Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanelle Harrison.
Hi Shanelle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I don’t know if we can walk through this story! It’s more like a bumpy car ride with a boot on the tire! I’ve always loved the arts and creating from a very young age. It’s a spiritual connection for me to create a drawing or even teach a class! I graduated from Morgan State University in 2019 after changing my major to Visual Art in 2017. Let’s just say I ignored a very important part of myself for a long time. The funny thing about a passion or talent is that even when you try to suppress it, it will come back full force and say, “Hey you! Remember me?!”
Before pursuing a professional career as an artist, I pursued a career in nutritional sciences. Yeah, that’s a pretty big change in career paths, but the truth is I wasn’t happy or passionate about being a dietician or writing special meal plans. I originally wanted to be a traveling chef creating restaurants wherever I desired. Having completed courses in high school through a culinary program, I was right on track to achieve that goal. At the time, I chose to attend a traditional college because I believed the only path to make a decent and fulfilling living was by working in the medical industry or for the government. Yes, this is one path, but it’s not the only one. I knew I wanted to create a different path for myself and I’ve always imagined the possibilities!
My path comes from my foundation to use my god given gifts to serve and give back to the world. I owe my inspiration for serving children to my nieces and nephew, Caleb, Chloe, and Lailah as well as the amazing students I have had the pleasure to create alongside. They truly sparked my desire to create a children’s brand dedicated to inspiring young artists to pursue their creative ideas.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Like I said before! It’s been a bumpy car ride with a boot on the tire. The biggest struggle I’ve had is thinking I have to do everything by myself. I mean seriously! I’m speaking in regards to creating and branding Curious Colors.
Yes, I created my children’s books from front to back, but I learned how to create digital art and book layouts from my professors at Morgan State. Brandon Pierce, a fellow Morganite, tea business owner and photographer captured beautiful photos of the Curious Colors book for our original release! My web developer, Derrick Valentine, is such a talented individual! He really understands the vision I have for Curious Colors and the direction I want to go in. He designed and created the layout and graphics for my website. I am also grateful to the folks down at Uptown Press here in Baltimore for printing the first 100 copies of my books. Their team is friendly and very professional. I genuinely would not be where I am today without my team!
Another challenge for me was escaping imposter syndrome. Simply put this is when you doubt your abilities or question if you belong. This is especially common if you are doing something different from the crowd or challenging yourself in new ways. I had never written a book or knew anyone that did. The syndrome kicked in when I asked myself “Why would I write one?” There is a Dennis Kimbro quote that goes, “One thing you must put aside in order to fulfill your destiny is conformity.” Oh, that one shook my soul for sure! For me, it means that everything I do will not meet the socially accepted standard, but that’s not my problem! If it’s good for me and pushes my mission forward, then it’s an acceptable standard for me. I had to understand that different doesn’t mean deficient. It’s just different and that’s okay. It’s our differences that make us unique. I use this analogy with my students about everyone being a bit BLAH. Like if all of us were a black outline with a bunch of blah blah in the middle. We all spoke the same, walked the same, and nothing was different just blah. Do you want to live in the blah community? All of them opt for the option of uniqueness! That’s cool!
I’ve had many conversations with my mentors Oletha DeVane, Kenish Magwood, Guy Jones, Joyce Scott, Chris Thompson, and Saffell Gardner about my ideas and direction when I faced these challenges. Their encouragement plays a role in my resiliency. My brother Rodney has this amazing superpower where he can talk for 3-4 hours straight. Like when he gets going, he doesn’t stop! These conversations are usually about life, history, and experience. His insight directly impacted my choice to seek opportunities outside of my comfort zone.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The name of my business is Curious Colors! We are a K-5 children’s art education brand dedicated to providing quality art education materials to a diverse population of children for an affordable price.
First, let me tell you about the name Curious Colors. I’ve had many opportunities to mentor and teach children. Through teaching, I’ve learned just how curious children can be! They have so many great questions and are always looking to talk about what’s important to them! The playfulness and excitement children have for art is what I enjoy being around. The burning question my students would always ask in the middle of our discussions would be, “Can we color now?” I would always say to myself “they love their colors!” This is how Curious Colors happened.
I played with the idea of creating a children’s book after speaking with my sister, Jasmine (Instagram: @wild_child_dzigns), another amazingly creative jewelry designer, about an e-book she created. I knew I wanted to create a book that children could take their time with and study. Something colorful and vibrant just like them! I wanted to create something that merged my passion for art and teaching. The problem became how will I create something fun for children to learn, color, write, read, and speak. My solution was to create an interactive book that introduces shapes and colors. My first book was the Curious Colors Children’s Activity Book or as my students would say “the yellow book with colors!”
The Curious Colors Children’s Activity Book is a valuable interactive introduction to color and shapes for children! This 58-page activity book includes instructional learning pages, interactive worksheets, and a coloring book section. Curious Colors, geared for ages four and up, helps establish the basics for young children, starting with the three primary colors and then expanding into the secondary and tertiary. While children might already be familiar with basic colors, they may not be as clear about how other colors are created. Curious Colors lays out the basic framework and allows children to play within the pages to reinforce their knowledge of the colors and their relationships with one another.
Kids will come away with a better understanding of color than they receive from other simpler sources, but they’ll have no less fun in the process! In addition to teaching color, this book enhances creativity, promotes exploration, and develops fine motor skills while creating language structure for children through the use of shapes and instruction! Fine motor skills are essential for coordination between small muscles like fingers and hands enabling functions like writing, hand-eye coordination, and properly grasping small objects like pencils.
In reflecting on what I am most proud of, I am amazed at how many children have read my book. I get excited at watching their excitement about learning. I enjoy being a catalyst in their vast world of exploration and creativity. The feeling I get when a parent sends me a drawing their child did after reading my book or a video of their child reading it! It’s different! I feel fulfilled knowing families are being positively impacted by my books. Just knowing the quality time parents/guardians are spending with their children reading and drawing is really enough for me.
We currently have two books available! The original hard copy version of the Curious Colors Children’s Activity Book which also comes as a downloadable version. Our second book is Coloring Book 1. Coloring Book 1 includes ten creatively designed coloring pages for your enjoyment! Coloring Book 1 is available as a hardcopy or a downloadable coloring book which means you can reprint these pages and recolor as much as you want!
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
My father instilled the importance of learning a skill or trade. This is one of the most important lessons I have learned as a lifelong student. As an educator, it has been a lesson I teach my students. It just so turns out that art has many trades and directions I intend to explore!
I am always seeking to better myself as an artist and overall human being. I love to read books. I would definitely say my house is 60% books and 40% art! I really should be working at a bookstore with all the money I’ve spent on books! I think we underestimate how much of a privilege it is to have access to books or to just read! I am interested in art, motivational, business, psychology, and history-related books. I love the author, Dennis Kimbro. My favorite book from him is called Daily Motivations for African-American Success. I am currently reading The Perfect Day to Boss Up: A Hustler’s Guide to Building Your Empire by Rick Ross. It’s been pretty good! I am also no stranger to paying for a course or skill I want to learn! The best investment you will ever make is in yourself.
I have a few podcasts that keep me going during the week including On Purpose by Jay Shetty, Earn Your Leisure, High-Level Conversations by 19keys, Fresh Air hosted by NPR, Inside the Vault with Ash Cash, and Shaking the Table by Kenish Magwood. I watch a lot of ted talks too! I hope to work with each of these individuals at some point in my career.
Pricing:
- Hard Copy Curious Colors Books $25
- Downloadable Curious Colors Books $15
- Hard Copy Coloring Book 1 $8
- Downloadable Coloring Book 1 $6
Contact Info:
- Website: www.curiouscolorsbook.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curiouscolorsbook/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/curiouscolorsbook
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/curiouscolorsb
Image Credits
Brandon Pierce and Shanelle Harrison
