Award-winning nail tech making waves in New York
Back in 2008, Sheena Heman was named number one nail technician in the entire Caribbean at a competition in Trinidad and Tobago when she was just 23 years old. The win gained her much popularity, including being interviewed on TVJ programmes Morning Time and Prime Time News.
A product of Mountain View, Kingston, Heman managed to excel to the top despite numerous challenges. She has not rested on her laurels and now owns Sheena Famous Nails Spa in New York, where she has been since 2019. Currently, the biggest challenge for the now 36-year-old is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced her to work from a private space rather than a salon.
“I have an assistant but we do not do walk-ins and we do not advertise our locations or anything. We do appointments only but things are going fairly good. My clients are very impressed by my work and I am still doing my thing,” she said. Heman said that although the nails and beauty culture has changed significantly since 2008, she tries to remain at the top of her game.
“Back then it was mostly French tips that were being done and my clients were mostly the girls who work at banks and air hostesses and so on. Nails were really done for special occasions. Mi never really have the hot party girls clientele but now persons are doing their nails every week and they want the designs so we really have to be creative,” she added.
Heman said her clientele grew significantly after being highlighted by the media after her win and she later branched off on her own and even registered her business called Famous Nails.
“I was sharing a space at Pulse at that time and one day I met Mavado and he recognised me from the interview and said I should call my business Famous Nails and I went ahead and registered the name,” she said. Heman said she later used a section of the house that her mother had given to her and her sibling and used as a bar. The bar, that she named Famous Lounge, birthed the party Famous Wednesday.
“It was a much talked about event and it gave break to several sound selectors. It was also there that Ikel Marvlus gave me the name Sheena Famous and that lifted my career to another level. We used to give away nail vouchers at the party and that too built my nail business,” she said.
As she reflects on her growth, Heman said she is extremely grateful for the stern piece of advice that she was given by her mother a year after she graduated from Vauxhall High School.
“My mother isn’t one to joke around and, as a result, all of her three children are managing well on their own. When I left school, she told me that I couldn’t just sit down like that and I had to do something with my life. That’s how I learnt the art of doing nails and that was the best advice ever!” she said.