Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanae Davis.
Hi Shanae, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m the owner & operator of Cotton Candi Colors, a black owned, woman ran nail salon located in the heart of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY. Our salon offers a variety of services such as mani/pedi’s, barbering, hair braiding, waxing, and tattoos. I’m 28 years old and a mother to a beautiful 8-year-old girl. I had my daughter at 20 and that’s when the fire in me to succeed and provide the best life possible for my daughter and I started to burn inside of me.
Prior to opening my salon, I worked for the Department of Education for a few years. I started in the classroom as an assistant then quickly worked my way up to obtain an administrative title. I was the youngest individual in the entire city to hold such a title in the Department of Education. Although I had a great career at a young age, I began to realize that the work I was doing wasn’t fulfilling at all. I got into education to be the individual I needed as a child, to other children. I wanted to make a positive impact on the lives of the youths in my community. However, the higher I climbed up professionally, the more I discovered that less and less individuals had the same drive and motivations that I did. My work became draining, and I began to feel very limited financially as well as in my work environment.
This is when I decided to go to nail school on the weekends. I had no real plan or even a stable sitter to commit to the schedule, but prayer is powerful so I prayed and asked god to make a way. Four months later, I graduated my nail program at the infamous “Christine Valmy International” in Manhattan, NY. After receiving my credits I found myself delving back into my 9-5, which started to feel like a chore rather than work. My best friend began to see a change in me and encouraged me to go for my nail technician’s license. After about a year of ignoring her, I decided to go because she literally dragged me out of work and accompanied me to the testing site. She was my model so she sat through the entire practical exam with me.
The next exam was the written exam. I passed both on the first try. A year later, I was still in this career and work environment that I began to hate. After weeks of crying and praying. I went into work, packed up my belongings, and resigned from my “career”. At the time, I had no plan and no direction of where to go or what to do next. I just had faith in the lord and a dream. Three months later, I opened up my salon on the exact date that our nation ordered a worldwide lock-down due to the coronavirus. I was so scared and sad. I wasn’t sure if my salon would withstand something my generation has never seen before, a global pandemic. God showed our and showed up because this March we will be celebrating our 2 year anniversary at Cotton Candi Colors. Today, I can say that I am so happy that I chose to trust god and follow my dreams.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road by any means. Aside from all of the challenges I’ve faced as a first time business owner. I am a black female business owner and that comes with many struggles of its own. My grand opening date was set for March 20, 2020, the same day NYC went into a mandatory lock-down. No one knew when it would be lifted and consumers worldwide were afraid to shop, spend money, or be around other people because of the virus. I’ve experienced many things that other black owners in different industries that I know have also experienced such as issues with staffing, finding trustworthy employees, marketing, promo, etc.
We’ve been impressed with Cotton Candi Colors, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Cotton Candi Colors is a black owned nail salon located in the heart of Crown Height, Brooklyn. We specialize in nail care. We also offer a wide variety of nail services such as mani/pedi’s, acrylics, dip, builder gel, etc. What sets my salon apart from other salons in the area, is the other services we provide such as barbering (female barber), hair braiding, waxing, teeth whitening, and tattoo services. We are known for being the “One Stop Shop” in our area. We are also known for our welcoming environment, once you step into our establishment, you’re now family and will be treated as such.
We are also known for educating our clients on the products that we use. EMA is harmless to our skin, however, “traditional” salons today use MMA although it is banned for nail enhancement use. My salon strictly uses EMA nail products and we enlighten and educate the clients who have visited other salons and have been exposed to MMA products. What I’m most proud of in regards to my brand is the respect that and love that we receive from so many people. Simply for the work we do in our community.
We don’t only provide beauty services, we pour into our community by way of annual Thanksgiving drives, winter wishes for struggling children at Christmas time, cuts and braids for struggling children in our community, and a school initiative program that will soon launch. This initiative will teach profitable skills to high school seniors in our community. that they can use in college settings in order to financially provide for themselves. I’m mostly proud of the positive impact that my brand has and will continue to have on the residents of our community. I want readers to know that we are here to help, promote, enlighten, and do the absolute best we can do for our people.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
MY favorite childhood memory would have to be running around my father’s old restaurant “Four Seasons” with my brothers and spending the entire day jumping rope in the street with my friends.
Contact Info:
- Email: cottoncandicolors@gmail.com
- Website: www.definitionechelon.com
- Instagram: @cottoncandicolorsnailspa
Image Credits
Cotton Candi Colors
