Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany and Amber Harrington.
Brittany and Amber, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Brittany – I knew at a young I wanted to be a hair stylist as young as 5 years old. That was when I first cut my brothers hair when he was only 2 years old, destroying every curl on his head.
In 2000, I landed my first job as a hair sweeper moving up to shampoo girl. I knew that the hair industry was my calling and I never once looked into ordinary colleges.
After completing an apprenticeship and getting my license from the GA Institute of Cosmetology in 2004, at the age of 19 I opened my first one room sole proprietorship. I had a single room in the back in a tanning salon called Salon at Southern Exposure. Through business planning and effectively branding myself, in 2007, I opened what is now Studio 285. It was a 1000 sq. foot office suite with 3 employees. Two years later, we grew out of that space and moved into our second location. I had lost my current employees and had to start from scratch. Undeterred, I focused on building the brand and becoming more educated in my craft. Hard work paid off and the salon began to build again. Surpassing the first salon completely.
I knew if I did not bring on management help that success would plato. So in 2012, after two years of begging, my sister Amber quit her job to come manage the salon full time she quit her nursing job and jumped on board. Working as a complimentary team, we surpassed every goal that we set for ourselves.
In April 2014 our family suffered a devastating loss. My sister’s 31-year-old husband passed away suddenly from an aortic aneurysm. Through our shock and grief, we now worked through our own personal growth. Finding out what we really wanted in life how grateful we are for each other our business our clients who love us and life altogether.
Having grown financially we began to grow spiritually.
Amber – Picking up where Brittany has kinda left off. My personal background of Nursing and staff management and with my relentless OCD I came into the business in 2012. Working alongside my sister was a gamble, however, knowing she was putting her all into something gave me the security to take a leap of faith. Of course, with the passing of my husband my faith was ultimately put to the test. I could not see through the fog of my grief and I had to leave Brittany alone for a month-long sabbatical in Europe.
While there I found my new self, and wanted to bring parts of that back home with me. The infrastructure of London was amazing to me it made me crazy thinking why do we not have this kind of thing back home. When I returned to work I had new inspiration and together Brittany and I came up with the idea of Carraway Crossing. Carraway Crossing would be a new all-inclusive shopping experience. We knew our customers and we knew how they worked and played. We set forth a business plan, to build a different style building that would offer our clients different amenities. We pitched our business plan to three different banks until we finally met with a female loan officer that finally could see our vision. For the next 3 years we meticulously went over and customized every square inch of our first building. We selected businesses that complimented the type of shopping environment that we wanted to create. Nothing at Carraway Crossing is by chance.
As for the new Studio 285, in Atlanta, it initially began as a small project to better serve our out-of-town clientele. It quickly became a much bigger project stemming from our love for the city as a whole. Every square inch oozes creativity not just for our clients to enjoy but we know that if we keep our employee’s inspired and taken care of they will take care of our clients. Walking through either of our salons is like walking through the mind of Brittany Harrington herself! Point at any item and it has a back story and a purpose.
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?
One challenge we continue to face is being taken seriously. Two young women in a stereotyped industry of “hair salons” has been an on going challenge. People usually underestimate us until they meet us. Every time someone has told us “No” or that our dreams are too big those people have only served to make us more determined and more dedicated to our careers. We are not done, not by a long shot but you will just have to keep watching to see what we are on to next!
Studio 285 – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are known for our extensions and color – Brittany is known as the extension “Guru”!
Adding on, all of our decors have meaning and a story. We believe a good atmosphere is made through every minor detail that can be seen in our salons.
We also take our education from all of our stylists very seriously. We encourage each one to take yearly classes around the U.S. that specialize in extensions, color & any new areas of the hair industry that are pushing the envelope.
A few of these classes and events include:
901 Classes in L.A.
Bombshell Extension Class in Las Vegas
New York Fashion Week
Boot Camp in L.A. (On Set Hair Productions, with celebrity stylist Susan Lipson)
Worked on movie sets
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Brittany – I don’t know that I’ve achieved my proudest moment yet, to be honest. I don’t want to get complacent in my work.
If I had to say though, it would be the opening of Carraway Crossing on July 15th, 2017!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://studio285inc.com/
- Phone: 706-945-0175
- Email: cayd@285too.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studio285/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Studio285Inc/?ref=bookmarks
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Studio285Inc
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/studio-285-evans
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/11291846/
Image Credit:
Brittany Harrington
Amber Harrington
Wanda Harrington
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