Kelly, a 16 year career stylist, and fantastic addition to the #HOBtravelteam, resides primarily in Illinois, (about 30 minutes outside of St. Louis), and splits her time between a salon in Illinois and our salon here in Naples. Though she was born and raised a Midwest girl, she always felt a strong pull to the beach and Florida sunshine.  

 

From early childhood, she gravitated to the salon world. “I remember being a little girl and begging to be dropped off at our local hairdresser’s one room salon in her home. I just loved being in the environment from early on and would just watch her and play in the perm rods for hours.” She attended college post high school, but felt a strong pull back to the possibility of her dream of becoming a hairdresser. The woman she grew up admiring so much who gave her her first haircut ended up being her first manager at the salon where she began my career. 

 

Kelly enjoys the coloring process most, especially blonding services, from dimensional color to grey blending. Her dream client is someone who is a blonde or wants to embrace dimension within their hair color. More specifically, her preference is to work with longer hair to be able to showcase the endless possibilities color can bring out in their hair.

 

Kelly’s cheerful, kind-hearted and optimistic personality contributes to her ability to be such a relatable listener and open communicator. Creating a positive environment with realistic expectations helps her clients to feel heard while also being given realistic, professional guidance.  

 

She reveals her biggest professional achievement so far has been attending Redken Exchange on Tour, beginning the Redken career path and completing the Redken Specialist Program, and now currently joining the House of Blondes team as a travel stylist. She has received professional recognition within her Illinois salon in various team lead roles to mentor incoming stylists.

 

A quote Kelly finds encompasses her passion for this career is, “They said…you can be anything you want to be… I wanted to BE the kind of person that made EVERYONE feel like SOMEONE…So I became a hairstylist”.  

 

Fun facts: I feel the most at home and recharged when I can be by the water. I thrive on the sunshine and spend most of our Illinois summers enjoying our boat in our lake community. I am beyond excited to be able to spend more and more time in SW Florida where the beach is only a few blocks away.  I love holidays (especially the 4th of July) and nothing makes me happier than enjoying a cocktail on a patio, listening to live music with the people I love.