Meet Adrienne Meadows of Area88 in Smyrna

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrienne Meadows.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Adrienne. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My family calls me Adrie, born and raised in Atlanta! I’ve always been in love with beauty but hair really stuck out to me. Partly due to my dad owning barber shops and hair salons around the west side of Atlanta in the early 90s along with the fact he’s still a barber to this day. Not to mention spending Saturdays with my mom at Xscape hair salon, I just always loved the art of it. So, in 2014, I took the leap and decided I would follow my dream of being a stylist and I enrolled at Toni and Guy hairdressing academy, I had no idea what I was in for do you hear me!!! I hadn’t been to school in about four years so having to get into the groove of it was rough.

Once I finally got the hang of it, I fell in love with color and that’s definitely my specialty at my salon right now there were so many times I wanted to give up but my instructor Cartez Washington (who now owns his own salon and I call him to this very day and ask for advice) would tell me you’re special Adrienne just don’t let your emotions get the best of you with your work. I eventually won Best Men’s Cut in the student category when I entered the Photographic awards with Toni and Guy and that just gave me the boost of confidence I needed! I went on to go work for the company and unfortunately, that wasn’t the home for me but I’ll always be grateful for the work ethic and grooming they gave me. Fast forward, I went to re-start my career with Bob Steele where I had to start over from scratch. I was interning taking their education classes on Monday waitressing and doing sew-ins on the side for a whole year straight 0 off days but I knew I had to go stay focus and push through. In 2016, after completing my internship, I started to build my clientele with the company at the Smyrna location and I fell in love with the industry all over again. Building my clientele wasn’t hard at all because all of my clientele were so diverse and I found a piece of myself in every one of them.

But after two years, I was burned out it was becoming ritualistic so started looking for ways to find that spark. I got involved with Redken and started researching the steps to become one of their educators and platform artist. Once I started that it still wasn’t enough, I knew I wanted to go forward with my dream of doing New York fashion week and I did just that. I worked with Charlie Price and the beauty underground for NYFW 2018 and it was one of the happiest moments in my life! Being in the midst of these beautiful models high-end designer learning the method to the madness I was intrigued. After that, I still wasn’t satisfied because I wanted more freedom to do more things like that but I knew it wouldn’t happen working for someone else. So, one day, a friend and I were talking and they suggested I get my own salon and asked what the hold up was. I told them I really didn’t know except for money. I got on my grind working two jobs saving I went hard!

So, when 2019 came, I decided it would be my year I would branch out and become a salon owner! I decided to take all of the grooming money saved invested and just dive in! It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in life because if anything went wrong I could only blame myself. It’s been such a journey and you’d be surprised at how the s smallest things can be so hard like finding the name adequate color storage space the right room temperature it takes a lot. So, March came and it was time to open and boom I hit the ground running. I’d say about 70-80% of my clientele came and I’m so thankful for each and every one them. Every root touch up, hair cut, I’m thankful for the struggles, heartaches, tears of joy, I’m proud thankful and would do it all over again.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been 50/50. No one tells how you’re going to burn gallons and gallons of gas how many permits you’ll need to obtain how Walmart target salon centric amazon cosmo prof will become your best friends! Oh and you can say goodbye to sleep and social life! But in the madness of it all, I always find this calmness that lets me know God has me on the right path and my family is always there rooting for me. The scariest thing is making sure your clientele follows you and gaining new clientele. That’s part of the reason I stayed in Smyrna. I wanted to keep my clients as close and comfortable to the old location as possible. I didn’t want to give them any reason they couldn’t follow me. You also have to constantly reinvent yourself you. You never want to get in a rut mentally or physically I constantly change my hairstyle setting the tone for my client’s cuz if I get stuck they’ll get stuck. Social media plays a huge effect in marketing communication so I’m always trying to find a way to utilize it and help area88 grow without being overly saturated. I literally learn something new daily but I’m here for all challenges.

Area88 – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
So, Area88 is a full-service salon. We offer color, cuts, extensions bridal hair and makeup. Men’s and children’s cuts. My specialty would def have to be color. It’s what I live for I’m constantly taking new classes pushing the envelope with new techniques. So many people are afraid of it but somehow I always know when to dig in and get aggressive with it or pull back and be a little more subtle with it. It’s all based on what the client and I see fit. I’m most proud of the company for its diversity and its ability to shift with the client when major life changes occur or they just want a new look. I have so many women that I’ve watched go through so many phases from marriages graduations first-time moms grandmothers and to be able to watch them transition in life as I transition their hair as they enter new stages is so powerful. One of the things that set me apart is I listen to my clients, not what they want with their hair but their stories. Their stories eventually let me know their lifestyle and that’s how we come up with cut color and styles to fit everyone’s lifestyle, no matter if you’re a stay at home mom, attorney, high schooler, teacher, we make everyone feel comfortable and welcome. It’s more like a family, we chat to catch up on celebrity gossip, have a glass of wine, just enjoy ourselves.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Ooh, that’s a hard one! It’s more like moments. My top three would have to be between New York Fashion Week and opening Area88. Both of them had been dreams for so long and to accomplish both within six months of each other was the ultimate ok, I’m really exceeding my own expectations. But on a daily basis, restoring women’s confidence. Our hair is our everything and a woman’s confidence and self-esteem can go from 0-100 based on our 1.5-hour appointment. Seeing my clients smile from covering up their greys or giving that money piece blonde just makes me feel like so proud! Like little old me restoring confidence daily!

Contact Info:

• Address: 3240 South Cobb Dr. Suite 111 Smyrna, Ga 30080
• Website: Area88atl.as.me
• Phone: 6787583639
• Email: area88atl@gmail.com
• Instagram: @Area88atl

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