We were lucky to catch up with Hannah Kennedy recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hannah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Early in your career, how did you think through the decision of whether to start your own firm or join an established firm?
I’ve known for as long as I can remember that I wanted to be a hairstylist when I “grew up.” For the first 12 years in the hair industry, I did everything by the book. I worked at a commission based salon with lots of other stylists. I took all the classes by the big brand names. I learned how to sell products to people. I was put on the track to climb the ladder, but I was never actually able to. Looking back, I realize I was taught the traditional way of “doing hair,” but it never aligned with my personal style. Despite being well liked at work and in salon settings I felt like an outcast amongst my peers and coworkers. To say my passion had become stagnant is an understatement.
When I moved to western North Carolina I was hell bent on doing life differently. I wanted to work on farms, I wanted to learn about plants, I wanted to live an alternative lifestyle than I had in Ohio. I kept telling myself “you can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.”
After a couple of months of living in Asheville – I found out one of my favorite hair educators had also moved to town as well, and so naturally, I booked a haircut with her. Being in her chair and observing how she cut hair so differently than I knew how to – made me very curious. She encouraged me to work at that salon with her, and after some hesitation I decided to go for it.
For about a year I was working alongside one of my most admired stylists in the industry and she completely changed the way I look at cutting and styling hair. During this year I began doing pop-ups at some of my friends art studios. Those were my favorite days. I could wear whatever I wanted. Play whatever music I wanted, offer a sliding scale payment option which felt so good to me. I met people who clicked with me and the type of hair I was wanting to do for the first time in so long, maybe the first time ever.
Even with this newly ignited passion I was still feeling incredibly burnt out on the “beauty industry.” I didn’t fit the salon setting mold. So off I went on my hair hiatus. During this time, I kept doing pop ups, working odd jobs, and enjoying the chaotic hustle culture life of living in a destination tourist town.
In 2020 I moved to the small rural town of Marshall – about 45 minutes outside of Asheville. I started doing out-door COVID safe haircuts. That’s when I realized I could literally do hair wherever the hell I wanted. There doesn’t need to be rules. I won’t be nailed to the cross for doing hair outside of a salon setting. It was a huge “aha” moment for me. I knew then that I would never go back to working at a salon. I also knew I was going to wait for the right studio space to come along before I went back to doing hair as a job again.
After over a year and a half of doing outside cuts and pop ups I landed my dream studio in an Marshall High Studios (an old high school inhabited by artists). It has beautiful wood floors, high ceilings and all the natural light you could ever hope for. It also does not feel anything like being in a salon.
I was terrified to do hair as a job again, to rely on myself, promote myself, to really do the thing. My partner encouraged me to “give it a month” before going and finding another gig. One month turned into two and now I have just hit a year of working for myself in my dream studio.
I will always be passionate about hair, but I’ve realized I’m someone who needs variety when it comes to work. The balance I’ve found to work best for me is working farm or outdoor jobs in combination with hair. Connecting with people on such an intimate level many times a week takes a toll on me, physically and mentally. Being able to pop my headphones in and breathe fresh air, touch dirt and plants and work my body in such a way is what I’ve found recharges me. It allows me to able to be present and excited to socialize with my clients.
It’s taken 16 years of being in this industry to figure out how to make it work for me. I’m still learning every single day. I’ve managed to attract my dream clientele and studio. My love for doing hair has never been stronger.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have narrowed down all of my other hair skills to just cutting hair. I used to do color, bridal hair, even nails and waxing at one point. When I broke free from working in salons it dawned on me that I can offer people what I am really into, haircuts. I don’t actually have to do services that don’t feel good to me anymore.
The space I’ve chosen to practice my craft in will not be your typical salon experience. I don’t have a shampoo bowl or product shelves or lots of other stylists and people around. At first I was worried people wouldn’t take me seriously in this kind of setting. What I’ve found is that almost every person who has sought me out doesn’t actually like or feel comfortable when they go to a salon. A lot of my clients have been cutting their own hair for years because of avoiding going to a salon. I must say, they’re all doing a pretty good job at these DIY cuts. I sometimes give them tips on how to maintain their look at home themselves.
I’ve found that so many people, almost everyone, has had a traumatic hair experience. I try my best to help people feel heard and understood during our consultation. I like to tell people getting a haircut with me is a collaborative experience. “You’ve had your hair on your head your whole life, I’m just meeting it. By all means let me know what’s up!” Is something I say quite often.
Along with ditching beauty industry expectations such as working in a salon setting, I’ve also put down a lot of heating tools, techniques and overloaded amount of products in peoples hair. I’ve found that the lifestyle of most of the folks who sit in my chair calls for a very low maintenance style. By using water, a little bit of hair balm, and my straight razor I am able to bring out the best of people’s natural texture and show them it’s true potential! I’m also able to show them an uncomplicated styling routine and I give them a cut that is built to last and evolve as it continues to grow out.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I try my best to be accessible to people and also give back to my community. I still maintain a sliding scale base for all of my haircuts. Every couple of months, I organize raffles with a free haircut included to raise money for local mutual aid groups. I also organize free hair cutting days with a local mutual aid for houseless neighbors in the community.
I hope that my commitment to being accessible and giving back to the community will continue to shine through to the people who are interested in sitting in my chair.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
As for all of us, 2020 was the beginning and end of a lot of things. I knew I couldn’t go back to working 3 service industry jobs and hustling haircuts on the side. I also knew I was going to wait for the right space to come along before taking the next step to do hair “for real” again.
Like lots of others, I received unemployment during the beginning of the pandemic until I found a job that interested me and was a completely brand new field for me. I worked at a native plant nursery for a whole season and it was life changing. I didn’t have to look nice or talk or be pleasant or engaging. It was just me and the plants. As much as I loved this job, I was truly barely scraping by financially. I knew that I would either have to do hair or go back to bartending eventually and definitely once winter hit and my seasonal job would be over.
During the time I was working at the nursery I had some wonderful friends offering me spaces in their own studios to host haircut pop up days so that I could make some money while I looked for a studio. I would also host pop ups basically anywhere I could outdoors. I had some favorite spots around Marshall. Doing hair outdoors had its perks, but it was not ideal. We would get rained on in the spring, sweat our butts off in the summer and fall, and then bundle up to get a cut in the frigid cold. It was fun in its unpredictability, but it was not sustainable. I started looking for a space, but affordable ones are hard to find in our town.
After multiple studio spaces falling through, I decided to table doing hair, again, for the millionth time. I’m used to making money in many different ways, and I’ve never wanted to force my passion for hair into being my solo job.
At the end of summer of 2021, I was delivering plants to a local business and an opportunity presented itself. The manager of the business knew I did hair and asked when I would be able to give her child a haircut. I kind of laughed and said “well ya know I’m still holding out for the right studio to come along.” she replied “Oh! well i know Hallee Hirsch is looking for a studio mate” I told her I did not know Hallee, and begged her to connect us. I just so happened to be the first person to reach out about the studio and what can I say – Hallee took a chance on lil old me!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: M0untaindews
Image Credits
Main photo and second photo Elliot Durt photography