We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tiffany Munoz and Lindsey Donohue a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tiffany and Lindsey, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career
Although we don’t know the first thing about changing legislation, we dream of our state, South Carolina, embracing an apprentice program that swaps hands-on training hours for those clocking in at a cosmetology school.
Cosmetology School is one for the books y’all! In as little as one year, one can have their Cosmetology degree in hand. That is just twelve short months of delving into everything from nail fungi to mastering the art of the color wheel.
We remember taking our State-Board practical exam in a hotel ballroom, surrounded by other apprehensive individuals, all just yearning to wrap up this chapter. The examiner strolled the room, stopping at us to carefully inspect the cleanliness of our perm rod applications. He presented himself very stoic as he carefully assessed our finger movements on the mannequin’s face while we gave her a pretend “facial”. Weird right? We know….
But we nailed it……WE PASSED!
Ready to go out in the world and “do hair!”
Well… sorta. We spent the next few years with our hearts in our stomachs as we figured out how the heck to cut and color hair. We didn’t realize it at the time, but “doing hair” wasn’t actually what they taught us at school!
Fast forward two decades into this industry and we are living our best lives. Our initial stomach-churning uncertainties have transformed into the most enjoyable way to earn a living.
Our salon, Moxie Park, has recognized this learning curve, and developed an apprentice program that offers recent graduates the opportunity to assist and learn alongside our team while they continue fine-tuning their skills in the process. By being able to observe successful stylists in action, they are able to soak up their techniques and witness our standards for customer service. It’s like hitting the fast forward button on the learning process!
Tiffany and Lindsey, 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?
As far back as when we worked together in Illinois, it has always been our dream to open a salon based around artists passionate about their craft and education; when we both found ourselves living in Charleston, we knew we could make this happen.
Moxie Park Salon was first thought of while dining at the wonderful Butcher and Bee – we talked about everything we would want in our dream salon! We put one foot before the other, and things just took off! We have grown a team to include amazing stylists, creators, a social media presence, and a wonderful front desk team!
At Moxie Park, we specialize in lived-in color, cutting/razor cutting, and all things trending!
Though we love doing hair and pride ourselves on being up-to-date on our education….. we’re most proud of our growth. We’re coming up on our 4th year being open, and what the Low Country has helped us achieve is incredible! They’ve voted us Best of Charleston 3 years in a row!
We are truly speechless and we can’t thank the community enough for how they’ve embraced us.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Our biggest hurdle was opening during the pandemic. We signed a lease in Feb 2020 for our current location, which was at the time an old car garage. Our completion timeline was all over the place, so we had to get creative or we would of been out in the wind.
Fortunately, we were able to rent 4 salon suites at Cirque Salon Studios downtown on Exchange St. and operate out of there temporarily as a “mini salon.” With the construction industry taking a major shift during the pandemic, we had to wait an extra 9 months or so for our forever home at 45 Romney Street to be completed. We were so thankful that Cirque Studios was able to accommodate us.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
We wish we could offer a super complex answer for this, but we don’t. We believe it’s simple….excel in your craft, and be willing to put yourself out there!
We don’t just mean the traditional approach of going out and networking with people (although that’s crucial too). We mean it in all aspects. Whether it’s dropping off cards old-school style, or creating those trending TikTok videos, be open to all the things! Most importantly though, show your personality!
In industries like ours, it’s easy to get “lost in the shuffle”. In addition to showing off your craft, it is equally as vital to remember that you are your own brand. Now-a-days, social media can truly be what makes or breaks you. Learn to leverage this tool to your advantage!
At our core, we have a serious commitment to continuing our education. We strive to be the best of the best, and we prioritize an elevated experience for each of our guests!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.moxieparksalon.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moxiepark/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MoxiePark
- Other: https://www.vagaro.com/moxieparksalon/services
Image Credits
Alex Blake Photography