Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurel Stanton.
Laurel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was four, I discovered my mother’s sewing scissors and gave myself the haircut of my dreams. It wasn’t your traditional little girl cut. It was the same amazing “mushroom” haircut as my best friend, Adam — and I just had to have it. Considering my age, it didn’t turn out so bad, either. That was the day I discovered my lifelong passion, and an appreciation for how a haircut can completely change the way a person looks.
In eighth grade, I presented my parents with a business plan to persuade them to let me attend a local vocational school in place of traditional high school. I graduated from the Cosmetology program at Minuteman Vocational Technical School in Lexington, MA.
As a stylist, I spent the next decade building my education and experimenting with new techniques. Although I loved my career, I sensed my journey was far from over. I knew that one day I wanted to open my own salon, but the Boston area wasn’t where I wanted to spend the next chapter of my life.
At the same time, after working so many years with traditional salon products and hair color, I developed eczema on my hands from the chemicals and synthetic ingredients. I am also plagued by migraines that are triggered by chemical-based fragrances and perfumes.
A concern with salon products was the potential harm they could wage on people like my aunt, who, in 2014, was undergoing treatments for stage 4 ovarian cancer. That year, she asked me to take a look at the ingredients of a natural base hair color that she had purchased. At the time, I was not aware what were considered good or bad ingredients. This is when I went on a mission to find safer products for everyone to enjoy.
In 2015, my life partner, Andrew, and I needed a change from the busy city life of Boston. That summer, we spent every weekend in Portland, Maine, and it felt like home. A few months later, we took the plunge and relocated.
Using what I learned about more healthful hair products, Andrew and I opened my ideal salon, Lavender.
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?
Andrew and I are planners. When we decided to open a salon, we developed a clear direction for where we wanted to see the business go. We knocked off easy items that were in our control and not time sensitive, like building our vision board, forming our LLC and business bank account.
Throughout planning, we identified priority items, such as a storefront location. This was a bit challenging, as Portland has a very tight commercial property market. While we couldn’t control availability, we had a target area in mind.
Our planning and foresight paid off tremendously. We found our current location by networking with a few key people rather than using a traditional real estate broker. We are deeply grateful to Opticliff Law, Bangor Savings, The Women’s Business Center at CEI, and Barrett Made, Hugh McCormick. They all helped take our dream and turn it into reality.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Lavender – what should we know?
We opened Lavender in April 2018, after a year and a half of planning. My goal of opening an environmentally friendly salon that uses non-toxic products and hair color is now a reality.
At Lavender, we believe beauty shouldn’t be compromised by harmful ingredients, so we provide clients the best products containing fewer toxins. Not only do we enhance your physical appearance and relaxation at Lavender, we do so with your overall well-being in mind. We feel every client deserves to feel special and relaxed. It’s important that each client experiences a one-on-one relationship with their stylist to achieve customized soft, natural hair coloring, and balanced hair cutting.
Our carefully selected salon products are bio-dynamically processed, which means the farms that source the ingredients do not use heavy machinery or pesticides. What they take from the land, they put back into the land or use for livestock feed. Lavender is a sustainable salon. With the help of Green Circle Salons, we recycle 100% of our post-service waste. We compost all of our hair clippings to a local company called Garbage to Garden, and recycle about 90% of our overall waste.
Our other ambition was to be part of a friendly, active community. Lavender is located on inner Washington Avenue in one of Portland’s most up-and-coming neighborhoods. We are surrounded by a wonderful, inviting community of small shops and restaurants.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Most important to me is making every effort to understand others, to be patient and to work together as a welcoming community.
Contact Info:
- Address: 63 Washington Ave Portland, Maine 04101
- Website: www.salonlavender.com
- Phone: 207-747-4431
- Email: hello@salonlavender.com
- Instagram: lavenderportlandme
- Facebook: lavenderportlandme
Image Credit:
Beth Fitzgerald
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