Meet Nikole Ivanov and Kandy Russell of Snapdragon Salon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikole Ivanov and Kandy Russell.

Nikole and Kandy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We are humbled and grateful for this beautiful place we call home. As intentional as our salon has become, it’s something that we did not seek – it found us, in a way.

As sisters, we both inherited creativity, grit, and fierce independence. Kandy was inspired by hair from a very young age and has been practicing the craft for 22 years. Nikole’s passions have always lived in the visual arts, earning a graphic design degree in 1998.

Salon ownership was something that found us by way of a beautiful repurposed space and a desire to be business partners. In 2009, we were invited to see a new space that had been redesigned by a long time well-respected client, Susan Biegner, of Biegner-Murff Architects.

The sense of place gave us our beginnings and continues to inspire us today.

With a staff of 19 employees and a mature apprenticeship program, we work to create a culture of integrity, connectedness, kindness and support. We do great hair and life-long education is one of our guiding principles. Most importantly, this is all about special relationships.

More so now than ever, we strive to create a calm, friendly, and peaceful environment that is a sanctuary from the outside world. It all begins with our staff – we encourage them to take time off, work four days per week, and we offer health insurance even for our part-time employees. Taking care of those who are responsible for our success is at the center of our core values. Our philosophy is a commitment to do the best work, connect with every person that walks through our door, and to make people feel good in an authentic way.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Struggle makes us strong, right? There have been so many obstacles: learning to put our staff first was a big one. Gracefully allowing criticism to help us improve has been another challenge.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Snapdragon Salon – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We specialize in color. Color inspired by nature is at the heart of our proprietary education program. We teach shear over comb men’s cuts, and very specific techniques for cutting. Our approach is a mix of everything we’ve learned over the years. Many of our staff members that are behind the chair evolve what they learn from us and get very inspired by a certain and techniques. We always support growth and creativity. In spite of being known for our color, a few of our staff members are mostly inspired by cutting, so they mostly cut – and they do it exceptionally well. The best of all worlds. We are a Bumble and bumble exclusive salon.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are always refining our education program, looking for the newest classes, and we enjoy sending our staff to New York for Bumble and bumble education. We are currently evolving our retail space to be a unique boutique with cool gift products, most of which are locally handmade.

Pricing:

• Haircuts: $40 – $95 (depending on stylist level)
• Color: $65 – $300 (depending on service and stylist)
• Boutique gift items from $3.00 – $120.00

Contact Info:

• Address: 347 E. Camelback Road
• Website: www.snapdragon-salon.com
• Phone: 602-690-2629
• Email: nikoleivanov@gmail.com
• Instagram: @snapdragonstudio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SnapdragonStudio/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/snapdragonsalon
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/snapdragon-salon-phoenix

Image Credit:
Snapdragon Salon

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