Today we’d like to introduce you to Ally Bunton.
Hi Ally, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I always knew I wanted to do hair, I grew up in a salon. Sweeping hair and folding towels took up my weekends and days after school most of the time. When I finished cosmetology school in high school, I knew I didn’t want to work in a salon. I didn’t want to be stationary or do the same thing every day. I had a dream of traveling and creating something more exciting. There wasn’t such thing as ‘the wedding industry’ back then. I had other stylists, including my mother, who told me that you can’t specialize like that… that I didn’t have enough experience behind the chair. I have never been conceited, but I had a strong sense of confidence in my ability to figure it out. If I had learned anything at that point, it was that I would always figure it out, I never had the luxury to not. Fast forward to 2017, my best friend at the time had just finished cosmetology school and was asked to do makeup for a friend’s wedding. She asked me if I wanted to do their hair and I, 6 months pregnant with my second baby, happily accepted. This was my thing, of course I said yes. From that wedding, her and I got referral after referral, we were added to preferred vendor lists, we were recognized in the industry in what seemed like the blink of an eye. From July 17 to December 30, we did about 65 weddings. I had never ran a business before, so we figured it out as we went. A lot of trial and error, a lot of learning experiences. Each year we would average 100 weddings with our busiest year being 2021, capping out at 112 weddings. We were also published for the first time that year. We met so many wonderful women and a lot of theirs and their family’s stories kept me going in that time. What no one knew, was I was in a very unhealthy marriage in that time and my work was my escape. I was already saving money to leave with my 3 kids. There was one specific wedding I’ll never forget, the bride’s mother was asking the typical questions as I did her hair- Are you married? Do you have kids? and I answered vaguely, per usual. I think she could tell that I was putting on a pretty face. She told me that she was in an abusive marriage when she was young. She left with her 4 kids, started over, and ended up meeting a wonderful man who took her kids in as his own. They had been married for 32 years and still crazy in love. I remember feeling hope for the first time. Being in the wedding business, you’re surrounded by love and happy couples all the time. It was arduous to have the life I had while simultaneously being happy for my brides. Still, I poured everything I had into my work and eventually, I saved up enough money to securely leave my marriage and start over. I will forever be grateful for this industry and how it allowed me to be a single mom, independent, and help me grow so much as a person and business owner. Last year, after 8 years, we decided to go in different directions with our businesses. I’m now solo for about a year now and have added color, cut and extension services to my menu. I have the biggest support system; my husband. Just like the mother of the bride that shared her story with me that day, I started over. I found love. I don’t see my work as an escape anymore and I’m excited to keep growing as an entrepreneur. I love what I do and I consider myself very blessed to have that. Not a lot of people can say they absolutely love their job.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, but all the struggles were all learning experiences. I think learning how to accurately read people is the hardest part to get used to.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I love doing kind of messy dos, boho, that kind of thing. But I think my superpower is being able to mimic their inspiration pictures, even when they don’t think its attainable.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Life is too short to be unhappy. Find a job you love, use your talents, have faith. Trust in God and he will make it happen.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonedandtiedhair
