We were lucky to catch up with Angelic Toledo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Angelic , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career? Maybe you can share a story (or stories) that illustrate the things they did right and the impact they had on you and your journey.
When I trace back at where my passion all started, the first thing that comes to mind is Family. My biggest support and backbone were my sisters and mom’s support. Growing up at poverty level, my sisters and I always used our imagination, played outside, made up games, skits, built tents, and had no extra income to play with expensive electronics. My mom had three girls in close age. One to two years tops between us. My mom took on 80% of the hard labor, working two jobs, unreliable transportation, and very little help for anything. That meant we spent a lot of time alone with just us sisters.
My mom being so busy and caught up keeping a roof over our heads, Our hair and rooms were messy, our hair would remain uncombed unless momma forced it, Unkept unless momma told us ” Go comb your hair, you should never allow it to get here,” My sisters and I all had different hair textures, length and thickness, Being in a house full of women, I began doing unique and beautiful styles at 8 years old. Taking on the responsibility of creating new hairstyles for me and my sisters, Asking the for fun ” Can i do your hair?”. what little girl doesn’t want someone else combing and styling their hair?
We were 90s babies so naturally the twistys, rubber band styles, singular braids, headbands, box braids, bump it, crimping, banana curls, sleek cow licks, bandanas and more were very popular without the help of social media. Everywhere i looked was my next inspo. Before i touched my sister’s hair and started to care what the outcome was, i played a lot with my very first Brunette Brats doll. She had the glossiest, prettiest hair id ever seen on a doll. She resembled me in a grown-up way and i became obsessed in styling her hair to practice for real people.
My mom started to notice how passionate I was. It was the year 2000 when my mom completely surprised me with the best gift a girl could have. A original Fisher Price “Sit & Style Beauty Salon” I was soo excited i could cry. Not only because i was so ready to create styles with my new set, but the fact that i knew my mom did not have the money to purchase this salon chair with accessories. We visited “Toys R US” every year and use to make the smallest most humble list possible so that all the gifts my moms 3 daughters wanted wouldn’t put her in the negative. We were and still are, very humble and thankful for even the smaller things in life. I’ll never forget how Seen i felt, how humble i was to receive such a special gift, in my favorite color at that time Barbie PINK! It brought the swivel salon chair, blower, flat iron, scissors, comb, cape, curling iron, and mirror. Now my items didn’t have heat and the scissors were fake, lol. However, i didn’t think my mom knew how much my love for hair and beauty would grow.
The fact that my mom could have easily convinced me that beauty industry is not worth it, it’s not a “real job”, you should go to medical school instead, she could have destroyed my hopes and dreams. Instead, she fueled and paved the way for me to dive in at such an impressable age. My sisters, family members, and church groups started to book me for real events at 13 and 14 years old. From simple styles to complex braids, to little girl heatless updos i never stopped learning more to fuel my passion. At 18 years old while many were about to take on 4-8 year degrees, i stood by my dreams and completely pursued beauty. The feeling i got making women feel better, heard, touched, enhanced, boosting of their confidence was all i needed to live out my dream of making it a career.
As soon as I hit 22 years of age, I enrolled in the Best Beauty school, Aveda Institute in Winter Park, Fl. Between the ages of 14-21 i worked in numerous jobs to build my resume and trades, I always felt an emptiness, no fulfillment no matter how cool the job was. It brought me back to thinking, what am I doing? Why am i so afraid to pursue my passion full time? part of it was because I did not possess a license and the majority of it was scared of failure. One thing I’ve never been afraid is something that challenges me. After 13 long rigorous months of the hardest beauty school in the U.S. I completed 1,500 hours and nailed my exam. Started professionally working at a salon in 2013, building wedding clients, braiding on the weekends for the youth, going to my church and finding girls that needed their hair done, talking to strangers about the health of their hair, posting beginner work on myspace because that’s all there was, executing my referrals and treating them like diamonds.
One thing that has never ever led me to fail in this industry is, The amount of love, passion and detail i pour into every single client, They leave knowing i truly care about their hair and makeup and bridal needs. The energy is felt each service, I check on my clients, i think of things that only someone that truly cares would bring up, they feel the trust bond that’s irrepealable. Now, 13 years in the industry and clients I had in 2013 are still supporting, loving my growth, telling old story’s when i use to do their hair at their house/school, continuing to refer their loved ones, and ultimately giving me all the push, I need to continue.
I chose to talk about family because you are who you are raised with, who surround you, you become victim of your environment, especially as a child, your vulnerable and impressionable. Although, my childhood was very rough in some aspects. I’m relieved that my mom and sisters never once expected me to ignore my passions. Instead, they gave me all the confidence in the world to pursue my dream. I can sit here and list everything that worked for me, all my success’s, failures, and milestones, but at the end of everything the support from your loved ones and clients is truly what makes you a flourish and grow endlessly in this industry, I feel Rich in life being able that makes my heart and outside smile. I thank god every day for this lovely journey that always fills me up with love. I wish every artist that’s out there pursuing their dreams to never give up, even when the support is not felt. Allow your work and passionate to shine through. Allow all the non-supporters to push you even more. your happiness is the first thing that matters, everything else will work out in its unique timing.
Thank you so much for reaching out and sharing my story. This has brought back all the feels, I have pictures of the chrismtas opening my salon chair for a giggle.
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.
My Name is Angelic or known as the artist behind “Artistry by Angelic”. I’m a passionate versatile Hair and Makeup artist. Specializing in custom colors, curly cuts, extensions, bridal hair styles, & Makeup for commercial, bridal & editorial shoots. I spend the majority of my days consulting with current and future clients, providing luxury hair and makeup experience to all of Florida and out of state events.
I started off a passionate little girl with nothing but sisters and young mom to practice on, my passion was fueled by family members, church, friends and strangers. As soon as i was of age to fund my own financial tuition i Enrolled in Aveda Institue of Winter Park, Florida. One of the most rigorous and longest curriculums in the US for cosmetologist. Although i have been styling hair and pursuing makeup since 13. I became a licensed. cosmetologist in 2013. Following that, i was unstoppable, being the extroverted, silly and charismatic girl I am. I wasn’t afraid to speak or sale anyone on the services i could provide. My personality won the hearts of many. Allowing me to continue to be successful after 13 long years.
The educators and Mentors I kept in touch with from Aveda really gave me the peace I needed to confidently execute color, cuts, updos, makeup and more, I was so scared to take my first real paying client at a salon, but maintaining prideless, earned me the respect and admiration of other beauty artist.
One thing I’m super proud of is maintaining healthy, genuine, respected, loyal clients for over a decade. It shows me that I’ve treated my clients with compassion, love and integrity. The health of their hair and makeup needs are top priority. I don’t just design for fun, i want you to come out with the most confidence and self love. I want your hair and makeup to be what you talk about for years. To me I’ve never made the price tag of a service the most important its always the energy I’m spreading throughout my community that has kept me relevant for this long.
The best words I’ve ever heard from my clients is, ” your services and compassionate have healed & helped me in so many ways” ” i feel heard and seen when you work your magic.” “I’ve never had such a passionate and caring stylist like you.” To hear these words, made me feel so lucky to do what I do. To know i just gave someone their confidence back with a small therapy session means the world. The way you treat others is a gift to yourself, to enjoy the feeling over and over is hard to put into words.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
A time I had to pivot and put on pause my passions was during the hardest times of history, Covid lock down. Although the rules and procedures changed the way I do business today, it taught me to stay resilient. As any artist in the beauty industry may relate is, when you’re not working in your feild you can become very sad and unmotivated. It was starting to feel like the beginning of the end.
What I did to offset these sad girl feelings was, working on my sisters and mom hair, brought out my mannequins i hadn’t styled in a while, reached out to clients to make sure they were still taking care of their Hair, invited close friends to model for me so i can create new work, & pursued mini projects that kept me inspired. I started an online course to learn all the new techniques for hair extensions. Became micro link, weft and tape in extension certified. Worked in a corporate company for a year all while taking few clients on the weekends to keep up with haircuts, color and extensions. Going back to bigger events definitely came with some anxiety but i never stopped, learning, growing and pursuing the bigger picture. No matter what’s going on, always feed your passion, it’s easy to give-up but harder to know you never gave it your all and allowed all your hard work to end,
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Funding my business in the first 5 years was no easy journey, As a Born hustler, I made sure to always have a full time job after graduation from Aveda. My mentors and leaders all prepped me for how hard the beginning of the journey would be. How easy it was to not have enough money to fund your freelance or in salon business, I took their advice and remained with my job at Bank of America, I worked as a Bi-lingual Teller on the south side of Orlando, Florida, although i was dying to submit my resignation letter. I knew the cost of a salon chair, rentals, hot tools, products, sanitation items, marketing strategies, Bills, and more were not going to cut it.
I worked long 8 hours 5 days a week at the bank, while working Friday evenings, Saturday mornings and Sundays doing hair and makeup. I didn’t want to lose my drive, the last thing i wanted was to get sucked in the corporate world and never take the leap of faith. No one at the bank or any other jobs after ever supported the idea of me being a full time Hair/MUA. That gave me all the motivation i needed, I’ve been on my own now since 16 (my choice) Not only did I fund the highest tuition bill ever at 23 but i couldn’t just jump into my career as a hair and makeup artist, bc i needed savings to fund it. After just 4-5 years of working in corporate and as a beauty stylist, I decided enough is enough. My last dead end job was, working for MAC Cosmetics in the Florida Mall. although the initial career offer was exciting. The environment was toxic and i left after 3 years of work. The corporate life had me depleted, anxious and unfulfilled. I took my savings, moved from a house to an apartment, traded my BMW for a Honda, sacrificed everything i had and became self-employed funding my own business with no regrets.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @artistrybyangelic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Aristrybyangelic
- Other: email for contact in bookings: artistrybyangelic@gmail.com work cell: 407-714-6211 IG: @artistrybyangelic Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Aristrybyangelic (in my FB link there is a T missing but that is intentional)
Image Credits
IG: Bennyreneephotography – group photo BTS (outdoor) IG: Aliciafillsphotos – BTS of touch up with rockstar model (in studio) IG: xoxosaraiphotography – black and white photo in all white robes. IG: photobycaptiva – feature photo, placing band on Bride.