Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mari Ramirez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mari, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Let’s begin with the definitions behind my business name.

Aesthete (n.) a person who has or affects to have a special appreciation of art and beauty.

Atelier (n.) a workshop or studio, especially one used by an artist or designer..

I can truly say that my brand story began as a little girl. I’ve always been extremely creative. You could always find me drawing, coloring, creating and tinkering. As I got older that creativity translated into my personal style, makeup and overall appearance. My parents always made sure to nurture that part of my personality whilst growing up and I am always very thankful for that.

My creativity turned career when I chose to pursue Architecture school. I felt intensely drawn to learn more about art, design, form and how to translate my creativity into more elaborate things and habitable spaces. Whilst i’m incredibly grateful for the knowledge I accrued during my undergraduate years, I learned very early on that the industry was not one I belonged in or at least felt like I could navigate happily.

I was actually the first graduating class at the start of Covid in 2020 and I think like everyone else, I had more free time than I knew what to do with and began to really question every part of my life and what I liked/disliked. For most of the year I felt this call to leave the industry and pursue beauty instead. Of course everyone around me thought I was insane for dropping a prestigious degree and grad school, i ultimately shut out all the noise and went to Esthetician school and acquired my Esthetics license. It was the best decision I ever made. Shortly after acquiring my license, I traveled out ot state and learned how to do lash extensions. Lash extensions and Architectural model making are essentially the same and I instantly fell in love with the craft. I began my lashing career out of my bedroom and In a few short months I was fully booked.

Fast forward to 2022, after working for a lash salon for a few years and acquiring a pretty hefty client list, I had the ephiphany that is Aesthete Atelier. I was lashing one day and realized that I had zero desire to work for someone else and my gifts as a creative held greater weight elsewhere. Most of my family, friends, instructors and colleagues gave me a hard time for changing careers and it was in this moment that I realized my creativity could be translated into whatever I wanted, it didn’t need to be just Architecture related. I also realized that my education granted me a huge advantage because I was already primed to design, execute, iterate and sell. Many of the standard design principles are universal across the board as well, which helped enhance my artistry and go from a basic lash technician to an actual lash designer. It was definitely my “Ah!” moment.

In 2023, I brought my idea to life. Aesthete Atelier is a collaborate approach to Aesthetics and one that is truly unique. My approach as a lash designer is to utilize my pretigious design background to enhance my clients’ natural features and beauty by designing customized lash sets for every client. In the lash industry, many lash technicians essentially apply the same sizes and lengths on every single client without taking anything else into consideration, which has given lash extensions a negative reputation overall. By taking the time to measure and learn about facial anatomy, I am able to basically create sets that truly are one of one. Even in an extremely saturated market, no one has ever attempted what I’m doing and I hear it all the time.

2025 is my 6-year lash anniversary and Aesthete turns 2 years old this September. I can truly say that following my intuition and pursuing this career and industry changed my life in the best way possible.

Mari, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hey besties! My name is Mari (mah-dee) and I am a Master Lash Designer and Educator. I own a boutique lash salon – Aesthete Atelier, where I customize and design lash sets that are tailored to each individual client. I am also a lash educator and teach others the foundations of lash extensions.

I dabbled in the Beauty & Aesthetics industry pretty early on, around 16. I made friends with tons of women in the industry getting treatments and services done. It wasn’t until after I had graduated Architecture school that I felt called to pivot and mesh my professional education with a beauty trade.

I think what sets me apart from others in the industry is that my creativity flows in every single detail, not just the lash sets. In Architecture school, you’re taught to concept design. Which means you develop and concept and that concept needs to be so concrete that when you ideate that concept, everything flows seamlessly, My studio is refreshed and curated regularly, I heavily follow my brand color scheme, I’m always making new playlists and exposing my clients to new arts, designers and educating them on the newest lash products, education and my application approach.

I think some of the main things I want my followers, clients and fans to know about me are:

I believe in gaining client trust from the jump. I am a very straight-forward no bs person and whilst I am to please every client, uncomfortable conversations are necessary in order to produce realistic results! I am the artist for someone who appreciates the tiny details and is able to express their wants/desiree/changes as needed. I believe in building a solid foundation for a strong, lasting relationship with all of my clients.

As a business owner, I know I am an influencer to a degree. I’ve always made it very clear that anything I share, from daily quotes to my girlie recommendations come from a real place. I am all about growth, positivity and kindness first, beauty after. As someone who’s responsibility is to build women up, I make an honest effort to do so in EVERY aspect, not just lashes. As someone who aspires to be a well-rounded women, I also aspire to help/inspire my clients to be well-rounded women.

I am dedicated to doing a great job from start to finish. As someone who has been a client longer than I’ve been a provider, I know how costly treatments and services are in the beauty industry. Your lashes will always lash and I will always work with you to give you the lash set of your dreams!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

You cannot be a great beauty service provider and care for your clients if you are not caring for yourself. My first two years as a lash artist, I overworked myself past burn-out and it manifested into a slew of health issues. I was always sick, irritated and my work was awful. It took me basically the same amount of time to recover and during this period, I had to really step back and reframe. For me, this meant raising my prices, working less and becoming a passion driven entrepreneur and not a money-chasing one.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I spent a few months building a savings, which at the time was about $3000. This was to cover suite rent and all legal/business fees. To offset the cost and not burn through it super quickly, I actually began buying lash product here and there until my supply list was complete. I shopped sales for most things and just began with the basics at the start of my career. My favorite quote during this time was from Arthur Ashe. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aestheteatelier.com
• Instagram: @aestheteatelierabq
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550113215911
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/aesthete-atelier-albuquerque