Today we’d like to introduce you to Shaila Martin.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Shaila. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The beginning of my journey into the beauty and nail industry all started in 2014. This was a pivotal time in my life where I knew my life was about to change. Coming out of a toxic relationship, knowing I would be a single parent with my first child at 33, was going to be an uphill battle. The last thing you ever want to do is disappoint your parents. Especially when your mother is a retired federal warden with over 20 years of service. Clearly, I had some big shoes to fill. Being the daughter of a well-respected warden, I had to come up with a life-changing plan. As I was just entering my second trimester, with my now five-year-old daughter Keilani, that I knew I was ready for a major shift. One day as I was meditating, I thought of a conversation I had with my best friend Carla Tarkington, who is a master cosmetologist in Nashville, TN. I remember her telling me that the beauty industry was recession-proof.
At this time, it was 2008, in the midst of a recession post the housing marketing crash of 2006. Suddenly, the light bulb went off inside my head. I had to create a business within the beauty industry, but what exactly? The first thing that came to mind was nails. I noticed a shortage of black nail techs and seen an opportunity to change the game. Once I decided to pursue a career as a nail artist, I immediately put things in motion. First, I started teaching myself, practicing on my own hands. I was staying with my mom at the time, so I used to go on the back patio to practice without having the house smelling like a full nail salon. It was winter, so temperatures were freezing or below some days. However, I was determined to learn this skill that I truly believed would transform my life. One would have thought I was crazy, seeing a six-month pregnant woman doing nails in 30-degree weather in the middle of December. This was my Rocky moment! Impossible did not exist in my mind.
My daughter entered into this world on May 26, 2015. One day before my 34th birthday. There’s no way possible I’m returning to my corporate job at IBM/Lenovo only after being a mom for six weeks. I realized going back to corporate life was a dead end. I needed freedom. Freedom to be myself. Freedom to be the creator and innovator that I am. I took my first step and moved to Atlanta to begin my new journey. This was it! I couldn’t turn back. After three months of working part-time gigs in Atlanta, I was introduced to a family of sisters that owned and operated a nail salon, Bling Nail Shop on Bankhead. I was extremely grateful to start my new career in a black-owned salon. After about six months, I moved to the west end inside of a hair braiding salon; however, I didn’t feel like it was the best fit for me. So I came back to Bankhead and set up shop at Key 2 Beauty hair salon.
Before I knew it, a year and six months had passed. Had a growing and steady clientele and my business was ready to expand. My clients have always pushed me to be the best nail tech in the city of Atlanta. I love the Bankhead neighborhood and it will always have a place in my heart because it’s where I started my journey. But I knew I had to climb to bigger heights. Remedy Salon & Suites had just opened downtown and a few people had highly recommended for me to go there. It didn’t take long but after a tour, I was sold. I moved into Remedy Salon Jan 2019, Superbowl week, which was also being held in Atlanta. All I could think was, “what a time to be alive!” There I was, downtown Atlanta in Remedy Salon, working accident amongst Atlanta’s elite stylists and barbers! I had hit a major accomplishment on my journey.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the biggest struggles I’ve had to face is not giving myself enough credit for even the smallest accomplishments. I’m extremely hard on myself because I want to be the best at what I love to do. As a nail tech, you want your clients to show off your work everywhere they go. So every set I do, my goal is to go “viral,” so to speak (laughs).
We’d love to hear more about your art.
I specialize in nail artistry. My nails are a work of art. Women come to me to give them something dope on their nails that they wouldn’t get from a regular salon. There’s nothing better than hearing a woman say when they sit in my chair, “Do your thang Shai Shai!” One thing my clients know about me is that there’s no limit to the amount of creativity behind each set of nails I do.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Ultimately, my faith in God has been the root to my success since the beginning. All I needed to do was be patient and stay down for the ride.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 9194027139
- Email: vipglitterz@gmail.com
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