Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Reid.
Ashley, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Ever since I was a little girl, I always loved doing hair. I remember specifically when I was around five or six years old. I put up my hair before we went to my birthday dinner and my mother asked, “How did you do that?” I just shrugged my shoulders and said, “I just did it.” From then on, my love for playing with hair and creating different styles continued to blossom.
My mother purchased a few curling irons for me, and every Sunday, I would curl my hair before church. I would always ask my sisters to let me fix their hair and would get very upset when they said no, which happened more often than you might think. Also, I loved going to the hair salon. Not just because I enjoyed getting my hair cut and styled, but I also enjoyed watching the stylists as they worked. As a teenager, one of my favorite movies to watch was What A Girl Wants because I loved seeing all the different updos that had been created. I would always sit and dream about the day that I would get to do hair like that. I even styled a few of my friend’s hair for their prom when I was in high school. My mother was the person who actually put the idea of being a hairstylist in my head. She reminded me of how I had always enjoyed styling hair growing up. We both felt it would be the best fit for me since I did not want to go to an actual University.
After graduating from High School, I went to a Bible School for three years, where I majored in Worship/Music Ministry. From there, I went to the Aveda Institute in Dallas. After passing my exams and getting my Cosmetology license, I landed a job at a salon in Dallas where I was an apprentice for roughly a year. There I developed a stronger love for blonding techniques, gained more confidence in my talent, and started to really learn what areas I wanted to specialize in. As much as I loved Dallas, I knew that it was not the best fit for who I was and who I wanted to be. I always had a secret love for Fort Worth and told friends and family that I would move there someday. So after leaving my salon job in Dallas, I decided to start growing my roots in Fort Worth.
I joined a Church in the heart of downtown called City Life Church, where I quickly made connections with some of my closest friends I have to this day. A few months later, I landed a job in a salon where I started growing my clientele base. After a short nine months, I found my TRUE salon family and decided to make the switch to Magnolia Avenue Salon, where I have now been behind the chair for two and a half years.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I believe that if everything in life comes easily and always flows smoothly, then you are not challenging yourself enough to grow as a person. As a stylist behind the chair, there are easy days and there are tough days that drain the life out of you. But in the end, it is so rewarding knowing the work that’s put into each day doesn’t just affect me and who I am, but more importantly, those who are in my chair get to go home feeling better and more confident about who they are.
There have been days that I have left work, called my best friend and bawled my eyes out to him because of how tough a week was. Then there are other weeks that I’ve felt so energetic and happy with how my week had gone. I have been able to laugh with so many clients about their wins in life. I have also cried with those who have suffered through family loss, struggled with postpartum depression, or gone through a separation/divorce. I’ve learned when a client wants to chat for hours on end, and I’ve learned when it is best to work in silence and make sure to take that extra time for relaxation when giving a shampoo. Being a stylist has never been an easy job, but it is still a job I wake up every morning looking forward to. I love that I get to make someone’s day by giving them a new style and making them feel beautiful and refreshed.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a stylist behind the chair at Magnolia Avenue Salon. I perform a variety of services from men’s cuts, women’s cuts and kid cuts to coloring hair, whether that be blonding, blending grays, covering grays, or just adding a few pops of color using the balayage technique. I enjoy focusing on simplicity, so when it comes to coloring hair, I like to make sure the eyes will pop and the color is brought back to the face instead of seeming washed out. I love natural beauty and if I can help enhance that, then I will.
From day one of meeting the team at Magnolia Avenue Salon, I immediately had a connection. I was warmly welcomed with open arms by everyone and knew that it was my place and my work home. We have always worked very well together and continue to keep the “we are family” mentality. I love that if I ever need help with a client or need to sit and talk to someone about things in life that I have that. It is very rare to find such a supportive group in a salon setting. I believe that is what helps us stand out among the others. We don’t just love each other like family, but every person that steps through our doors gets treated like family. We also enjoy giving back to the community and are always taking part in events nearby.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was very quiet and shy. I was never really outgoing and didn’t feel too confident in much that I did. The top two things I did feel the most confident in were my passions for music and hair. In High School, I played piano for my youth group worship team. That is when I started to learn that I thrived more in an artistic setting than I did in a sports setting. It wasn’t until the summer of 2010 that I really started to come out of my shell and be more outgoing. I was an intern for a youth camp called Youth For The Nations and was pushed to grow more in my leadership capabilities. I believe that was the beginning of me learning how to meet and connect with new people. The person I am now is completely different from who I was then. I would be very quiet and scared to meet someone new. Now I can go out, easily meet someone new and build a great rapport with them.
Pricing:
- Haircut and style $35 (mens) $60 (womens)
- All over color starting at $100
- Balayage starting at $185
- Highlights starting at $165
- Special occasion updos starting at $75
Contact Info:
- Address: Magnolia Avenue Salon
1210 S Main St
Fort Worth, Tx 76104 - Website: https://www.magnoliaavenuesalon.com/
- Phone: 8179231230
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleymariehair/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashleymariehair
Image Credit:
Kendall Salsberry & Richard McDade
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