We recently connected with Amanda Tipps and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

The core beliefs and practices of Ritual Space stands apart from your more traditional salon. At Ritual Space all our services are booked at an hourly rate. No more men’s cut versus women’s cut. No more add-ons and service fees. You just pay for your stylist’s time. That’s it. Every stylist at Ritual Space has set a price for themselves that they feel represents their skills and expertise. Oh, and did I mention that all services are gratuity free?!

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 back background and context?

My name is Amanda Tipps and I am the owner of Ritual Space, an eco-conscious hourly rate hair studio on the historic Jefferson Blvd in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, TX.

As well as being the owner of Ritual Space I am also a razor focused cut-specialist with a visual arts degree from the University of North Texas.

I love to provide low-maintenance hair for all people, especially if they desire shags, mullets, pixies, or bobs.

At Ritual Space we only use the best indie product lines with the lowest impact on the planet. All of our products are cruelty free, phthalate free, paraben free, ammonia free, and synthetic fragrance free.

We book all of our services at a gratuity-free hourly rate, meaning you pay for your stylists time instead of paying by the service. This creates a more inclusive, non-gendered way of providing amazing hair.

Ritual Space is also committed to giving back to our wonderful community. Once a quarter we offer a pay-what-you-want haircut day in which 100% of the proceeds goes to supporting a local charity, mutual aid, or non-profit.

We do things differently here at Ritual Space and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

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

Before the pandemic began I was doing hair the way I thought you had to do hair. I performed every service (whether it was one I enjoyed or not), I double booked, I squeezed clients into my schedule, I never said no, and I was miserable.

I had a newborn at the beginning of lockdown and took it as a reason to take an extended break from my career. During this time I really questioned what I was doing, why I was doing it, and if it was something that I even wanted to go back to at all.

I decided to give my career one more try, but this time I was going to do things completely differently. If things didn’t work out after this last ditch effort, well then I guess I was thinking of quitting anyway so what does it hurt?

When I opened up my first solo salon studio in 2021 the first thing that I did was hire a business coach.  This gave me the ability to make proactive decisions regarding my business such as focusing on only doing the hair services that I loved, on people who I enjoyed spending time with, charging appropriately for said time, and getting rid of outdated practices such as gendered haircuts and gratuity.

The perceived risk was enormous, but it worked. Flash forward to February 2023, when the doors of Ritual Space opened in Oak Cliff and I was able to give a home to other stylists looking for their own ways of breaking out of salon tradition.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Ritual Space is on the fourth floor of a 100 year old office building on Jefferson Blvd. Although our view is phenomenal we don’t have the benefit of walk by traffic. The majority of our new clientele comes from referrals and social media, mostly Instagram.

The best advice I have for growing a social media presence is consistency. Figure out who your ideal client is and talk directly to them through your content. Set a social media schedule for yourself and just show up, but do so authentically. People want to know who you are as a service provider, artist, or business as much, if not more than, knowing what services you provide.

Contact Info:

• Website: Ritualspacedallas.com
• Instagram: @Amanda_ritualspace & @ritualspace_dallas
• Facebook: Ritual Space
• TikTok: @amanda_ritualspace

Image Credits
Kim Eden (Kim Jaye Creative)