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

Shakira , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

So, my mom came to me one day with the idea that she wanted to sell purses. She mentioned to me that she wanted to eventually launch a boutique and asked if I’d be interested. At first, I was like nope lol I was totally uninterested. I had worked in retail for a while, and I just wasn’t passionate about it at all until one day when I decided to take a suitcase filled with purses to work and my colleagues loved every single one. I came home and told her ok let’s do this lol I want to sell more purses. We literally started with a single idea, that was in the month of September/ October 2012 by November 2012 we hosted our very first “Kouture Party” a home shopping event, it was intimate, fun and we completely sold out. We began hosting more parties at ladies’ homes and our clientele grew tremendously. All from selling purses who would have thought that we would grow into a full brand over the past 10 years.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Hey! I am Shakira Johnson, Owner of Kira’s Kouture Boutique and Founder of All Kurves Matter. I am a Survivor, Coach, Influencer, Brand Owner, Co-Author and Advocate.

All Kurves Matter started out as an idea that I shared with my mother who was also my business partner. Both my mom and I have been “Plus Size” all our lives and with time we both grew to fall in love with ourselves just as God had created us so it was quite natural to want to create a platform that would instill confidence and celebrate women of all shapes and sizes. All Kurves Matter started out as an extension of the Kira’s Kouture Brand and would eventually bloom into a dynamic women’s movement.

For many years I had been working in the Fashion and Retail Industry, while working behind the scenes I quickly learned how society’s beauty standards impacted the way that women viewed themselves. I remember working in a full-figured Fashion Show and one of the models who was probably a size 6 expressed to another model that she felt inferior being a part of the show because she didn’t have “enough curves” while other models there were wishing they were thinner. As I scanned the room, I remember women scrutinizing themselves and it sparked a thought they were all beautiful in their own unique way and “All Kurves Matter”.

We are committed to equipping, empowering, and investing in kurve queens. Our elite organization fosters sisterhood and self-investment. We provide mentorship, personal development, collaborative opportunities, resources and support. We serve a community of unapologetically Kurve Queens who are self-aware. We are committed to serving the community while Instilling confidence in women and teaching them the power of their own Krown. We are a Kurve Queen Movement spreading like a wild fire igniting confidence in women with kurves across the globe.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Being a brand owner had afforded us the opportunity to first establish a target audience of women. However, when it came to launching All Kurves Matter, if I could be quite honest, I literally had no idea what direction I wanted to take the brand in. I just knew that I wanted to roll up my sleeves and get started. My mom was always up for any challenge I’d brainstorm with her on numerous ideas and together we prayed about which ones to pursue. When it came to All Kurves Matter we agreed that this would be my brainchild, so I spearheaded the project.

First, we started with a photo shoot featuring roughly 8-10 women of all shapes sizes and nationalities. All these women had modeled for us in previous Fashion Shows that we had hosted. The theme of the shoot was “Kurve Queens” (pronounced cur-vy) which is how we currently refer to all our clients. Next, we used the photos on our social media platforms and our website to create a buzz. Soon people would book our Boutique Brand for fashion shows because people started noticing our initiatives for spotlighting women with Kurves. We would create engaging posts using their photos and would create various quotes that focused on confidence and body positivity. Then In February 2020 I called my mom in the middle of the night and told her that I wanted to create an interactive Facebook group and name it All Kurves Matter after our brand. We had already started creating merchandise with the All Kurves Matter logo and I wanted to start the group and invite as many women as possible to join. Consistency is key! We were consistent with the Facebook group and now we have started adding additional social media platforms to continue to create awareness for the brand and movement. We also invested in various tools such as Canva and RIPL to create content that would entice our followers. We attended social media training presented by Facebook which allowed us to learn about the various features on Facebook and Instagram. This helped us to further foster engagement. Currently, Planning is crucial when building your audience. Create a feed that will encompass you, your brand and your brand’s mission, be authentic and consistent and people will be drawn to whatever it is that you are promoting.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My Mother and I first started our brands together in 2012. She was the visionary and I was the executor! We worked alongside each other through and through. We shared many highs and endured many lows. We built our brands on Faith. We put God at the center of every decision and because of his faithfulness we persevered. In November of 2021 My mom became sick and went into the hospital. I remained private and only shared what was going on with my family and a handful of my closest friends. No one truly understood the detriment of what was happening. My mom laid in the hospital for a total of 18 days. It was the longest I had ever gone without being able to see her in person, touch her face, kiss her or just be with her. We had been together the entire time throughout the pandemic encouraging each other and we were just about to celebrate her official retirement when she became ill. I was only able to speak to my mom on Facetime and I would have never imagined that our last time would be the last time I’d ever hear her voice. My mom passed away on November 20, 2021, and my life would never be the same.

Losing my mom is something I battle with day in and day out. She is the reason I am the woman many have come to know love and respect. She instilled so much in me and molded me into the Boss that I’ve become. Being resilient was a choice. I could have become so overwhelmed with grief that I could have walked away from everything that we built and was working towards, but I can always remember her telling me to keep the faith, keep trusting in God and keep going. I have struggled throughout this entire year because little did I know that my mom’s death was only the beginning of many more deaths that would soon follow. In March 2022 I lost my grandmother whom I was her caregiver, Then in April I lost both my stepmom and my best friend. Just as I was trying to overcome blow after blow I lost my husband in August. Every day I wake up I choose, I choose myself, I choose my faith in God, I choose my beautiful children and I choose to serve in business. This journey has been filled with great sadness and a lot of loneliness, yet my work is not yet done. I am carrying the torch not just for me but for my mom. I am grateful to those who continue to support our brands and our movement especially since I am in my most vulnerable state. I owe every bit of my endurance and strength to God.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shopkkb.us/allkurvesmatter
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allkurvesmatter/?hl=en&__coig_restricted=1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allkurvesmatter

Image Credits
Keystone Productions and Jazzy Studios