Life Purpose Coach and Author, Shelley Meche’tte and daughter, Deaf Culture Merger Bree K. Jones are known as Your Favorite Hollywood Mother-Daughter Duo. They not only live together, but they work together as Producers/Content Creators and Red Carpet /Celebrity event Hosts.
We thought it would be great to get to know these ladies and see how it is, that they are able to make living and working together seem so effortless.
HD: Hello ladies. It’s really nice to meet you guys.
Shelley/Bree: Nice to meet you.
HD: Oh wow…do you guys do that a lot…say the same thing?
Bree: She’s always copying me! (giving a playful eyeroll).
Shelley: Oh my goodness. Anyway.
HD: You guys are so cute. So, what made you guys want to work together?
Bree: I don’t think it really was a decision. It kind of just happened. I wanted to work behind the scenes in entertainment, helping Directors and Producers communicate better with and understand Deaf talent. I’m a Deaf Culture Merger; meaning I spend a lot of time educating the hearing community about Deaf culture and vice versa.
HD: Oh wow. That’s interesting.
Bree: Yeah, I wanted to help bridge that communication gap. One day I was having a conversation with a Casting Director who asked if I had ever considered doing a web- series and showing through that project, why this was so important. I was so excited,
that as soon as I got off the phone…I told my mom about it…and we started the project I Hear You.
Shelley: Exactly. And that pretty much started our working relationship together. From there, we began doing interviews together, doing videos and eventually hosting events together. It’s been a wild, fun, frustrating roller coaster. But I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else. I think we work well together.
HD: Why do you think you guys work so well together?
Shelley: I think the main reason is, we respect one another. We respect each other’s role in the other person’s life. I’m not just her mom now, but her business partner. We write together, we produce together, we travel together for events. All of that. So it’s important to understand that when we’re “writers”, I can’t be “mom”. I’m her writing partner at that time. And I have to respect that. But now…if a girl gets too crazy…I have to pull rank!
HD: Bree, what do you like most about working with your mom?
Bree: Well that’s simple, the fact that I can trust her. My mom would never take advantage of me and she’s always honest with me (even when it’s brutal). No one has my back the way she does. In addition to that, we think alike, so our creative process together is really powerful. We have great ideas individually but collectively we’re a force.
HD: You guys seem very close. Bree, how did you become a Deaf Culture Merger?
Bree: After taking ASL classes in college and learning about Deaf culture, I noticed there were a lot of misconceptions, miscommunication, and misunderstanding between the Deaf and the hearing. My passion was, and still is advocacy; bringing to light those
gaps, that so frequently happens between both communities. I felt compelled to fight for societal change and help shift the trajectory of how Deaf individuals are viewed; which includes entertainment.
HD: How you’re mixing that with entertainment.
Bree: I’m definitely trying.
HD: Shelley, outside of working with Bree, you’re a Life Purpose Coach. Is there a difference between a Life Coach and a Life Purpose Coach?
Shelley: They are very similar. A Life Coach helps you make progress in your life for fulfillment. As a Life Purpose Coach however, I connect those steps and progress to your life’s purpose, both personally and professionally.
HD: Sounds like you really go deep. Ladies, let’s switch gears a bit. Tell us a little about your project I Hear You?
Bree: I Hear You is a coming of age story about 5 college freshmen; 3 Deaf and 2 hearing who become an odd group of friends after being thrust into a class project. Through their friendship, they learn to navigate their cultural differences and language barriers while coming face to face with not only their external prejudices towards others,
but their internal prejudices as well. In the end, they find they’re more similar than different as they all strive for the same thing; finding their place and identity in the world.
HD: That’s really different. I’d watch! Are you guys working on any other projects at the moment?
Shelley: Yes. We have a couple more projects that we’ve been working on since the pandemic. Hopefully one of them will be in your living room soon. Maybe I Hear You.
HD: Fingers crossed! Ladies, what advice that you would give to mothers and daughter regarding their relationship?
Shelley: Be there for you daughter(s)…at the beginning of life. Build a solid, loving and respectful relationship from childhood. Allow your daughter to grow and for the relationship to shift. It’s not easy and some days…not fun, but if you grow with your daughter(s), while maintaining parent/child boundaries, you’ll find a beautiful friend in each other, when she’s older.
Bree: Daughters, respect the fact that your mom was a woman first before she was your mom. She’s a person just like you. There may be certain aspects in her life that she’s still struggling with and trying to sort through. Be present with her. Be kind to her and practice patience. If the relationship is toxic, respectfully set boundaries with each other
so that you both can become the best versions of yourselves and hopefully, implement healthy communication skills.
HD: This has been a fun interview. Tell our readers where they can find you?
Bree: You can follow our IG page, @ShelleyandBree. You can also follow our separate IG pages, @Bree.K.Jones and @ShelleyMechette. And you can follow me on Tik Tok at Bree.K.Jones.
Shelley: Readers can connect with me on FB: www.facebook.com/Shelley Meche’tte
website: Download a free copy of my ebook 5 Daily Happy
Habits: www.ShelleyMechette.com