Shea Rose’s Favorite Things

Photograph by Scott M. Lacey. Hairstyling by Nancy V. Brown. Makeup by Christy Lavallee. Wardrobe styling by Aishah Abdulbarr.

To see Shea Rose command the mike onstage with her blend of hip-hop, rock, and funk, you’d never guess she was once a shy teen growing up in Braintree. After enrolling at Berklee in 2007, Rose says she found that “performance and songwriting and being in front of an audience is really where my heart was and is.” Queen Latifah took notice, selecting Rose, who now lives in Mattapan, to be one of the faces of her CoverGirl Queen Collection. Rose then won a Boston Music Award in 2011, and has been dazzling audiences ever since. Here the singer, whose Kickstarter-funded EP, D.T.M.A., will be released this fall, shares her personal favorites.

PURVEYORS

Flowers › Fern Exotic Flowers.
Baked goods › Blue Frog Bakery. The chocolate croissant is exquisite.
Fish › Whole Foods.
Wine › The Urban Grape. I like it because you can do tastings—I’m a big shiraz person.
Cheese › Boston Cheese Cellar.
Ice cream › FoMu cookies and cream. Yay for vegan ice cream.
Jeans › Free People. All of their jeans have a little hippie flavor to them. They always have a bell-bottom or a ’70s vibe, and that’s what I love.
Jewelry › Mattei Galleria. I have a pair of stunning earrings from there. Their pieces are always fresh and elegant.
Gifts › Ten Thousand Villages. There’s a story for every product they sell.
Stationery › Papyrus.

SERVICE PROS

Tailor › Boulevard Cleaners. I’m very petite…. I’ve had a lot of bell-bottoms hemmed there.
Hairstylist › Nancy V. Brown does my hair for all of my photo shoots. She’s a creative artist, for sure.
Yoga instructor › Nina Hayes. She also makes vegan desserts—ask her after class.
Personal trainer › Jason Sibley-Liddle, at Healthworks. He’s the perfect trainer—not too pushy, not too light, and handsome, too.
Cobbler › Odessa Instant Shoe Repair.

DIVERSIONS

Band › Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Museum › ICA.
Style icon › Solange Knowles. I want to steal her closet.
New England getaway › Singing Beach, in Manchester-by-the-Sea.
City that makes you glad to come home to Boston › It’s a little more work, but everything you can find in New York you can really squeeze out of Boston—and you can breathe a little easier and the air’s a little cleaner.

THE LAST…

Movie you saw › Black Orpheus.
Concert you attended › D’Angelo, at the House of Blues.
Memorable restaurant meal you had › Salmon with pancetta, corn, and radicchio risotto, and the tomato gnocchetti with morel mushrooms, zucchini, house-made ricotta, and basil at Steel & Rye.
Splurge that was worth it › Staying at the Mandarin Oriental.

MUST-HAVES

Beauty product › Whipped body scrub from West Indian Soap Company.
Item of clothing › A warm and fluffy sweater. I’m always cold.
Drink order, alcoholic › The basil-grape mojito at Canary Square.
Drink order, non-alcoholic › The “Hive Alive” juice with bee pollen at Life Alive.
Takeout › Tofurky on focaccia from City Feed and Supply.
Travel essentials › Aldo high-heel wedge sneakers, an afro pick, Poland Springs water, Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick in “Bean There,” and Apple in-ear headphones.

FINDS

Green space › Franklin Park. It’s the closest all-green place to me.
Club › Foundation Room at the House of Blues.
Boutique › Cambridge Artists Cooperative.
Café › Ula Café.

Photograph by Joyce Lee. Prop styling by Richie Owings/Halley Resources