creative director of Healthy Roots dolls, which is based in Detroit. The lovely one with her is her doll Zoe. She is the first one you created with the natural hair. Tell us all about her. Yeah, we have our og our original girlfriend designed to teach girls how to love their hair. And we added two additional friends, Marisa and Guyana with different skin tones, facial features and hair textures because we wanted to represent the beauty of our diversity. We most wanted to focus on the hair place so having dogs could actually wash and style their hair. The little girls can learn to love their natural hair too. How many dolls do you have in your collection? So we have three. That's Zoe Gaana and Marisol. I think I I honestly couldn't pick a favorite. They're all really cute to me and girls really do love Zoe. Our original, a lot of people say she looks just like them and that's an experience we wanted people to have with our dogs with the cute features that look just like them is Zoe particular about how often you do her hair. I mean, she's not particular but she's a little bit of a diva. So you gotta give her the best looks, the best products. She loves a good wash and goes, she loves nuts, braids. And so we love getting to see kids learning how to do those styles on their dolls as well. How did you take a college concept to a full blown company? For me? It started by not saying no before I could say yes. And then realizing through conversation with a lot of friends that we shared an experience of not having dolls that look like us, whether it was not having kinky hair or not having our beautiful noses or lips or skin tones. And then deciding with my direction I was taking in my work with children's media wanting to be that representation specifically in products that I needed growing up. And that's how I ultimately chose to pursue toys to influence our kids think act and see themselves. What services do you offer via your company? Yeah. So we have our amazing dolls which you can actually wash them without their hair, which is great for practicing on which a lot of moms do with their daughters. And my favorite product is our bonnets. We have a mommy mini and doll bonnet. So little girls can wear matching bonnets with their dolls and a of course, you have to have accessories So we have a lot of career outfits for all of our dolls and future astronauts, doctors, cheerleaders, things like that. Because we want to have as many ways for kids to imagine their place. Why did you feel it important to have the dolls represent a wide gamut of careers like that? For me. I think about how I grew up and how my parents took, like, pushed me to pursue a lot of different things. So there was never a question about whether or not I could be something it was about whether or not I wanted to do that and knowing that kids need to see things to believe it. Why not give them the opportunity in the outfits that we have available for them to imagine their dolls in whether it's an astronaut or I know we have like doctors, anything, anything you wanna be coming up at noon. Youlia talks about the challenges of getting her business off the ground and her advice on following your dreams.

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I am talking with Youlia Jean Charles, the founder and creative director of Healthy Roots dolls based in Detroit, Michigan. And of course, with her is Zoe. It's not easy getting a business off the ground, but you did it. What would you say to others who have dreams? I think it's very easy to think about what we aspire to, but we struggle with figuring out the steps in between. And that's the most important part is figuring out what are you capable of doing what you need for? Like going from where you're starting to your goal and who can help you do that. So I knew that I had a design background and you know, I could draw and design my dolls, but then I would need my network of other artists in my community to help connect me to people who are familiar with manufacturing and production. And where can I find those people? Where can I go and learn from those people? And that's how I ultimately started my journey and it's gotten me really far. Tell me about the staff and support system you have and where you all make the dolls, how they're manufactured and produced and put out for shipping. Yeah. So we have a really great creative team that works behind the brand and has been able to build their social media following and find us um ways to connect with our audience and telling our story, which is how you guys ultimately discovered us. And we work with a lot of uh really good operators on the back end, which is how you distribute your product, your manufacturing partners that see your vision and you work with and communicate your goal for your product and how you want to design and help you get from A to Z. So what kind of feedback are you getting from customers? I mean, that little girl we showed in a video was just too cute and we have another one we wanna show to later. So typically what we see a lot of is a lot of kids say, oh my God, she looks just like me and the parents will say that too. And even older people who will say, you know, I wish that I had something like this growing up and I wish that I had had this experience. So that's some of the best feedback that we've gotten and also people asking for different products, different dolls, which we would love nothing more than to produce even more dolls. What about family and friends? What do they say about this? I think with it being a class project that they saw the early stages of and now something that they see in retail, uh they get to be really excited because they saw the the early stages from the sketches to the prototypes to now seeing people in their life, purchasing these dolls without even realizing that they know the founder or they would they witness that journey, even having a cousin, his um his wife's mother purchasing a doll and then not realizing that I'm family. So it's nice to see that the brand has been reaching the people we wanted to reach. I love that. Keep that brand right there in the family. More about healthy roots dolls tomorrow at 6 a.m.

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And isn't she adorable? Reacting to her new doll? Yes, just precious. Yali Jean Charles is the founder and creative director of Healthy Roots dolls based in Detroit, Michigan. She is pictured here with her first doll Zoe who was just absolutely gorgeous. Does that kind of a reaction ever get old? I mean, how can it when you get to see Children having the exact experience that you wanted them to have with the dog? You wish you had had uh I wish I did have one of those growing up. What's it been like getting this business off the ground and expanding? And what's your next step? It's been really exciting because when I started the work as an undergraduate, studying illustration, I knew that I wanted to do impactful work for the next generation, which is why I decided to pursue children's media. But actually seeing it happen in real time as I'm like growing up and experiencing the world is something else. So getting to see Children falling in love, not only with the doll but their own hair because that's the experience you wanted to them to have have is beautiful. And I love seeing more and more little black girls embracing their natural hair, knowing that they're beautiful and knowing that our dolls are part of that experience. How do you underscore that? Because I part of me wishes I were born with naturally curly hair. Like my lovely glam child has. How do you get people to appreciate that crown that they have? Well, I think part of it is the conversations that we have with Children. My parents always did their best to make sure that I was confident as an individual. Like my father telling me I'm not just beautiful, but that I'm smart and accomplished and I can do anything that I want to be. And so reinforcing that with toys that she Children, in contrast with the things that they might be seeing in the world is also really important. I think the other thing is we need to know that we can do whatever we wanna do. And so I know that I love doing really unique hairstyles, whether it's pink braids or purple braids or really fun things to show like, hey, I know you think your hair needs to look a certain way, but look at what your hair can do if you try and just use a little bit of magic. So you started in 2014. Can you believe how much you have grown already? Would you have envisioned? This is where you'd be right now? A little bit because I was taught to, if I'm gonna do something, put all my effort in and make it as amazing as possible. But you never really know where things are gonna go. And I'm so excited by what we've accomplished so far and I know that we can do even more. Where can people buy a doll? You can buy a doll at helping stalls dot com. Target and Macy's stores and again, underscoring online, she said Target and Macy's in case you didn't get it the first time. And coming up at nine has one more point on explaining why pursuing this venture was so important to her. Don't you love the way these little girls can shampoo their dolls here and rinse and wash it. Yeah, I love that. I wish we had that available for my niece too who has the same type of hair. I love it. And I, and I, and I love the fact that we have it now in our market. I do too. It was long overdue and need it. So that's ok. We'll just go out and get, you know, some hair that looks like that too. I love curly hair. Yes, I do too. I love it. And we are gonna feel that humidity surge. So we

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We are talking more about healthy roots dolls here on spotlight New Jersey. Healthy Roots dolls launched in 2014 young girls from all over the world, including here in New Jersey are big fans of their merchandise. Yali Jean Charles is the founder and creative director. She's on a mission to help girls of color love their crowning glory. I think it's really important to recognize the importance of representation and play with knowing that toys influence how kids think act and see themselves. And me growing up, I never really had dolls that look like me. They might not have had my hair text or they might not have had my facial features. And so when I designed my dolls, I wanted to make sure that girls could see themselves in a way that they haven't before with dolls that have picked their hair out into big Acos and also use shampoo and conditioner because while it took me until I was 21 to learn how to love my hair. I want little girls to learn to love their hair from day one. You can buy her dolls online at healthy roots dolls, Target and Macy's

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Healthy Roots Dolls launched in 2014 and has since garnered lots of fans of their merchandise from around the world, including in New Jersey. 

Spotlight New Jersey: Healthy Roots Dolls

Healthy Roots Dolls launched in 2014 and has since garnered lots of fans of their merchandise from around the world, including in New Jersey.

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