RIP Titi Branch

[LadyFunkenstein]

She was the co-owner of the hair salon I went to when wearing my hair natural for about 8 years or so. She was in charge of products, and her sister was the stylist.

She killed herself.

I saw a WaPo story on my FB newsfeed. No one here knows who she is but RIP Titi. She was a wonderful woman.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/15/titi-branch-co-founder-of-miss-jessies-natural-hair-care-line-t-suicide-at-45/

Titi is on the left:

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/headshot2.jpg

Me when they were doing my hair:

I am so sad and keep crying..

 

[IrezumiKiss]

WHOA.

I can't believe this. I know of those two, the Miss Jessie's hair products women.

Oh man. I'm reading on my Twitter feed that she was suffering from deep depression. Had no idea. Last I heard, they were really doing good biz with Miss Jessie's. Mental ish is a bitch, no matter how successful you are or become.

R.I.P., Titi.

 

[Que]

I am sorry for your loss. Back when I had hair, I used to travel a long way to have my hair cut in the same place I had it done since about 1987. Not because of how they cut my hair, but because they were family to me.

I understand how connected you must have been to her.

 

[unregistered]

 

[LadyFunkenstein]

WHOA.

I can't believe this. I know of those two, the Miss Jessie's hair products women.

Oh man. I'm reading on my Twitter feed that she was suffering from deep depression. Had no idea. Last I heard, they were really doing good biz with Miss Jessie's. Mental ish is a bitch, no matter how successful you are or become.

R.I.P., Titi.

I am crying and crying and crying.

I first learned of them with a weird ad in the back of a local paper. About a magical curling pudding. They only sold the products out of the salon.

I became a fan. Miko did my hair.

Sometime around 2006 or so they started fighting about the business and split up. Got back together and took the company national, first Target then everywhere else.

Titi and Miko ran a great salon, you never waited more than 15 minutes. Titi would remember me and say, "Still hitting that gym, funk huh?" And we would talk about the distribution business. Titi was a sponge, had do distribution experience yet still took things nationally pretty quickly.

Their salon was in Bed Stuy until 2010 or so when they moved to Grand in Soho.

Depression is a bitch.

she never seemed like she was in pain,

 

[LadyFunkenstein]

I am sorry for your loss. Back when I had hair, I used to travel a long way to have my hair cut in the same place I had it done since about 1987. Not because of how they cut my hair, but because they were family to me.

I understand how connected you must have been to her.

That is exactly right.

 

[Noor]

That is so sad. I am so sorry for your loss, and also that someone so talented died so young by her own hand. She sounded so cool.
I have had the same stylist for 25 yrs so I understand how it is to find a salon that not only works with you but also people who click with you.
Great pictures and hair..
Hugs

 

[Disgustipated]

"points all her own sitting way up high, Way up firm and high.
A little Bob Seger there...

Only you, man. Only you.

Sorry you lost a friend, funk.

 

[SkAoUt]

WHOA.

I can't believe this. I know of those two, the Miss Jessie's hair products women.

Oh man. I'm reading on my Twitter feed that she was suffering from deep depression. Had no idea. Last I heard, they were really doing good biz with Miss Jessie's. Mental ish is a bitch, no matter how successful you are or become.

R.I.P., Titi.

Amen.

It's a damn shame is what that is. Sorry for the loss of your friend.

 

[ms_ann_thrope]

Is being a fan the same thing as being a friend?

 

[IrezumiKiss]

I am crying and crying and crying.

I first learned of them with a weird ad in the back of a local paper. About a magical curling pudding. They only sold the products out of the salon.

I became a fan. Miko did my hair.

Sometime around 2006 or so they started fighting about the business and split up. Got back together and took the company national, first Target then everywhere else.

Titi and Miko ran a great salon, you never waited more than 15 minutes. Titi would remember me and say, "Still hitting that gym, funk huh?" And we would talk about the distribution business. Titi was a sponge, had do distribution experience yet still took things nationally pretty quickly.

Their salon was in Bed Stuy until 2010 or so when they moved to Grand in Soho.

Depression is a bitch.

she never seemed like she was in pain,

I was still living in Bergen/Park Slope in the mid-aughts when they built the Target there and I was down the street from it. I think I remember seeing their stuff there. Also I think I remember seeing a Miss Jessie's subway poster/ad with their faces on it back during that time — not only in Brooklyn but in the city as well — and that made me research them out on the web. I was immediately impressed how the sisters were making their dream work out from the bottom up.

Apparently this happened on the 5th and I suppose the family made it public early this morning. Many in the Twitter feed on Titi are expressing how she and her sister inspired them. Devastating loss of a talented, able and beautiful person.

 

[Kitty]

Is being a fan the same thing as being a friend?

They did her hair...
But it could be. If Daniel Radcliffe the guy who played Harry Potter died, I'd be very depressed.

 

[LadyFunkenstein]

I was still living in Bergen/Park Slope in the mid-aughts when they built the Target there and I was down the street from it. I think I remember seeing their stuff there. Also I think I remember seeing a Miss Jessie's subway poster/ad with their faces on it back during that time — not only in Brooklyn but in the city as well — and that made me research them out on the web. I was immediately impressed how the sisters were making their dream work out from the bottom up.

Apparently this happened on the 5th and I suppose the family made it public early this morning. Many in the Twitter feed on Titi are expressing how she and her sister inspired them. Devastating loss of a talented, able and beautiful person.

Yes, you saw their products in Target. And yes you saw subway posters. At that point they were still working in a brownstone in Bed Stuy, off Nostrand, I think it was Putnam or something close. They did indeed build that business from the ground up with a lot of hard work and elbow grease. They were also very expensive, each visit cost me $300; I went quarterly. I didn't mind the high price and in fact I was happy to pay it in support of a worthwhile family business. So did many others... occasionally we clients would urn into each other on a subway or on the streets and would give each other the subtle nod: you too are a Miss Jessie girl.

I met them prior to the products, and remained a client through the launch until a year after Target. I chatted with Titi about business often early on, because of my wholesale background and experiences with US distribution. (I am not saying I had anything to do with their successful launch, not at all. I don't know that category.)Those two worked very, very hard for their successes and are true inspirations to everyone with a dream. They also pretty well reinvigorated the market for natural hair care products, which before they came along was just Royal Crown. Thanks to their success, retailers across the country now stock a variety of products for all hair types because they finally see the market is there. They took the baton from Madam CJ Walker and ran with it. And in fact improved because their products are about working with what you have, not changing it.

I remember a day when I lived upstairs from my sister in Bed Stuy. My niece, about 14-15 at the time, had a group of her girlfriends at the house. I was chatting with my sister for a bit before going up to my apartment, when I noticed the girls whispering and staring at me. Finally my niece approached me to say, "My friend wants to know how you do your hair like that." I said, "Oh, this is Miss Jessie curly pudding." Her friend squealed, "Oh My God I have always wanted to try that! But it's too expensive." so I brought her up to my apartment and styled her (natural) hair with it. She loved it. So I gave her the whole jar, which cost about $50.00. Never in my life have I made a person so happy, she cried, she jumped up and down, then ran downstairs to show everyone.

RIP Titi!

 

[Wings]

I'm sorry For your loss. I use Jessie products exclusively, not that that matters but I do know who they are.

 

[Wife of Bath]

I'm sorry for your loss. .

For what it's worth, you are gorgeous. Just throwing that out there.

 

[LadyFunkenstein]

I'm sorry For your loss. I use Jessie products exclusively, not that that matters but I do know who they are.

Matters a lot!

I'm sorry for your loss. .

For what it's worth, you are gorgeous. Just throwing that out there.

Thanks.

 

[rimmy]

Sorry for your loss, funk.

 

[pink]

I am so very very sorry.

 

[LadyFunkenstein]

Really I am sorry for her sister's loss. What must she be going through right now?

 

[Que]

I remember a day when I lived upstairs from my sister in Bed Stuy. My niece, about 14-15 at the time, had a group of her girlfriends at the house. I was chatting with my sister for a bit before going up to my apartment, when I noticed the girls whispering and staring at me. Finally my niece approached me to say, "My friend wants to know how you do your hair like that." I said, "Oh, this is Miss Jessie curly pudding." Her friend squealed, "Oh My God I have always wanted to try that! But it's too expensive." so I brought her up to my apartment and styled her (natural) hair with it. She loved it. So I gave her the whole jar, which cost about $50.00. Never in my life have I made a person so happy, she cried, she jumped up and down, then ran downstairs to show everyone.

RIP Titi!

That story really touched me.

May I suggest you jot that down along with some of your other remembrances and send it to the family? I have found that at times of bereavement people are hungry for the stories of how the departed touched lives.

 

[evesdream]

Her poor sister.
How awful.
When I got to the city early this year I went looking for good product (my old favs were all local) and Miss Jessie's was recommended so I went looking. I was surprised to see that it was available at the Duane Reade and in the correct section of the store to boot (and not on the bottom row, either). Still using it.

That story really touched me.

May I suggest you jot that down along with some of your other remembrances and send it to the family? I have found that at times of bereavement people are hungry for the stories of how the departed touched lives.

Truth.