I grew up in Manotick and have started my business in Manotick, oh yeah and still live here with my husband Corey and two kids, Alivia and Hudson. You could say I love Manotick lol.
Growing up I did competitive dancing at Denise Smith Dance Studio. I even taught there as I got older, went to Canterbury High School for dance, and then after graduation I worked for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines as a dancer. Am I ever painting a real commitment picture of myself with the things I love.
You could say I gained a lot of experience with wigs and hair pieces, makeup, costumes, and all the fun stuff during these years. It wasn't just dance that I was passionate about, it was all things glam.
As a child, I had two teeny tiny pig tails because I had such fine, thin hair. To this day, I would still have those pig tails as my hair didn't fill out that much. It's this undesirable hair that led me to be interested in hair extensions while I was in hair school. I graduated hair school in 2005. During school there wasn't much instruction on hair extensions although my classmates and I liked to experiment with them. There wasn't much on the market at that time and I am so glad I don't have picture evidence of how bad they were.
While searching for the ideal extensions for hair like mine I came across the Natural Beaded Rows website. The creator of the method, Danielle K White, had hair just like mine, fine, thin, limp and didn't seem to grow past shoulder length. She designed a hair extension method that would suit her hair needs and be gentle as well because when you only have 5 strands you don't want to loose any.
I dove into the education and haven't looked back since. I am a consumer of the product as well as an artist. These hair extensions are suitable for many and have been a game changer. I am so passionate about hair extensions and the transformations they give.
My salon is located in the heart of Manotick with one chair and Nespresso coffee brewing. The vibe is calm, with typically acoustic cover music playing. I wanted to give my guests the opportunity to use their hair appointment time as a place to recharge, while many of us don't stop long enough on a daily basis to do so. Some bring a laptop while others a book. Sometimes we chat non stop with new business ideas, while other times are quieter allowing the mind to slow down.
No matter how it all goes down there is one guarantee. You will leave the salon with bombshell hair! I pride myself on giving my guests the best possible experience I can.
If you made it to the end of this, thanks! Haha so glad you held in there with me. I look forward to sharing more with you and would love to hear from you too.
Until next time!
Ashley
Hi Ashley, great blog, I love the way you express your transformation into the amazing hair artist that you are, hair has come a long way baby since my introduction in the 1970’s, you have found your niche and filled a void for many hair clients with distressed tresses, Koto’s to you and your extended success.