Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Holly Starcevich. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Holly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

Social media is a passionate topic for me. I mostly manage my own social media. The permanent makeup industry demands a strong social media presence in order to gain and retain clients. The growing demands of social media on the industry cause stress in artists lives, forcing them to become content creators in addition to their normal jobs. For example, I spend about 15 hours a week on social media.

I find inspiration and ideas on socials. which is a helpful tool, and it helps to collaborate with other artists around the world. However, I find that the demands of social media create an additional, overwhelming job for artists, just to stay relevant.

You also have to balance your own emotions when you have a post that goes viral, with a plethora of people posting rude comments and responses to your hard work, who may not understand the industry.

Even with these demands, I choose to run my own socials, as it would actually take me more time to find, filter through, and approve content for someone to post for me.

With this said, I prefer to have close supervision over my brand, but find the necessity of social media marketing challenging and a waste of artist time.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Art has always been a passion of mine. I was raised by a family of artists, with pencil rubbing transfers and family origami projects being among my first memories. I painted, filled up sketchbooks, took every advanced art class I could in school, and even started gymnastics and technical dance. Although I longed to be an artist for a living, this dream took a backseat in college as I focused on more “reasonable” career choices– choices that would put food on the table. While struggling through college and trying to embrace a career I was not passionate about, I was diagnosed with spinal fractures caused by dance and gymnastics that I had unknowingly been living with for nearly a decade. Amidst confusion, helplessness, and depression, and chronic pain, I prematurely ended my college career.

Soon after I met my now husband, I saw a before/after photo of microblading on Pinterest. This photo grew into an obsession, as I, fascinated, began drawing eyebrows on anything (or anyone) I could get my hands on. I noticed my passion for art rising to the surface again. With my husband’s encouragement, I saved up money waiting tables and invested in my first Permanent Makeup Class. Unfortunately, most classes, even to this day, are shortsighted and leave students unprepared with more questions than answers, myself included. A decade ago, there were no Facebook groups, no blogs, and no colleagues willing to share valuable techniques and information with one another. So, with no other way to learn I simply started.

I purchased the bare minimum of supplies and made an embarrassing amount of rookie mistakes on my friends and family, including my husband included. I started noticing trends, learned from my errors and began to refine a craft in desperate need of elevation across the industry. I started a Groupon, worked 12-hour days, six days a week for nearly nothing and took a huge loss in my first year in business. I even gave away hundreds of free procedures just to learn, practice, build up portfolio photos, and to go the extra mile to make someone happy. Even without much income, I loved (and still do!) having even a small impact on the positive self-image of others, while getting to express my creativity.

Hoshi continued to evolve over the years, as I invested what little I made back into the business. I found better supplies, products, and began buying into more education that (save a few workshops) left me frustrated and disappointed with the lack of information and resources in the industry. After three years in the business, I knew I could teach a better basics course that would better prepare students and equip them to be more successful than I was, even after years of experience. I started teaching and making connections across the DFW area, and Hoshi quickly became a well-known name in the permanent makeup industry. I started making “real” money and getting incredible results with my students. I realized it was time for an upgrade.With my husband’s support, I began our nine-month long expansion. We moved from a tiny salon suite to a beautiful and private multi-artist studio that is committed to the highest standard of artistry, service, and education with a tangible passion.

Hoshi is an innovative, multi-artist Permanent Makeup studio specializing in eyebrow/lip transformations and restoration. Every procedure is a small work of art, but the real value lies in the convenience factor for the client. Permanent Makeup saves the receiver the time and effort it takes to apply daily makeup on their own. If the average amount of time spent on eyebrows alone is ten minutes, five days a week, that’s two and a half days a year that could be spent sleeping in or spending time with the kids.

At Hoshi, clients can expect expertly applied semi-permanent Brows, Lips, and Liner. The look is first designed and customized to meet aesthetics rules and measurements as well as the client’s needs. Brows are perfectly designed for style and symmetry, lips are sculpted into an ideal shape, and the liner is flawlessly tapered, sharp and even. Once the design is client approved, the artist will finalize color and style options, and numb the area. Options are endless! We can fade brows into a dimensional and textured multi-directional ombre or create the illusion of real hair, with patterned hair strokes that blend seamlessly into a clients’ natural hair growth. Lips are blushed to enhance natural color or match a personal favorite to define and correct the lip shape, which can blur due to age, genetics, or lip filler. Liner can be winged, smoked, or shadowed for a variety of smudge-proof effects. All of these techniques can be tailored to be delicately soft, or more impactful.

We are proud to offer the most modern and advanced Permanent Makeup techniques available, and we are extremely committed to providing clients with the highest quality results and standard of service. We are also trying to set the standard for education and results with a level of integrity comparable to none. As an educator, I strive to be as transparent and as generous as possible with the education I provide. Even after graduation, students find continuous support at Hoshi through apprenticeships, shadowing, forums, and live video Q&A. My goal is to elevate the industry by producing remarkably educated and capable artists.

Eyebrows are our most popular and specialized service. I’ve worked hard to develop my own signature style and technique, and I’m one of the few artists that even see men regularly for brow work. I specialize in natural effects and sustainable practices that are enhancing, and leave clients still feeling like themselves. I am proud of the exceptionally diverse clientele Hoshi has curated over the years. We see ages from 18-90 and everyone on the genetic spectrum. Skin is complex and ethnicity, age, and skin tone play a critical role in determining what works best. Knowing how to personalize a procedure is something that Hoshi does exceptionally well. I also have the privilege of helping many people who experience hair loss due to illness, injury, and disease. Alopecia, Cancer, and Trichotillomania are conditions I frequently see in the studio for brow services to help restore what was lost. It’s the most rewarding and humbling part of my job.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I needed to pivot my life during college, when I realized that I was not passionate about what I was learning. At this time I was struggling with chronic back pain, debt, confusion, and depression. I realized that I wanted more for myself, and decided to drop out of college to pivot my career. I began waiting tables to save money and used this money to invest in my first permanent makeup class. It was from this life pivot that I found my passion, and founded Hoshi.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience has been a central quality of my life and work. In fact, Hoshi was born out of ashes and my dreams— a broke college student, in debt, sleeping on a mattress on the floor with untreated spinal fractures.

However, the best story of resilience in my life took place as I sought treatment for those spinal fractures, fractures I had been unknowingly living with for almost ten years caused by a gymnastics injury. I received a botched spinal fusion that left me in more pain than before the surgery. I tried to find a new doctor to fix the error, but finding a doctor that can do a minimally invasive surgery, that is also able to do revision surgery is difficult. There are few doctors in the US that can even do these procedures. However, I was finally able to find a doctor and received my corrective spine surgery. I was in a back brace for six months, unable to move much or be a part of any dance or gymnastics—sports that had been my life for years. While still in a brace, I stumbled upon aerials arts videos, and resolved to myself that I would one day be able to do the beautiful tricks I saw these athletes perform. Years of hard work, therapy, and breakdowns later, I am pain free, a level 4 aerial arts student, and physically stronger than ever. .

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hoshi.studio
• Instagram: hoshi.studio.holly
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/hoshistudiofrisco/
• Other: https://g.co/kgs/zQp2Xp

Image Credits
Positive Pri Photos (214) 984-4413 https://g.co/kgs/24YUQX