It’s hard to believe two years has already gone by since I opened the doors to my little studio in Parkdale. I had no idea how much I or the studio would grow in those two years. I’ve learnt so much about what it is to be a stylist, a business owner, a co-worker etc in these last two years. I want to share some of the reasons why I chose to go out on my own, my business model and what’s in store for the future of the studio and myself.
Like many covid brought a lot of confusion and a lot of clarity. I had placed so much of my identity in my profession and when that was taken away from me I was left to really get down to the root of “who am I?”. I was so caught up in the flow of my industry I never stopped to think if I was truly happy with what it represented and if that resonated with who I am as a person.
I always felt different and a little like a black sheep weirdo my whole life. A lot of the beauty industry is cliquey and petty and it felt cut throat trying to stay ahead of that. When we came back from lockdown and tried to assume business as usual something felt off for me. It felt unauthentic to try to resume a way of operating that didn’t serve me anymore. I didn’t want to rush my clients, or juggle more than one colour at a time. I was sick of feeling like a conveyer belt of blondes and wanted to invest my time into my craft and my client experience. The busy-ness of my previous salon atmosphere didn’t feel cohesive to this mentality, it was loud and chaotic and it felt disruptive trying to have meaningful conversations with clients over the sound of blaring house music and blow dryers.
With encouragement from my partner at the time, I began to consider going out on my own. It was scary, and as someone who’s always had imposter syndrome combined with being super hard on myself, it made it even more terrifying. I had tremendous support from my family and friends, and this is what helped me get past all the doubt that I might fail. At the end of the day, if I didn’t try, I was failing myself. I opened the studio completely on my own, with physical help from friends and family to put it together, but fully financially backed by me. 2 years in and I’m fully out of debt from opening and couldn’t be prouder of myself. I. Did. That.
My vision for Golden Hour was always to create a space where artists feel empowered to be independent while feeling supported by their peers. I wanted a space where people like myself could service their clients in a safe and comfortable atmosphere, free of gender construct, and with a professional caring touch. All artists at Golden Hour run their own business within our studio and have the freedom to choose their schedule, income and services with zero input but all the support from me. What’s resulted in this is the most amazing team I could ask for. We have 3 hair stylists, a nail artist, and a permanent make up artist in house. Everyone is so talented and because we’re all supported by each other I truly believe we do some of our best work in this space.
I fell in love with hair again over the last two years and I want to continuously challenge myself to learn and be better at what I do. I am always trying new techniques, watching videos and chatting with fellow stylists. With only a year left on our lease in Parkdale, I’m already thinking about where Golden Hour can go from here. I have visions of a beautiful open concept space for us, and am always on the lookout for commercial real estate. Golden Hour is just getting started and amazing things are to come in the future.
Don’t ever let anyone make you think you can’t reinvent the wheel. Someones doubt is really just their fear and fear has no place here in creativity.
xox
Tiff