Meet Kashshay Coles of The Sew In Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kashshay Coles.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m the oldest of four children, and I was raised by a single mother who worked extremely hard to make sure we always had everything we needed. Some of my earliest memories of hair are watching my mom braid everyone’s hair. I would just sit there and watch her, not realizing at the time how much those moments would influence my life.

As I got a little older, I started practicing on my dolls, my friends, and eventually my family. My cousin Debbie would come over, put a chair right in the middle of the living room or out on the porch, and let me do whatever I wanted to her hair. She had me relaxing, washing, drying and styling her hair with absolutely no real knowledge of what I was doing. Looking back, I probably wasn’t even old enough to be anywhere near somebody’s relaxer! But she trusted me enough to sit there and let me learn, experiment and figure things out.

Fast forward to my twenties, and hair was still a constant in my life. I always did my own hair or my friends’ hair, but I never actually saw myself becoming a hairstylist. I definitely didn’t look at hair as a potential source of income or a career. I would work different jobs, and almost like clockwork, after about a year I would quit. Nothing ever really felt like mine.

I always had a love for hair and makeup, so when I decided to go to cosmetology school, I actually went in intending to sign up for esthetics. At the time, I was a single mother of two, and I learned that if I wanted to use financial aid, I would need to complete the full cosmetology program. So that’s what I did. What initially felt like a change of plans ended up putting me exactly where I needed to be. God saw me through it, and I graduated.

After graduation, I worked in different salons and started noticing a gap in the industry. Cosmetology school teaches you the fundamentals, including sanitation, disease control and the technical basics, but I realized there was so much I still didn’t know about actually building a career. How do you run your business? How do you build clientele? How do you price yourself? What happens after you graduate and suddenly you’re expected to figure everything out?

That experience became part of the vision behind The Sew In Studio. My goal is for The Sew In Studio to grow beyond my personal brand and become a commission-based learning salon. It will be open to stylist at different stages of their careers, but I especially want to create a space for those who are fresh out of cosmetology school and asking the same question I once had: What do I do next?

I want them to have the guidance, education and real-world experience that I wish I had when I entered the industry. So when I look at where I started, from watching my mom braid hair, to doing hair on the porch without having a clue what I was doing, to becoming a licensed professional and building The Sew In Studio, it feels like everything has come full circle. Hair was always a part of my story. It just took me some time to realize it was also part of my purpose.

Alright, 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?
No road you take in life will ever be completely smooth. I believe the bumps along the way are what build your strength, faith and character.

I’m a single mother of four, which comes with its own set of challenges. Throughout my journey, I’ve experienced homelessness, eviction, having my car repossessed, losing friendships, losing family members and plenty of moments where I genuinely didn’t know how I was going to make it through. You name it, I’ve probably been through some version of it.

But one of the greatest things those experiences taught me is that your circumstances do not define you, and what you’ve been through does not get to determine where you’re going.

Every difficult season has taught me something, strengthened something in me, or redirected me toward something better.

Life isn’t necessarily about what you go through. It’s about how you respond to what you go through. I can’t control every circumstance that comes my way, but I can control whether I allow it to stop me or use it as fuel to keep becoming the woman I know I’m supposed to be.

As you know, we’re big fans of The Sew In Studio . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The Sew In Studio is a luxury extension-focused brand specializing in seamless, natural-looking installs while prioritizing the health of the client’s natural hair. I specialize in sew-ins, K-tips and microlinks. I think what I’ve become most known for is my attention to detail, especially my extremely flat sew-ins and my ability to blend extensions in a way that makes people question where the natural hair ends and the extensions begin.

What sets The Sew In Studio apart is that I don’t believe extensions should just look good in pictures. They should look good in real life, feel comfortable, move naturally and allow the woman wearing them to feel like herself. I’m very intentional about everything from the foundation and placement to texture matching and blending. I want my clients to leave my chair with beautiful hair, but I also want their natural hair to remain healthy underneath it.

I’m especially proud of how much the brand has evolved. What began with me simply building myself as a hairstylist has grown into The Sew In Studio, and I’m now building RAW by The Studio, my raw hair collection. Being able to provide both the service and quality hair allows me to have more control over the entire experience my clients receive.

But the vision for The Sew In Studio is much bigger than my chair. Eventually, I want it to become a commission-based learning salon where stylists, especially newly licensed, can perfect their craft while also learning the business side of the beauty industry. I want to provide the mentorship and real-world guidance that I felt was missing when I first graduated.

More than anything, I want people to know that The Sew In Studio is being built with intention. I’m not interested in simply being booked and busy. I’m building a brand that can grow beyond me, create opportunities for other women, educate the next generation of stylists and become known for exceptional extension work.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions or put yourself in rooms where you can learn. I didn’t have a traditional mentor when I first entered the industry, and honestly, there were many things I had to learn through trial and error. That experience is actually part of what made me realize how valuable mentorship is.

When it comes to networking, what has worked best for me is being genuine. I don’t approach every connection thinking, “What can this person do for me?” I believe in building real relationships, supporting other people’s work, asking questions and being willing to learn. Social media has also been a huge tool because it gives you access to people and opportunities you may have never encountered otherwise.

My advice for someone looking for a mentor would be to first identify what you actually want mentorship in. Don’t just look for someone successful. Look for someone whose knowledge, values or career path aligns with where you’re trying to go. And when you find that person, be willing to invest in their knowledge, whether that means taking their class, attending an event, booking a consultation or simply showing genuine support before asking for their time.

I also think you have to get comfortable putting yourself out there. Some connections will lead somewhere and some won’t, but every room you enter gives you an opportunity to learn something. Sometimes the person who changes the trajectory of your career is one conversation away, but you have to be willing to start the conversation.

Pricing:

• K-Tip Extensions: Starting at $900, with hair included
• Traditional Sew-In: Starting at $200
• Microlink Extensions: Starting at $350
• RAW by The Studio: Premium raw hair extensions available for purchase
• The Sew In Studio Education: Hands-on extension education for aspiring and working stylists, including upcoming Sew-In classes designed to teach my techniques, foundations, blending, and the business behind building a successful extension clientele. Enrollment opening soon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kissedbykashhh.as.me/
• Instagram: Kissedbykash_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1MPHeZcVoc/?mibextid=wwXIfr