Today we’d like to introduce you to Holly Griffin.
Hi Holly, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started doing hair in 2005 in Las Vegas, my hometown! I moved to NYC in 2010 to work for bumble and bumble and started doing yoga at a studio called exhale. The more I got into yoga and fitness, I started to become more interested in being certified to teach others, and started working for exhale, becoming certified in spin and barre. Through exhale, I moved to Atlanta to help open a studio here. I feel like I have this great love affair with Atlanta. While working at exhale in midtown, I became a certified yoga teacher, trained by Neda Honarvar at Tough Love Yoga in Candler Park, which is the studio I now call my hearts home. As life resumed after quarantine, going back to in person fitness full time wasn’t really an option. I was getting back to a slow schedule teaching yoga when a dear friend of mine told me her sister was opening a salon and was looking for another hairdresser. She thought of me because I had been doing what I was calling “pandemic haircuts” in my community, outside and masked for friends and neighbors. When I met my friend’s sister, we instantly got each other! We both want to succeed in our craft (really in whatever we do). So now half the week you can find me helping people move their bodies and holding space for people to be their best self and the other half of the week you can find me at Forté Salon on Ponce creating beautiful cuts and colors on Atlanta’s gorgeous population. Giving people the space to collaborate with me, whether on the mat or in my chair is the most important thing to me. I just love the smiles after a great yoga class or when someone see their new highlights. I’m a daymaker.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being new to Atlanta was definitely a learning lesson, but we have definitely grown together. Being the “new kid” is never easy, but I have met so many amazing people on my Atlanta journey I wouldn’t change a minute of it! The pandemic has obviously been so hard on the world, but to watch Atlanta communities come together to help each other fills my heart.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a hyped up fitness teacher! I bring high energy and fun to my classes like barre and HIIT, and a sweet playfulnesses to my yoga classes. I connect with people very easily and truly enjoy what I do, and I think it shows. In the hair world, I love it all, but color corrections are my all-time favorite. A color correction would be, let’s say you let your sister used a box color on your hair, now it’s orange or green…I come in and put the puzzle pieces together to create a more flattering hue for you and keep your hair as healthy as possible. I love a beautiful long layered cut and a razor sharp bob. It’s really hard to nail down one thing I am most proud of. I’m really proud when a client sees themselves and feel as lovely as they are.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Find somebody doing what you want to do and study them. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Learn from that person and fake it til you make it! Kidding, kind of!
Contact Info:
- Email: Hollyhalina@gmail.com
- Website: Hollyhalina.org
- Instagram: @hollyhalina
- Facebook: @hollyhalina
- Twitter: @hollyhalina
Image Credits:
Photos by Kelly Truitt & Ryan Purcell
