In another life, Sarah Shelton was living in New York City and working at MTV. It was glam, but it was also a little... heartless—her words. Fast-forward and Shelton is now the owner of Girl Louie, brand management agency that focuses on creative storytelling for women-owned businesses. Her newest venture: a newsletter called Smart Girls STL where Shelton will curate information and resources about how to make a difference in St. Louis. She recently purchased a billboard on Southwest Avenue off Kingshighway proclaiming: “Smart Girls Live in St. Louis.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic began and St. Louisans started to quarantine, Shelton found herself craving connection. Then, when the Black Lives Matter movement re-emerged in our city after the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd in police custody, Shelton saw educational resources being shared on social media. “The newsletter came from this idea that everybody wants to help, everyone is trying to raise awareness and to become involved, but where can we find a central location of information where we can share with each other as a group,” she says. “It’s for women who are learning and growing and wanting to educate each other on how we can make change happen in our city.” St. Louisans can submit events and information to be shared in the newsletter, which Shelton curates. The first edition included a list of Black-owned businesses from For the Culture STL; an explainer of the Breonna Taylor cover of O, The Oprah Magazine; and information on the August 4 primary. (You can subscribe to the newsletter here.)
Shelton saw quickly the power of collective storytelling with Smart Girls STL. A woman reached out to tell her about a Zoom discussion on sexual assault, specifically in the restaurant industry, after allegations of sexual assault were levied against business owners in the Grove this summer. “That’s something I would never have been aware of because I don't follow every account—we don't know everything happening,” Shelton says. “What came from that was women coming out and speaking about their sexual assaults here in St. Louis. When you start to share stories, it starts to feel a little bit safe to come out and talk about things that might be uncomfortable...It shed light on other things that people experience in our city.”
Why focus on women specifically? Shelton cites the fact that women and people of color are being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. She also acknowledges that there will be mistakes. “It's important to have an environment where we can correct each other and learn from each other,” she says. “[We want to make] sure that it's a welcoming community. We know people will make mistakes, but we’re all trying to figure it out and grow and learn from one another.”
About the aesthetic: If you’d pay $100 to recover your old Mall Madness board game, this is the newsletter for you. That is to say, it’s very ’80s and ’90s, retro, punchy, nostalgic. In one graphic on Girl Louie’s Instagram, Michael Jackson and E.T., wearing photoshopped masks, embrace. The words, in a groovy font: “Friends wear masks for each other.” And it’s a little tongue-in-cheek, Shelton hints: “No one wants to sign up for a newsletter. How many newsletters are we asked to sign up for on a day-to-day basis? Just the idea of signing up for one feels very ’90s anyway.”
