“It’s so emotional. It’s so surreal, like everything we ever wanted and more,” said co-owner Emily Olah. “We had such a clear vision for so long and to just see it coming to life is so, so surreal.”
Olah and co-owner Brenna Scott, both from Springfield, started together and have been doing hair together for 10 years. The two have been at Studio B Salon and Spa in downtown Springfield for the last seven years. They said they are thankful for what Studio B and owner TaBetha Biggs did for them and allowed them to grow.
“We’ve kind of just come to a point in our careers where we needed to create our own space, our own environment and our own atmosphere, and we’ve also just outgrown where we are,” Olah said.
Olah and Scott also started a program while at Studio B where they offer an assistant stylist program to help stylists grow into their careers and build their clientele after cosmetology school, which they plan to offer at the new place.
The two picked the Springfield location for the new salon, which is in an old dentist’s office, because it’s centrally located and closer to home.
“I love that we can turn kind of an eyesore in Springfield into something beautiful and add to the community. Our goal from the very beginning has been to add to the community and give back,” Olah said.
Picking the name of the salon was the hardest part, Olah added.
“In the end we chose (this) because it embodies the luxury and lightness we wanted to bring into in our space,” she said. “As well as later finding that ash trees have a substantial ability to adapt to different situations, as well as signifying the destruction of old things to achieve something new and marvelous.”
The salon will offer cuts, colors and extensions, which Olah said she and Scott are passionate about. The upper level of the building will house the salon, and the lower level will be room rentals. There are six rooms that will be beauty industry-related businesses, such as an esthetician, and permanent makeup and jewelry.
“(We) are both extremely passionate about extensions and what it can do for peoples confidence. We built our salon around the stylist who specializes in extensions because there’s not really anything like that around here,” Olah said.
There will be 10 stylists who will choose their own hours, but will most likely be open Monday through Saturday.
There will be a grand opening for the salon, but that date has not been determined.
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