By Becky Raspe
When Kait Turshen decided to open SLFMKR, a curated clean beauty and self-care shop at the Van Aken District in Shaker Heights in 2020, it was because it was something she wanted and needed but did not exist.
“I started my journey of clean while living in New York and found myself bouncing from store to store on the weekend to pick up various clean beauty and self-care items I was using at the time,” she says. “The errands were endless. When I moved to Cleveland in 2018, I was then relying on either ordering most of my personal care items online or picking them up on trips while back in New York.”
Realizing she couldn’t be the only Clevelander having this problem, she took to the drawing board – and SLFMKR was born. But why Van Aken District? Turshen says the area “immediately felt like home.”
“We found ourselves driving across town frequently to spend time at Van Aken,” she recalls. “Eventually, we moved to Shaker Heights and found ourselves eating at Van Aken nightly during our kitchen renovation. When the (COVID-19) pandemic hit and we were still in lockdown, I often biked to Van Aken with our daughter as an outing and I would envision SLFMKR there each trip.”
Now two years into the business, Turshen says SLFMKR is unique due to its “incredibly personal, individualized approach” to clean beauty and self-care.
“We are more than just another beauty store,” she says. “Our team is trained to go beyond a sales associate role but rather help to curate an individualized approach for every customer, skincare concern and self-care goal.”
For those first-time visitors to SLFMKR, Turshen says don’t be afraid to explore – that’s what being self-made is all about.
“We believe in redefining the concept of what it means to be self-made in today’s society,” she says. “Rather than being defined by your wealth, celebrity, social status or even social media following, we believe that being self-made is to achieve success in your personal health and well-being.”
SLFMKR is at 20146 Walker Road.