Last month I got my hair done. It had been a little while since I sat in the chair, so it was high time I had my color touched up. Eileen is my stylist. I’ve known her since 2007, back when she was first starting out in Boulder. So, needless to say, I trust Eileen with my hair completely. But guess what, so does everyone else - so she is TOUGH to get an appointment with! Even as the manager of the salon, it’s tricky to get in with her. Since I couldn’t wait, I went to Michelle, one of our newer stylists in the salon. She gave me a killer balayage that day. And, I felt completely comfortable with her doing my hair, because I know the culture of our salon is one of collaboration, learning, and teamwork. Eileen is always there helping any stylist with color formulation on the spot, and will step in to train employees right in front of the clients. When we say we are a teaching salon, you will know this to be true by the lessons being taught every day alongside our best clients. And you know what? Our clients are picking up a bit of hair education along the way too.
Over the past year, it has become very clear who we are as a salon and why we attract the clients that we do. And we are SO THANKFUL for our loving and generous clients. We thought a blog post to expand on our culture and salon feel would be a great opportunity for the community to get to know us a little bit more.
One of Eileen’s favorite movies, Steel Magnolias, is an inspiration for the feeling of our salon. She grew up alongside her stylist mother, who had an in-home salon all throughout her childhood. This is where Eileen learned the value of human connection, community, and helping clients feel their very best. It’s these memories and ideas that set the tone for how we treat our clients when they are in the salon. We want every person to feel like they are our VIP and that we are there to give them the time and attention that they deserve! We want our clients to know that THEY ARE IMPORTANT to us and to the world we live in!
On any given day, this may look different depending on what services are being performed by our stylists. It could mean a client has three people doing an intake to brainstorm during the color consultation for a fun creative color project or color correction. It might mean that three different people work with the client while they are in, to make sure they are well taken care of in the busyness of the day and so they get the best matched stylist for the service they are in for. And of course, one of the clients’ favorite experiences is to have a double blow dry having two stylists power dry at the same time! In any case, our team is always collaborating and working together to service the client, but also to teach our newer stylists and apprentices along the way, so the art of hairstyling will continue on with each new stylist. These experiences enrich the client and stylist experience creating community and collaboration with each other.
Our apprenticeship program and our ever developing stylist staff are our most important assets. We take personal growth and development very seriously, which is why we think every day is a learning day and each moment can be a lesson in life. We hope that our clients love to hear the lessons that Eileen teaches along the way and that they feel empowered to take their own hair care to the next level as they learn more about the art and science of hair while getting their hair colored, cut or styled. We want our clients and our stylists to have fun and be excited when they are here! This is our work, but it brings us so much joy to help our clients feel their best and walk out our front door with huge smiles on their faces!