We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jace Kha a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jace, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I think the hardest part of starting a business in the beginning is to get started and finding the perfect name that will stick. I was losing patience after going through a dozen different names and nothing was calling me until one day as I was doing something random around the house; the world “Alchemy” just popped in my head. The name came to me when I was relaxed and was not expecting. Funny how life always works out that way. I named my business Alkemy after one of my favorite books by Paulo Coelho called “The Alchemist”. . The book is about following your dreams and creating your own reality. Turning lead into gold. And if you look up the definition of Alchemy; according to Google search it means “a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination.” When you apply it into the type of work I do which is transforming people’s hairstyle and look; it just seems very fitting. I wanted to make it my own by switching out the CH for the K because my last name starts with a K.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been in the hair industry for over 10 years and have officially been a barber for over 8. I am lucky to have found my passion early on. The minute I picked up a pair of scissors and clipper; I knew that this is for me. I love the life style and my client’s reaction whenever they get the haircut they love. It is a rewarding feeling.

Over the length of my career, I have worked at over 10 different shops from beauty salons to barbershops. I believe I could not grow if I stay at one place for too long. Since I started my barber career, I always dreamt of one day having my own space to work out of. Hence, another reason I went through so many shops. I wanted to learn the business inside and out and how to run a successful barbershop. Now having my own, I applied the goods and eliminate the bads from what I have learned from other business owners. I opened Alkemy Barber Studio in 2019 with one goal in mind; I wanted to create a clean and comfortable environment for other hair artists to come and create. I wanted to give them what I was missing in the past 8 years.

Alkemy is a “studio” and not a shop. I emphasize the word “studio” because I wanted this space to be a creative space like an art studio. It is more than just a business; it is an art space. That is why I don’t like calling it a shop. At Alkemy, we do more than just cutting hair. We also solve people’s hair problems. There are many factors which come together to create a good cut that fits the client’s face such as hair texture, facial structure and head shape. At Alkemy, we are not cookie cutters. I always spend at least 5 minutes on the consultation on my clients before each cut to find the best suitable hairstyle for them.

At Alkemy, we take pride in the work we do because liking is not enough, you have to love it. “Quality over Quantity” is our theme.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Presentation is everything. I make sure I have quality pictures and I work on improving them everyday. Hashtags and location tags also help. One advice I can give is make sure your pictures are on point before posting. From the angles, lighting to the color scheme. Focus on what you would like to share and make it the main focal point of your pictures. Captions are also great but most importantly, be original and be yourself.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I would say social medias and words of mouth are the best advertisement. There is nothing that makes me happier than knowing my clients are getting compliments on their haircut. That makes them feel good and give me a reason to keep doing what I do.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.alkemybarberstudio.com
• Instagram: alkemybarberstudio
• Facebook: Alkemy Barber Studio
• Linkedin: alkemybarberstudio
• Yelp: Alkemy Barber Studio
• Other: tiktok: @alkemybarberstudio