Growing up in a small town hair salon on “the other side of the bridge” in the coastal town of Surf City N.C, "pretty is as pretty does" was embedded in me at the ripe old age of 12. Being an old soul since the day I was born, roller sets and timing perms came easy to a young girl that was beyond her years. Flipping through fashion magazines and listening to the love stories and fantasies of small town women wanting more, it became my mission to see the world.
I left that town two weeks after graduating high school for Dallas, Texas. After all, that’s where big hair started. I was pursuing my mothers dreams at the time, later to realize they were in fact my own. I trained with the best in the business at Toni and Guy Hairdressing Academy, finished at 19, and knew I wasn’t ready to go home just yet. Having an audience was still my favorite thing, so I thought Hollywood was the way to go. I moved to Los Angeles, California to learn how to do special effects make up school at the Make-Up Designery. After a short visit back to NC, my mother had a plan for me.
Before I knew it I was living her dream once more, so I thought. Meeting the love of my life, all a part of her master plan, I moved home that spring, to get a job “in town” which was Wilmington, North Carolina. A quick success I became, after being in the “big city and all”, I was the youngest and highest producer in the salon. I quickly knew there were much bigger things to come. I worked until my third toe went numb, that’s when I knew to call it a day. I got married, traveled the world through my husbands company, then got pregnant with my first baby. Once I found out, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I had to cut back on my schedule, start calling in sick, and taking leave. I was in a booth rental salon and was tired of the competitive atmosphere and was scared of what would happen to the clientele that I worked so hard to build. A sign went up on the “ritzy” part of town, I thought to myself, perfect. That is where I need to be. My mother was suffering breast cancer and didn’t have much time left . She begged me to not open a salon and deal with the headache, and just live a simple life. Being a dreamer I had to give it a try. She never got to meet my children or see my salon, but I know she is watching over me.
Forever 31, Three kids, three salons, and three rental properties later, there isn’t much time to dream anymore. But I do. I try to stop and smell the peonies(I think roses stink), to breathe deep and enjoy what I’ve worked so hard for.
After all, it’s the lovely distractions that make it all worthwhile.
