Meet Kerry Mitchell of StainD Salon & StainD Airbrush Tanning in Scottsdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kerry Mitchell.

Kerry, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised in New York and moved to Arizona in 2008 following my family who moved here in the mid-’90s. I hustled and built my hairdressing business by investing all of the money I had and doing every person I came in contact with’s hair for free, knowing if I could get them in once, my work would get them to return. I proved myself right and after just a few months in town, I built a pretty strong business. I started as a commission employee and worked my way into an independent contractor. I left my original salon and rented a station at another big name in Scottsdale where my business continued to grow and I had a desire for more. I longed for the warmth of businesses, mainly salons, in New York. The “community” place where clients interacted with one another, where everyone knew everyone, where sometimes people came sometimes just for a good cup of coffee and a visit. A place that was welcoming and had an edge to it, where music pumped and people laughed and the atmosphere wasn’t so sterile. I couldn’t find it. So, I built it. I found a small boutique like space nestled in the Sachi Studios building. I had been getting my own hair done at a studio there for years and loved the buzz I could feel in the building, in the hallways, in the air. Then, a space came available. A small space that I could house four talented hairdressers and create the vibe I longed for. StainD Salon became the song in my heart… I built it to look and feel like New York. Exposed brick provided the warmth and urban feel Id been longing for. I realized, in that time, that I didn’t care if I made any money, I just wanted to be happy where I did this thing that I loved so much all day long.

During my time at my second salon, I attempted to find a space close enough where I could open a spray tanning salon. A second business that I had a huge passion for in a space close enough to where I was that I could manage the two businesses at once. After much back and forth, I couldn’t find the right fit. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. When my salon got a life, the thought of this other line of business came back into my heart and I was able to procure the space right next to me to build out that dream. I carried over the same look and feel to that space and on April 1, 2019, StainD Airbrush Tanning started its journey. Now, people come into the Sachi Studios building and marvel how it now looks like a corner in Soho, and my heart soars. After a 2007 stint with stage 2 melanoma, I became an avid spray tan client. I LOVED how I felt with a healthy glow and became something of an addict to the service. I could look the way I wanted in the Valley of the Sun, without the harmful effects of sun this valley provides. When I would look to find a really great spot to do it, I was limited to either going all the way south Scottsdale or all the way North so I planted one right in the middle and we are off to an amazing start!! Unique to us is that our salon is ten steps away which is where we came up with the idea with an amazing service called the “Glow and Blow.” Spray tan requires you to shower off the solution in either eight hours for a standard tan, or three hours in a rapid solution. This service allows you to get sprayed one day and return the following day for an amazing blow out to prep you for all your weekend festivities!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth was not necessarily my path. Moving to a strange place, knowing no one, presented a huge challenge for me when it came to building a clientele. Arizona, unlike New York, has the vast, overbearing salons that house 30-50 hairdressers. You could easily find yourself lost in the shuffle, so finding my place, finding my “special”, the thing that made people choose me over all the rest was a challenge. I quickly learned that I did things differently. I talked different, I did hair differently, my attitude had an edge to it that the people of Arizona weren’t quite used to. I could only be who I am, so although some people didn’t like it, many more loved it. My direct way of communicating was hard I think for people to really “get”, but when they did, they loved me for it, and appreciated the truth. I rarely tell people what they want to hear, I tell people what I truly think because I want them to look and be their BEST!!!!!! But when I came here, there were MANY days and weeks where I had no clients at all. AT ALL!! I would sit in my chair all day and wait… the owners would ask me if I wanted to go home and I always said no. I may have sat with no clients, but I knew there was no chance of me getting a new client at home on my couch. I spent many nights crying in fear and what felt like a failure, but I showed up every day, begged people to come in, and those days were soon over.

When I built StainD Salon, the hard part was the build-out of the space but the day it opened… business as usual. Now, with my new business, Im back to 2008. Marketing, losing money, panicking, networking, training, dreaming of ways for people to know “WE’RE OVER HERE!!!!!!!” has been more challenging than my hair business. Hair I knew how to do… this is all new. We’ve trained for months and it occurred to me how long it had been since I learned something completely different!!! Growth is growth and there are pains involved. I have to remind myself often that this is where I started and look at me now. One day, this business with be the same and I will look back at all the tears and all the fears and laugh.

StainD Salon & StainD Airbrush Tanning – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I feel like Im a very well rounded hairdresser. Being trained in New York, I do a lot of precision and razor cutting, something you don’t see too much of out here. The razor cut was my ticket to building a huge male clientele. Few people do it, and once men get that textured, piecey messy look so easy, it was a no brainer for them to come back. I’m one of the few hairdressers that have almost a 40% male clientele. Now that Im not poor (ha!) Im able to provide my clients with the top of the line, ammonia free color and lightener. It’s a healthier option and leaves everyone, including the huge amount of blondes I do, with damage free, shiny color. Blonde hair is my thing when it comes to color. I think being a blonde makes me get it a little more. I understand the wants and don’t wants so that and my realistic approach to color has made me somewhat of a blonde expert.

What sets me apart is that Im as real as it gets. If it won’t look good, I’ll tell you. If its a mistake, I’ll tell you. I don’t overcharge. I may undercharge actually, but I get it. I don’t want this service to be something thats a burden. I want everyone to be able to look the way they want without having to save up for it. My goal is not making money, it’s being true to myself and treating every person the way I pray my mom is being treated when she’s out in the world.

I’m most proud of the vibe I’ve created. I’m proud of the beauty that is StainD. I’m proud that people love it, that they sing along to the music. That we make mimosas on Saturdays and kick off the weekends. I’m proud of the love in the room. It was in my heart, and now I walk into it every day.

Is there a specific memory from when you were younger that you really miss?
I used to be a child actor. My mom would schlepp me into Manhattan for auditions almost every day. The girls at school hated me. I was on TV and I was leaving school every day while they were forced to stay. So, of course, I wanted to quit. But my family and manager urged me on.

My mom made sacrificed so much for me… so we’d have this amazing time driving alone together in our station wagon into Manhattan and every time, on the way home, we’d stop at Carvel Ice Cream. She and I would have ice cream at the end of every trip. She was my hero. That ice cream with her was my everything and I think of it all the time.

Contact Info:

• Address: StainD Salon & StainD Airbrush Tanning
  10201 N Scottsdale Road #23A-1
  Scottsdale, AZ 85253
• Website: staindscottsdale.com
• Phone: Salon (480) 440 7152 Tanning (602) 999 3899
• Email: Staindscottsdale@gmail.com
• Instagram: @staind_scottsdale

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