Chick Chat: Exploring Multiple Passions with Shema Love
Meet Shema. Local Healer. Art Dealer. Queen of Cozy. Sneaker Connoisseur. All Around Fly Girl.
Here at CNK, we’re all about highlighting and championing the women in the sneaker and streetwear community that inspire us daily. In a male-dominated industry, it’s important to showcase the women who are making a name for themselves and a difference in their respective communities, and we continue to be an advocate to tell their stories. It goes beyond just a fly pair of sneakers and a cute Instagram. With our CNK Chick Chat series, we speak with the everyday women who continue to do the work and elevate their respective spaces.
Introducing, Shema Love—nurse by day, artist by night. Still in her twenty-somethings, she has a well-written list of accomplishments in and outside of sneakers and streetwear and has no plans of letting up. Whether you know her through her art, have purchased one of her Cozy Creative hoodies, or may have seen her all around New York City as the face of Nike’s Air Max Day 2021, one thing that shines through everything she does is her passion. She speaks to all of her talents eloquently and shows that you don’t have to stay in one lane.
We spoke with Shema on a more personal level about how she manages her passions, her work as a visual artist, and how she continues to champion the women in her community with everything she does.
Get to know Shema Love
My name is Yeshemabet “Shema Love” Turner and I’m a multi-passionate visual artist, women’s sneaker/streetwear savant, and a registered nurse. I was born in Philly, lived in Jamaica but spent most of my childhood in Pecos, NM. Growing up, art and sneakers were an outlet for me to express myself to the world and come into my own, in a community where no one else looked like me.
So we have to ask you, what was the sneaker that made you fall in love?
The first sneaker I fell in love with was probably the Nike Air Force 1. My older brother always worked hard to buy the latest and greatest sneakers when we were kids and I always admired his collection. I got my first pair of name-brand shoes when I was 13 and they were the Jordan Team Elite 2 lows. I was so hyped to have a pair of Jordans (even though they were Team Jordans) that I wore them not only to play basketball but every day to school.
We love that your signature tagline you go by is “Local Healer and Art Dealer”, but how did it come about?
It’s a cool and catchy way to describe the duality of my passions. I have a nursing degree and have been a travel registered nurse for seven years, but I’m equally as passionate about my creative endeavors. I want people to realize we don’t have to be just one thing. We can give ourselves permission to live multiple lives in this lifetime.
It wasn’t until I moved to Los Angeles in 2018 for a travel assignment where I started to seek out more opportunities to collaborate and create more art. It was the first time where I had my own space, I didn’t have my normal cohort of friends, so I got to branch out and figure out exactly what my creative life would look like. I started the “Free Your Mind Series” while I was out there, and it became my first art collection where I started to sell pieces and promote myself on social media. That was also the shifting point where I realized I could do both nursing and my art.
I moved back to New York for a quick travel assignment there, but ended up tearing my ACL and had to stay longer than planned to get surgery. I couldn’t work, I had no job, and I definitely understood what a “starving artist” looked like. But during that time I launched the Cozy Creative and it really propelled me into eyes that hadn’t been on me as a creative and apparel designer.
As a full-time Travel Nurse and Visual Artist, talk about how you’ve managed to do both passions and ensure you’re still taking care of yourself.
Balancing it all isn’t easy and it’s something I’m still working towards on a daily basis. The Virgo in me loves to do it all but I’m learning how to better manage my time, develop boundaries in my daily schedule, and say no to opportunities that might exceed my limits, and graciously recommend someone else in my network. After playing sports all my life, I ended up going to the University of New Mexico on a track scholarship, while attending Nursing school full time. Balancing both showed me what it was like to have a full plate, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to eat it all. I learned that it's okay to have leftovers and save some of the work for later.
What’s your self-care routine when you need to check in with yourself? How do you manage burnouts as a creative?
When I start to feel uninspired, unproductive, or things just aren’t clicking like normal, that’s usually a sign that I need a physical and mental break. As creatives, there’s this expectation that we always have to be “on” but it’s difficult to produce meaningful work when you’re burnt out. I’ve been learning to give myself grace and take time to celebrate my success. I’ve implemented a new simple morning routine that involves yoga, reading, and gratitude journaling for ten minutes each before I even start scrolling on my phone. So far I’m on day 23 and I’ve noticed the difference! I also prioritize traveling, spontaneity, and time with family and friends to stay inspired.
“I'm not out here with millions of followers, we’re a part of the grind that happens behind the scenes. Everyone sees the finished product, but hearing other people’s stories and what all it took to get there is important to share.”
While we’re touching on being a visual artist, you’ve also done a lot of work within the sneaker and streetwear industry with your art as well. How has it been bringing together your art into the sneaker and streetwear realm?
I’ve always thought of my work as a visual artist as being synonymous with my work within the sneaker/streetwear community — whether that’s illustrating unique styles or designing capsule collections through my personal brand. I’m working towards more opportunities in the apparel and footwear design space because I feel like my art transcends through different mediums.
You were also a part of this year’s Air Max Day 2021, which we absolutely loved to see. Tell us about that experience with Nike and what that meant for you as a young, black woman in this space.
Air Max Day 2021 was a pivotal moment for me, where I was able to exercise my voice as a young, Black woman creative on a huge platform. It was a dream come true. When I was approached to do this, I really thought hard about how I could maximize the opportunity and it came down to representation. So I sat down with the Nike NYC team and told them I wanted to create something prolific, bigger than me. Although I’m still breaking through in this industry, I wanted to prioritize community and champion, other people, along the way. With this in mind, we created a virtual show titled “New York Nights w/ Shema Love” that included a full cast of Black womxn, from varying industries and backgrounds. Together, we had an authentic discussion around community, art, fashion, sneakers, lifestyle, and empowerment — straight from the source and with the whole world watching. That’s never been done before.
“I worked for Nike Retail when I was sixteen, I would have never imagined being on a billboard in the middle of New York. I grew up in a household where we shared hand me down Payless shoes, not Nike. So I understand what type of impact that made for our community.”
For the everyday women with 9-5 jobs, those who own businesses, and who have a platform in the sneaker and streetwear space, what advice would you give them to continue the conversation of inclusivity and allyship for women in this space?
It may sound simple but you have to use your voice. Advocate for your ideas and demand the respect you deserve in your respective industry. We also don’t have to look to major platforms for validation or to be a part of the conversation. We can start our own conversation. It doesn't have to fit the agenda, it doesn't have to be on-trend, it doesn't have to be anything you don't want it to be, just be who you are unapologetically and let the world see. Social media has been a useful platform for community building and self-expression. People will eventually have no choice but to listen, and if it’s coming from a BIPOC woman, chances are we’re usually right (Haha).
As you continue your journey in Nursing, Art, and within the sneaker and streetwear industries, what do you hope to do next? What do you hope to leave as your legacy?
I want my art and impact to be remembered beyond my lifetime. My next step is creating experiential galleries all around the world that encompass fashion, art, and wellness FOR WOMEN, BY WOMEN. I hope people remember that I did the work; that I was a vessel and a voice that inspired and created opportunities for people who look like me. I want young Black girls to look at the work I’ve done and say I can do that and more. We’re disrupting a system that wasn’t originally designed for us and living our ancestors' wildest dreams.
KEEP UP WITH SHEMA LOVE ON TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, AND HER WEBSITE SHEMALOVE.COM.