Once upon a time, a long time ago in the month of June in the state of Pennsylvania, the county of Lancaster reopened after a 15 week long shutdown. And the long awaited day arrived – Salon Enso was once again open for business. Many of you were joyful when we called to reschedule your missed appointment(s). Most of you waited with trepidation for the day you would be beckoned back into our chairs….and ALL of you giggled at the question, “did you perform any services on your hair yourself?”
Continue reading “Secrets, secrets – did you have a secret?”Author: blogadmin
Hair Care During Stay at Home Order
Being told to stay home is the equivalent of being grounded when you were younger. You can’t hang out with your friends; you can’t engage in hobbies, you just sit in your house and think about what you’ve done. Or, rather in this case you sit at home to avoid contracting and/or sharing a highly infectious disease with loved ones or those that fall into the high risk category. I’ll be honest, I never thought with all the advancements made in modern medicine (we can 3d print BODY PARTS) that we would come across a virus that could wreak such havoc in multiple countries in record breaking time. And that we would be completely unprepared for it.
Continue reading “Hair Care During Stay at Home Order”In Defense of Dirty
Dear adoring public, I’m going to let you in on a dirty little secret.
It’s a good one.
Hairdressers despise washing and styling their own hair.
GASP! SHOCK!! HORROR!!
You could ask any of the ladies here at Salon Enso that question and would be met with the same response.
Sweet by Nature, Wild at Heart
Several weeks ago, after a particularly busy day in the salon, Molly and I decided to trade services for some much needed color TLC. You may be wondering why this is such a big deal. We work in a salon and should be able to get our hair done whenever – but it is a complete rarity. Most times we are dashing out the door with color on our heads to rinse out at home or furiously blow drying our own hair in the back room post cut. Continue reading “Sweet by Nature, Wild at Heart”
Continuing Education
All my life I have been told the importance of education. Much of that pertained to the desire my parents (and grandparents) had for me to attend college. Obtaining a degree from an institution of higher learning was a much sought after job requirement.
Primary and secondary education will give you the rudimentary skills to wander through the world. They teach you how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. They teach you how to read and write.
Continuing education teaches you how to focus those skills for the job you want. It is specialized education for your career path.
Front Desk Diva
Each and every one of us sees our fair share of clients through the doors at Salon Enso. As many individuals as we see each day, month and year there is one individual that sees and remembers more faces than any other.
Chances are that you have interacted with her at least once on your many trips to the salon. This individual is tall, on occasion is bespeckled, and has hair that has been multiple colors and lengths…
Can you guess who?
It is Emily! Front Desk Coordinator Extraordinaire!
Emily has been a part of the Salon Enso family for well over 3 (going on 4) years. In that time she has become a one woman dynamo.
She is the individual that remembers each of our scheduling preferences (for all 8 stylists), can prattle off hair color terminology like a pro (having never enrolled in cosmetology school) and takes care of ordering all the Aveda products for the salon.
She also trains the front desk staff, manages our social media accounts, edits my grammatical error ridden blogs (HIIIIIIIIIII EM!) and can tell you the very best places to visit in Costa Rica.
What you may not know about Emily is that outside the salon she is a momma to three great kids, digs metal music and is a pro at quoting 80’s films (we both heart the 80’s) and Golden Girls.
And I’m not going to stop there – Emily is also one of the most artistic and crafty people I’ve ever met.
While she may not be creating art on someone’s head, she works her aesthetic into the salon. Every month she researches and creates the most amazing artwork on the chalkboard above the couch in the waiting area.
Every month she outdoes herself. You must check out this month’s ode to Aveda’s Pramasana hair care line – it is incredible.
Her artwork and creativity is also on display in her own house with an octopus adorning her bathroom wall, funky palm print upholstery on her staircase and concrete finishing on her countertops – all done by her hand.
Emily is also famous within our staff for her handmade Christmas ornaments and her Pinterest perfect cheesecakes.
If you saw any snapshots from our owner Jen’s wedding, Emily baked and decorated the wedding cake, and the 120 or so filled and iced cupcakes that adorned the cupcake tower. She did multiple flavors and frostings which prompted a taste testing party at our table….spoiler – they were all absolutely delicious.
So she can add ridiculously talented baker to her resume as well!
I asked Emily what she enjoys so much about working at Salon Enso (in addition to treating us to cake) and she said she felt Enso is a very welcoming environment and working here is fun and relaxed.
She’s also able to stretch and flex her creative muscles on a regular basis. I told her I think she enjoys working here because all of us are so rad (ha-ha).
Whatever the reason, we here at Enso are incredibly fortunate to have Emily as part of our family.
I hope you now know how incredible and indispensable she is. So next appointment stop by a little early to chit chat with Emily, about her art, kids or some of her divine cake 😉
April Earth Month Events!
April has been an eventful month. Weather wise we have had snow, wind, “monsoons” and summertime temperatures. Here at Salon Enso we have also seen our fair share of action with not one, but two back to back super successful weekend shindigs.
I have mentioned it in previous April blogs (for the last 3 to 4 years now?) that the month is a HUGE one for Aveda. April is earth month and there is nothing more sacred or precious to a company that is 100% eco-conscious. Since its inception in 1978 Aveda has strived to set an example for environmental leadership. As a company specializing in hair care and one that backs its hairdressers it make sense clean water is high on the priority list.
Caring for the Big, Blue Marble
April is Earth Month. A month dedicated to giving the giant blue marble we call home some extra love. A month where we focus on all things pertaining to the longevity of our planet: climate change, conservation, preservation and lessoning our carbon footprint.
In reality we should be consciously implementing environmental responsibility all year long. The Earth is here for us 365 days a year. You would think we could perhaps eek out more love for it rather than just 30 days, or more specifically the ONE day denoted as Earth Day.
For Aveda, every day is Earth Day. It is inspiring working for a company that makes caring for our world a primary concern. I knew Aveda utilized wind turbines to power their Blaine, Minnesota plant and uses up to 100% PET recycled plastic in its product bottles – what I didn’t know is how many years and how far reaching their goal of environmental leadership spanned.
In addition to being wind powered, Aveda’s headquarters is also a wildlife habitat certified by the National Wildlife Federation. Aveda also sponsors a butterfly garden at the Minnesota Zoo to raise awareness about pollinating insects and their impact on their world. And most importantly, Aveda has supported the Audubon’s Upper Mississippi River Initiative through their Earth Month Programs.
Twenty six years ago Aveda was the first company to sign the Ceres Principals for corporate responsibility. These principals stipulate the safe guarding of the Earth by developing environmentally friendly standards.
Clean water has always been Aveda’s “thing” when it comes to Earth Month. And with a company squarely centered around an industry that focuses on hair and skin care, it should be.
The beauty industry uses a lot of our most precious resource, water so it makes sense that we should do all we can to offset the amount used and what is being returned to our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams.
Clean water should be available to all and making it available to all should be a top priority. This is why Earth Month is Aveda’s shining star. We need to celebrate the Earth and what it does for us…so what better way than a party?
On April 9th Salon Enso hosted its first ever Earth Month Cut-a-thon. It was a spur of the moment decision that turned out to be a super successful event. For those not in the know, a Cut-a-thon is like a marathon (for a stylist) that involves scissors.
We set the hours and appointments; you book the time and then pay for your cut by donation. The response was truly stellar! We had current clients, new clients and people who heard about the cause and decided to rally for clean water.
There were mocktails and mimosas, makeup touch ups, scalp and hand massages and most importantly – MASSIVE smiles the whole way around (oh and great hair too….can’t forget about that).
Our entire event was all but filled to the max and saw us raise a total just shy of $1000. We are one third of the way to Salon Enso’s goal of $3000 dollars to give to Clean Ocean Action our local Earth Month partner.
So massive props, thanks and kudos to all that came to party with us and celebrate the Earth and clean water!
But the party doesn’t just stop there….it goes all month long. If you missed the Cut-A-Thon at Enso there are still plenty of other ways to metaphorically give the Earth a big hug.
One hundred percent from each and every brow wax performed throughout the month will also be added to our Earth Month fund. Help shape the way for clean water by getting your arches in gear!
We are also continuing our celebration by offering a mocktail of the week – or a delicious and refreshing fruity beverage sans “party water” for a $1 donation.
Aveda has championed the way for environmental leadership for nearly three decades. They care about the world we live in as well as its inhabitants, whether of land, air or sea – human, scaled, furry or hairy.
Their mission firmly states the belief that caring for the planet and caring for oneself go hand in hand. Aveda leads the environmental charge by example and we follow suit whether it is through the products used, time dedicated or the month long parties we throw.
Let’s band together and show this big blue marble how much it is loved, 365 days a year.
Earth month with Enso
If you asked him, my husband would probably say my favorite past time in addition to hairdressing is shopping. I do love to shop and I would venture to guess that it is a given for many females out there.
It may sound vapid, however the longer I’ve been doing hair, the more I realize how much the two go hand in hand. Part of what sells clothing is the particular “look” a brand has. Chloe has always centered on a very bohemian and feminine vibe, Versace has a very sexy, slick appeal, and Michael Kors is sporty Americana.
Galentines
If you have ever ventured into Salon Enso, or if you are one of the amazing individuals that follows us on any of our social media accounts (Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram) you will see a group of 12 ladies that love one another like no other.
I work with some incredible women.
They are tough, talented, creative and funny as hell. I’m sure you’ve heard peals of laughter from the back room. They are also completely compassionate and encouraging. We love to see one another succeed, whether it is behind the chair or a personal goal. We build one another up.
I’m remarkably fortunate to be part of such a dynamic crew. I’m fortunate to not only call these ladies colleagues, but friends as well. The connection extends well beyond the walls of Salon Enso. We are there with an ear in times of need, treating with coffee in times of exhaustion and with chocolate for times of…well, who doesn’t like chocolate at any time?!
Even though we have come from all walks of life, have different hobbies, wheelhouses and outward circles of friends, magic occurs between four walls when we all get together.
Lasting friendships are a tricky thing. You never know who you are going to jive with. Like attracts like, opposites attract, you say tomato and I say toma-toe, or WA-ter vs. WOOT-er. I’ve been fortunate throughout the last decade or so to find some wonderful females to dub my girlfriends.
These are ladies that have seen me at my best, at my worst and stuffing my face with fries and cake. We listen to one another moan about our significant others, that our pants feel too tight for the day, our undergarments are pinching us or that sometimes we just need a hug. We complement one another on everything from shoes (and I do love me some shoes…), to lipstick to hairstyles.
And if you can’t do things like that with your friends, who can you do them with?
My list of gal pals comes from nearly every walk of life and profession. My nearest and dearest is a psychologist. I’m also tight with an esthetician, a massage therapist, salon owners, school teachers, stay at home moms (this is a full time job), boutique owners, bloggers, designers, artists and (surprise!) other stylists.
I feel so lucky to have such a wide variety of friends – especially those that inspire me on a daily basis. I love these women for consistently expanding my wheelhouse. It takes guts to open up your own business, patience to take care of kiddos other than your own and constant imagination to be a designer and artist.
As we all know, February is home to everyone’s favorite Hallmark holiday, Valentine’s Day. But I would like to go one further (even though I have three valentines at home) and dedicate this blog post to all my GALentines.
All the women in my life that make it so much richer by being in it – and to the women that inspire them. So with that: Darcy, Emily, Keisha, Danielle, Molly, Kelly, Lisa, Susan, Janelle, Renee, Bethany, Wendy, Lauren, Casey, Melanie, Stephanie, Kristin, Nicole, Crystal, Amy, Mom, Juls – I love you all and thank you for being my friends. Also, thank you for being you, for doing what you do and for having fries and chocolate when need be.
Happy Galentine’s, Ladies!
