Cheers to a new year.....

Weeeeeeell, it's definitely been a while.

The holidays have come and gone and everything has slowed down a bit. I can hear myself think and all the thoughts, gratitude, and sweetness have settled into a more organized manner enough for me to finally write this blog that has been swirling around in my heart and mind for weeks lol..........

The Mane Room turned 5 in September and recently I sat and thought about the timeline, the mini eras, and the changes we've gone through. I almost can't bring myself to say "ups and downs" or "turning points" because I feel like there has never been anything other than a steadiness in my heart for this place but they are definitely there. I've looked back and reflected on the past 5 years a lot coming into the new year. In 5 years we've added more to our menu, we've rearranged the place a few times, we've welcomed new products and shelved a few too, we've added stations just to take them back down. We've seen trends change, trends die, and trends circle back around with a fresh new outlook, my clients have watched me change where my station is 400 times, we've watched town change a little bit and we've all made some pretty interesting memories together along the way....like when I accidently cut and catapulted someone's mask clean off their face and we made the collective decision to frame it, the time my client took part in taping scissors to a broom to pop the bubble in the ceiling from all the water damage. Then there's that time someone drove right into the front of the salon and we got a new door. All these little moments are just the pulse of our life, but then there are the ones that not only lie in the heart of the salon but have molecularly built the heart of the salon; like that time we had to move from 214 Wyoming Avenue to 139, or that time we got to put on Elysium Couture, oooohhh but that time when my right hand woah-man, one of my biggest hype chicks ever finally took up a space behind the chair with me at The Mane Room and 1 turned into 2 and then 2 turned into 3 and then 4 and then 5, back to 4, up to 6 and back to 5 again and all the math in between. There was that time in between the big move when we all took a field trip into NYC (and all the field trips in between) for the International Beauty Show and Hairbrained Awards show. We got ourselves all hyped up, we partied, we laughed, and we learned. We came back to a whole new salon with a whole new view of downtown and a whole new level of excitement. That's about the time the slow burn really ignited and we took off a little bit. We've hit some milestones that live rent free in my heart and have never once been looked over without gratitude and savor. When we placed platinum on community votes we were honored to even rank among the amount of talent, skill and other badass salons in the area, when we hit 1500 5 star reviews (and 40 lesser ones) there was the awe that we had gotten to service that many people, that that many people chose The Mane Room and that they wanted to share their experience, and when Fresha awarded us as one of their top tier salons I knew we were doing something right when the platform that reported every single statistic of the salon said we were top tier. Aside from the moments, the achievements, and the memories the biggest aspect of the whole thing is the people, clients and stylists alike. Whether its the people who sat in my chair at Malcolm's way back when and are still in my chair here on Wyoming Avenue today, the people who believed in me and what I was about to do and chose to support and stay with me through the biggest change in my career, the people who trusted me to keep them safe in a brand new salon during a pandemic, the ones who leapt with me through one of the scariest, most uncertain times, the ones who discovered us, took a leap and spread the word, even the ones who came in and we were just a passing thought for them. Its the clients who know I'll never remember what side their part is on but we still laugh about all the memories they've lived with us through, the clients who trust us, the people who've brought their kids in and we've got to see them grow up, to take part in their weddings and watch them have kids of their own, everyone who has ever sat in our chairs and every stylist that has ever stood behind those chairs, the stylists I've got to work along side over the years, the ones that who believed in The Mane Room, the ones who were with us (even briefly) on their journey to where they were going and the ones who have become staples. The stylists I've watched grow into masters of their art and the stylists who I've grown together alongside with. I can't even begin to show enough gratitude for the group of stylists I have with me today, the group of stylists that make up the main vein leading right into the heart of The Mane Room.

I still have the same vision as I did in the beginning for The Mane Room and stand firm on the dynamic and morale that the foundation of our salon was built on. Fast forward, now having 2400 5 star reviews and floating around at the top of community votes, we're still as thankful as we were on day 1. We're still as informal yet professional, as opened minded and as eager as ever. We're still not giving you a hard time about what you do with the hair that is yours, whether you cut your bangs or hopped around a little bit. We're still learning and unloading new techniques and we've got some services we're excited to add to our menu for you soon. We'll always be honest, authentic, transparent, and eagerly openminded.

We still charge 25 for a dry cut because without a change in overhead why wouldn't we? We still don't charge for toner because we don't want to give you the option to leave unfinished just to save money and the blowout is still always free after a chemical service because we want to give you the full experience. We repeat clients on our Instagram because we love that they come back and we still strive to be our best selves and the best we can be for every client we get the chance to work with. Inclusivity was never a power move and our door will always be open to everyone. Here's to another year, a new year and more gratitude and love than I can express.

-Kristen