We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nia Shanay a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nia , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I started by being inspired by other artist’s and watching their process. I learned that the foundational structure of your art in any form is very significant.
I honestly didnt wish to speed up my learning process.
I finally accepted and found a process that works for me and with learning anything I’ve learned to make friends with time and consistency.
My first skill was learning how to cut hair, once I learned how to do it the right way it showed me that people would always support my work because I was good at what I do and I completed the task.
The main obstacle that stood in my way was me.
I had to learn to unlearn and relearn a lot of negative habits and patterns to get better results based off the decisions I was making.
Once I started changing the way I was thinking, began putting myself around other like-minded artists and entrepreneurs and begin to read more it shifted my perception of how I looked at my problems.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

My name is Nia and I’m originally born and raised in New Jersey and now residing in Miami. I got into the Arts from growing up in it. A lot of the women in my family are involved in many forms of art so they were my first introductions and inspirations. I’m a freelance barber full time and I paint, make jewelry and create other various forms of art in between my schedule. I’ve always been one to work with my hands, my father actually calls me a master craftswoman. My goal for clients is to feel and be inspired to become the best versions of themselves.
That can be from creating a relaxing atmosphere or creating a piece or speaking motivation that will resonate with them on their journey of healing and self discovery.
What sets me apart is my story, everything I create is an inspiration of what I saw growing up around me, my visions and my own personal experiences.
I’m most proud of watching my brand bloom over time based off the effort and footwork I put into it to grow. I’m most proud to watch others evolve from anything I’ve poured into them.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best way to support arts is to share their business with others, buy their products and leave reviews. That’s literally the best way to support artists lol

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Yes there is a book I’ve been reading by Zig called Ziglar on selling it’s been an essential read in my library. I’ve been blessed with mentors and even clients that have passed through and poured their wisdom into me as well.
For motivation I would recommend Les Brown.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.peaceofpurpose.com
• Instagram: @Peaceofpurposeshop
• Linkedin: Nia Shanay
• Youtube: Peace of Purpose
• Other: www.styleseat.com/barbernista

Image Credits
Self Portraits