Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Nelson.
Hi Shannon, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I moved to Dallas 7 years ago in hopes of going to cosmetology school and paving my way in the field of my passion. After graduating from Ogle Hair, Skin and Nails in 2016, I worked in JCPENNEY Salon Instyle for a little over a year and I knew I wanted to take a more independent avenue than the corporate salon route I had taken. Working as a stylist on my own was all I knew from years of being a self taught hairstylist in Chicago, Illinois.
Naturally, I began the task of expanding my personal brand and branching out from my current employer to establish my own clientele in the DFW. While networking and brainstorming with a few like minded individuals, I met Maegan Johnson Figueredo. Maegan is a self taught hairstylist who dreamed of starting a Buisness creating Custom Handmade Human Hair Units and selling quality hair extensions. She and I exchanged ideas and discussed future goals and passions and it was magic from that point on! We birthed a brand that provided inclusion and pride for Brown Girls who wanted extensions that resembled their own textures and curl patterns. Custom Crowns Culture LLC. has provided quality extensions and Handmade Custom Units to customers across the nation for the past 2 years with hopes of expanding to apparel and accessories in the near future.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has not been smooth for Custom Crowns Culture LLC. The first challenge was establishing trusted vendor connections to provide our quality extensions. Research, patience, money and determination allowed us to locate the quality extensions we were in need of. Once we found our vendor, it took time to groom a great working relationship between us and our international partners. Another struggle we had was getting people to believe in our vision the way we did. We both had friends and family who were willing to support but getting them to invest financially was a completely different story! Once we learned how to market ourselves and attract our target audience, we were able to start seeing sales and watch our business fund itself over a course of time.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Custom Crowns Culture LLC. is a movement. My business partner and I wanted to show the beauty in textured hair and create a sense of pride amongst women of color that allowed us to embrace what our texture looks like naturally. Too often we saw women wearing textures that didn’t naturally resemble our own being gloried in the media for their straight tresses. Though women can rock anything boldly and proudly, we decided to highlight the beauty of our own curls to show that the textures we were blessed with naturally were definitely good enough.
Custom stands for Changing Universal Standards to Orchestrate My own Crown! With that being said we are proud to offer extensions and handmade custom wigs that resemble the beautiful curls and coils of women of color and promoting the beauty of what we were naturally crowned with. We are most proud of changing the standard and educating our clients and customers on how to love and care for textured curls proudly and confidently.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
For us, success has been defined by the number of people we can reach in a positive light. Whether you support us financially, sharing a social media post or by passing out our card we feel proud that we have touched your hearts and engaged your mind.
Contact Info:
- Email: customcrownsculture@gmail.com
- Website: www.customcrownsculture.com
- Instagram: @customcrownsculture
- Facebook: @customcrownsculture
