Today we’d like to introduce you to Felipe Lee.
Felipe, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in Brazil and started doing hair when I was 16 years old. I went to school for Fashion Design and worked in the fashion industry in Rio and Sao Paulo for 10 years after graduation. I moved to New York City in 2012 and worked at a high-end Brazilian Salon called Hair Boutique as well as hair and make-up for editorial fashion shoots. Afternoon New York I moved to Dallas with my husband and studied at Toni&Guy Academy. After graduating with honors I opened up my own space in Turtle Creek area of Dallas.
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 grew up in a simple family in Brazil. We were all very close and everyone was always pretty happy. When I moved to US it was a struggle because I didn’t speak a word of English. Just “Hi! My name is Felipe Lee and I’m from Brazil” So new city. New language and the only person in my family to leave Brazil. Luckily I had good friends in New York and they helped me get acclimated. I studied English full-time for a year. Started working at Hair Boutique and slowly things started to get better. New York is an amazing city and full of diverse people like myself so it energized me to be better all around.
When I moved to Dallas I had a different set of struggles. I don’t drive! And you have to drive EVERYWHERE here. Thank god for uber. Luckily now I can walk to my salon from home. It’s only 3 blocks away.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I do pretty much everything. Cut and Color. I do a pretty fierce blowout. I’m a Brazilian blow out a specialist. And I also do makeup. I love it all.
I think working in the fashion industry helped me have a clear vision of what I wanted to create my own business. I look at everything from the decor of my salon and the products I use to the help create the best possible experience for my clients. I play a lot of Brazilian music. My walls are painted pink to help make the mood more intimate and peaceful.
What were you like growing up?
I wasn’t really into sports but I loved fashion. I liked doing things with my hands. I was really into sewing. That’s why I ended up studying fashion design. I also enjoyed doing hair. I kinda taught myself in the beginning. I would go to family events and end up doing my aunt and cousins hair all night. So I decided to study fashion and go to beauty school at the same time.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3622 Fairmount street
- Website: www.hairbyfelipelee.com
- Phone: (347)685-3456
- Email: hairbyfelipelee@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/felipelee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hairbyfelipelee/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hair-by-felipe-lee-dallas
- Other: http://hair-by-felipe-lee.business.site
Image Credit:
Jack O’connor, Michelle Mouawad, Brevin Blach
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