Slowing down with Katja Kokko

Gabrielle Mirkin is the co-founder of Activist Manuka, the New Zealand-born wellness brand that has helped bring premium Manuka honey to a global audience. Before launching the company with her husband, Luke Harwood, Gabrielle spent years in New York as an Art Director at Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. A life-changing battle with Lyme disease led her back to New Zealand, where she turned to Manuka honey and other natural healing practices as part of her recovery. What began as a deeply personal journey eventually became Activist Manuka, a family-run company rooted in transparency, sustainability, and a profound respect for nature. Today, Gabrielle lives between California and New Zealand, where she continues to advocate for a slower, more intentional approach to beauty, wellness, and modern living. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jjchase.substack.com/subscribe

Originaire de l'Asie du Sud, Vinida est imprégnée d'une culture énergétique depuis son enfance. En tant quepraticienne spécialisée dans les soins du visage, elle apporte une approche consciente de la beauté qui célèbre leprocessus naturel de vieillissement sans s'y opposer.Forte d'une expérience de 20 ans au sein de Biologique Recherche, Vinida a perfectionné son expertise sous latutelle de Madame Allouche, la fondatrice de cette illustre marque française. Son éducation continue dans ledomaine de la beauté s'est enrichie grâce à des formations internationales à New York, Los Angeles et Dubaï, où ellea approfondi ses connaissances en sciences appliquées pour mieux appréhender le fonctionnement de nos cellules. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jjchase.substack.com/subscribe

Charles Brun is the co-founder of Izipizi, the Paris-based eyewear brand that has redefined how we think about reading glasses and everyday eyewear. What started as a simple idea has grown into an international company with teams across Europe and the United States. In this conversation, Charles shares his perspective on entrepreneurship, growth, and why success is less about reaching a destination and more about enjoying the process along the way. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jjchase.substack.com/subscribe

Allison Taylor is the co-founder of Le Prunier, the cult California beauty brand rooted in her family’s century-old plum farm. Founded alongside her sisters, Jacqueline and Elaine, Le Prunier transformed their heritage in sustainable plum farming into one of the most beloved skincare oils in the industry. Blending California wellness, family tradition, and modern luxury, Allison has helped build a brand that feels both deeply personal and globally influential. Known for its signature Plum Beauty Oil and minimalist approach to skincare, Le Prunier has become a favorite among editors, celebrities, and beauty insiders alike. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jjchase.substack.com/subscribe

Julia Parsons is the founder of Incredible Rising, a fine jewelry brand created to empower women to celebrate their milestones, ambitions, and successes through bold yet timeless pieces.The idea for the company came after Julia reached a major career milestone and searched for a luxury-quality ring to commemorate the moment. Unable to find a piece that truly reflected her achievement or resonated with her values, she decided to design the ring herself, ultimately creating the brand she wished had existed.To deepen her expertise in jewelry and craftsmanship, Julia moved to Paris to study at L’École des Arts Joailliers by Van Cleef & Arpels before continuing her studies at Gemological Institute of America in New York. During her time in Paris, she was mentored by leading jewelry designers and executives, refining her understanding of luxury design and artisanal craftsmanship.Drawing from her own experience as a woman navigating ambition and achievement, Julia created Incredible Rising as a brand for “rising women”, offering expertly crafted, made-to-order jewelry designed to honor personal evolution, resilience, and success. Today, between Paris and New York, she and her team work with exceptional artisans to create meaningful pieces that celebrate the power of modern women and the milestones they choose to honor. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jjchase.substack.com/subscribe

A true Taurus, Alexis has always been deeply attuned to the pleasures of the earthly realm— texture, aroma, ritual. Her love for the sensory world first led her into the art of fine wine, before evolving into a passion for skincare rooted in both nature and science.Her journey into cosmetic chemistry was a natural evolution & return to her childhood roots. She spent hours making lotions & potions from nature to treat her mother & friends. This desire would reemerge in adulthood where she became driven to create formulas that are high-performance while honoring the earth. Each product is a harmonious fusion of clean lab actives and lush botanicals, delivering clinical results without compromising the planet.Based in Miami, Alexis is a colorful fixture in the city’s vibrant art scene, having created bespoke fragrances for immersive installations at Art Basel. Her brand LILFOX lives at the intersection of art and science, beauty and sensorial experience. She doesn’t just formulate skincare—she curates magical tools of transformation to empower aestheticians, an industry of artists who’s canvas is skin. When not in her lab, Alexis is jetting around the globe in search of rich cultural inspiration and rare ingredients. At home, you’ll find her by the pool, immersed in Gong Master training or hosting candlelit alfresco dinners with her beloved pups. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jjchase.substack.com/subscribe

Lee Tilghman is a writer, creator, and former wellness influencer best known for her platform @leefromamerica. After becoming one of the early faces of online wellness culture, she stepped away from influencing to critically examine the industry, social media, and the relationship between identity and the internet. Today, she writes about digital culture, wellness, self-acceptance, and modern life with honesty and nuance through her Substack, Offline Time, and her podcast, How to Be Human. Her work explores what it means to pursue a more grounded, balanced, and human way of living, both online and offline. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jjchase.substack.com/subscribe

I have been thinking a lot about feeling good these past couple of months. As I have stepped into this new chapter of my life, becoming a mom, a role that honestly suits me so naturally and brings me a kind of happiness I had never experienced before, I keep reflecting on this idea that maybe life is actually allowed to feel good. Maybe we are allowed to enjoy it.And in all honesty, I have realized that can almost feel unfamiliar.Not because I am a negative person (at least I don’t think so!), but because I think many of us become so accustomed to operating through stress that peace can almost feel suspicious. There is something ingrained in us that believes there must always be a complaint to make or a reason to keep anxiety humming in the background. It can even feel easier to lean into chaos because it feels familiar, or even sometimes comforting.I have noticed that embracing an easier chapter of life actually requires intention. It requires trust. It requires resisting the urge to search for what is wrong when, in fact, things may simply be… good.This conversation came up so naturally when speaking to Cleo, the founder of Barrière and the guest on this week’s podcast. Cleo speaks so beautifully about being someone motivated by solving problems. It was what drove her throughout her fashion career and ultimately what led her to create Barrière. But what I love is that her approach to wellness is to make taking care of ourselves feel enjoyable, stylish, approachable, even fun.And I think that says something much bigger about where we are culturally right now.The most interesting wellness brands today are no longer selling punishment or optimization. They are selling the possibility of feeling better in a softer, more integrated way. They understand that health is not only clinical; it is emotional, aesthetic, social. Sometimes the small rituals we create for ourselves (a morning walk, a warm and comforting drink) are less about fixing ourselves and more about signaling to ourselves that we are worthy of care.That is the real luxury now: not constantly surviving ourselves. Not wearing exhaustion as an identity. But allowing ourselves to feel well, to feel supported, and to admit that happiness does not always need to be earned through struggle.Enjoy Cleo’s wisdom, and go buy Barrière, it is so good in every way.xx,JJ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jjchase.substack.com/subscribe

Journaliste, auteure et productrice, Ronith Cohen a créé des formats TV à succès, dont Belle Toute Nue, première émission body positive en France, et des documentaires et magazines de société qui ont transformé le regard sur les femmes. Elle a également dirigé des masterclasses santé et bien-être aux côtés d'experts.Co-fondatrice de Konenki.fr, premier média dédié aux femmes de plus de 45 ans, certifiée Coach Ménopause aux États-Unis et en formation à l'École Pratique des Hautes Études en Psychopathologies, elle travaille aujourd'hui à la croisée de l'écriture, de la psychologie, de la philosophie et de la narration.Speaker et conférencière, elle intervient en entreprise et dans des événements sur les grandes questions qui touchent les femmes : confiance, audace, leadership, invisibilité, âge et sexisme. Sa méthode : l'enquête journalistique au service d'apports théoriques solides et vérifiés. Parce qu'on n'a pas besoin de se réinventer. On a juste besoin de se lire avec justesse.Elle accompagne aussi les femmes avec des formats originaux qu'elle a créés : les marches immersives Walk Think Feel, co-créées avec Noémie Zeitoun, avec une conférence inspirationnelle en live ; les ateliers narration pour écrire son récit et reprendre le premier rôle, ; la Fresque de la Femme de plus de 45 ans pour les entreprises ; les webinaires thématiques ; et un accompagnement individuel pour celles qui veulent aller plus loin.@walk_think_feel [email protected] +33 6 09 86 02 12 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jjchase.substack.com/subscribe

Katja Kokko is a Finnish facialist, wellness expert, and the founder of Yin Your Skin and Djusie. With a background in yoga, particularly years of dedicated Ashtanga practice, her approach to beauty and wellbeing is deeply rooted in the connection between the nervous system, the skin, and emotional balance.She discovered Yin practices during a yoga retreat, at a moment when she felt deeply exhausted, and describes the experience as bringing an immediate sense of calm, almost as if it reached straight into her soul. That shift continues to inform her work today, shaping a more intuitive and restorative approach to skincare and self-care. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jjchase.substack.com/subscribe