We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elizabeth Darling. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elizabeth below.
Alright, Elizabeth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you have any advice regarding quality control and maintaining quality as your brand grows?
Maintaining quality as this company grows is a very relevant topic for me, because after 15 years of loving all over my clients, I have decided to put down my foiling comb, and take a dramatic step back from behind the chair. We service an average of 300 bridal parties a year, on top of 250-350 salon clients per month, with 17 contractors and 13 employees… its time to be the boss that this business deserves.
It’s terrifying, and as I enter into this new phase of my career I kind of want to yak BUT I keep reminding myself that pushing my comfort zone and doing the thing that scares me is EXACTLY how I got into this position in the first place.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I didn’t grow up playing with my mom’s makeup. I never paid much attention to my hair in high school. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was drawn to art based, creative outlets — culinary, photography, writing — but none of them were truly satisfying. It finally occurred to me that I was working with the wrong media. I needed people and a chance to relish the thing I’d misplaced for years: Confidence. The opportunity to open a salon fell into my lap… aggressively. I simply could not turn it down. I knew there was an unaddressed demand for more than just a salon, more than just a place to get your makeup done, but a place of passion and talent, and above all; warmth. People needed a place to cultivate their confidence. A salon that’s good for the soul, to encourage inner beauty and a sense of self worth that the world seems to undermine. I knew (without really knowing) that I could fulfill that need. So I took the proverbial leap and decided to figure it out on the way down. It’s a beautiful thing when career and passion coalesce. Even more so when you’re blissfully unaware until you wake up one day completely in love with what you do, and who you’ve become because of it.
Owning and running this company has taught me more than I had ever thought possible. I’ve learned from and worked with some of the top names in the industry: From David Tutera, Dina Ousley, and John Paul DeJoria, just to name a few. I’ve even been fortunate enough to have my work featured in Vogue, the Louve, and on a billboard in Times Square. These are perks to an already fantastic dream come true. These ultimate lessons however, originate from my clients and my team. Initially, I intended to help people discover their beauty, to use hair and makeup as tools to handcraft confidence… but in doing so, every client I’ve had the privilege to know has become a part of me and has taught me more about myself than I ever thought possible. I would not be who I am today without them, and my company wouldn’t be anything without my incredible team.
We’re a bunch of super cool, but super nerdy artists who like to make people feel pretty and special. Life is short, kind of insane and overall, we just want to embrace being nice and giving a shit… since the world seems to undermine that these days.
As a whole, everyone that represents this brand stands by the following beliefs:
Believe in treating each other, and ourselves with respect
Believe in authenticity and transparency
Believe in inspiration and education
Believe in work/home life balance
Believe in kindness
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In 2010 I had my daughter — and 11 months later, my son. Life was already a whirlwind if you can imagine, but for an extra wrench, I was in an incredibly abusive marriage as well. As a new hairstylist who’d just had back to back maternity leaves, two infants, and a need to get out of my marital home, things were a bit bleak. I had a million things working against me, but I knew how to do hair and makeup, pretty well in face. This was in a time when there wasn’t an overly saturated market of traveling beauty professionals. So for six months I leaned into that as a means to survive — and one day, I met a wedding planner who happened to be subletting her space. She told me I should consider having a brick and mortar to gain more professionalism and notoriety… to which I replied, ‘Absolutely not.’
Two weeks later I was signing a lease.
And I felt exactly the way I did then, as I do now with taking a step away from behind the chair. Change is terrifying. But it’s also electric, and can help cultivate a new branch that can lead to even more amazing things.
When outsiders looked in, I would always get the same questions or comments – Something to the effect of: “I don’t know how you do it, especially with two small babies”
But really — how do I not? How do I not do everything in my power to stand up for myself, stand up for my children, and create a better life? And as I’m creating this new life, wouldn’t it make sense to help others reach their potential, to encourage women to have the audacity to love themselves? Nothing but good can come from that.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Accountability, professionalism, and communication. Without which, I would be the stereotype. And we all know the stereotype I’m referring to when we think hair dresser.
By being present, responsive, and personable — I’m creating a relationship. A certain amount of trust. Reliability. Once you break through the stranger mode, and people learn that they can trust you, you’re halfway there. Then you just have to continue to follow through, and you’re already 90% better than the majority of your competition.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.darlinganddapperstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darlinganddapperstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darlinganddapperstudio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFFQUbVBXRM
- Other: https://www.weddingwire.com/reviews/darling-dapper-virginia-beach/9f62fe50d66f400b.html
Image Credits
Mike Dragon, Dragon Studio Misty Prewitt, Misty Saves the Day Gerald, Just Gerald