T W O .

Wow. Thank you. Two years went incredibly fast. Nostalgia is hitting us hard this week as we look over old blogs, camera rolls, and re-live the nightmares of construction. So much has led up to who we’ve become today. It’s great to call 500 Seneca our home.

We’ve created memories, crafted transformations, celebrated our city + the arts in so many ways. This journey started with a group of like-minded people in the industry, and has doubled in the time since opening our doors. Every day feels new, but it’s like the crew was always together.

Two years of memories are a lot to go over in our minds: from our grand opening party, to our fundraising ventures, partnering with Lockhouse, planning an expansion in less than two years, making friends overseas in the GDY community, traveling together, learning together- we could go on forever.

The best compliment we continue to regularly receive is that it feels comfortable in the shop. That is exactly what we strive for alongside our craft: a home for all to express themselves.

This week, our friends + guests helped form a list of memorable moments during our beginning…

Some of our faves were:

“Putting the coffee bar together.” -Danielle (Thank you for helping, there is always a coffee waiting for you!)

“I love your Instagram giveaways! Dustin won his very first Father’s Day!” -Sara (Congrats again, Perry’s!)

“The best parties in town.” -Ally (Thanks for helping make all our fundraisers a success!)

“Baby Powder.” -Jordan (We’re still sorry!)

“Loved seeing the crown crew at Pride- great float, great energy, great hair!” -Kate (Thanks! We love breaking our industry standards down + standing proud! #hairishair)

“Coming in and having Monster sleep on my lap or Bogan spin my chair around!” -Jean (Miss you, mamma!)

“Nana drinking Fireball at the opening party” -KTB (See the Media page, lol.)

“When Grace bleached my hair + burned my tan off…” -Fred (That icy hairline look…)

…That IG Ask-session was hilarious + emotional.

We are just so thankful to get to do what we love doing together, and make a difference in the world. Giving back is what we do. Breaking the gender-based price structure of the hair business is what we do. We’ve even seen some other locals adopt our pricing values since we opened, and that is a true step toward changing this industry.

2018 was especially crazy with our Ignite Buffalo opportunity! Because of Ignite, we have been able to bring on two new crew members, schedule education with both national and local instructors in the fields of hair and business, had a mini-renovation to boost productivity, expanded hours of operation, boosted marketing strategies, and streamlined the efficiency of our systems and operations. We’re so proud to be part of that Buffalo million.

Thank you to all our families, guests, supporters, friends far + near, Ignite alum, mentors, brands who have supported us since the beginning… We can’t wait to see what the future brings.

*header image by Evan Duckett, soon to be in Oxford Pennant form.

*images collected via life since we opened.