Celebrity hairstylist, entrepreneur and author are just a few titles Rochelle Mosley goes by. The Richmond native wears many hats, and her hard work and dedication have made her worthy of each one. Mosley shares with StyleBlazer how she built her success from the ground up, which includes styling the tresses of stars including Judge Hatchett, Serena Williams, Judge Karen, Adele Givens and Chris Rock’s wife Malaak Compton-Rock, for the past 15 years; owning her own Harlem salon; writing two books; and creating Project Grylz, a program geared toward helping young women explore another side of life. A true go-getter, if we may say so ourselves. Here’s what Mosley had to say.
StyleBlazer: How did you break into celebrity hair styling?
Rochelle Mosley: One of my friends was working for Judge Hatchett, and her hair stylist didn’t show up, so my friend called me and asked me would I do her hair and how long would it take me to get there. I’m known in the industry for being fast and efficient. It only took me an hour and a half to get there and do her hair.
SB: When did you open your shop Salon 804 and what inspired the name?
RM: It was originally called Brenda’s Daughter because Brenda is my mother’s name. But my cousin Rob, who is a male, kept answering the phone saying “Hi, Brenda’s Daughter,” and people kept asking him if he was Brenda’s daughter. So he convinced me to change it to Salon 804, which is the area code of where I’m from—Richmond, Virginia. I opened the shop in 1997, so I’ve had it for 15 years.
SB: How long were you open before you started getting celebrity clients?
RM: The salon was opened for about five years before I started to get celeb clients. They’d been recommended from Judge Hatchett and Chris Rock’s Wife. Then Serena Williams started coming in, and I started doing Judge Karen’s hair.
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