we.are > our story

I love sharing our story…it is a great time to honor our history, our foundation, our values and the characters that bring our story to life.

Our story essentially started with my mother, Judy Turner. Although I didn’t realize I was learning valuable insights to my future, I would spend hours hanging out in her salon. Most of the time I would be getting in trouble for spinning in the stylist chairs, however, I also would hear the conversations amongst the team. I would witness the difficulties of being successful in this industry. I never thought for a second that I would make a career in the beauty industry. I only joined cosmetology school to have a skill that would help me earn some money to get through college.

Day 2 of beauty school…I knew this was what I was meant to do. As a second-generation hairdresser, everything just made sense. I drove to my hometown and told my mother “I am going to be a hairdresser…but not just any hairdresser…I want to change the industry.”

So in 1990, armed with a cosmetology license, a dream, $242.00 to my name, $200.00 that a friend let me borrow on my 1974 Volkswagen van, I set out to make a difference and opened our first salon location. And yes, we made every mistake you could think of, and somehow, we did a few things right. I have always been comfortable with the concept of “if you build it, they will come”. Knowing I wanted to make a place where everyone had a brighter opportunity, things had to be different.

My mother closed her salon and came on board. She kept us from going bankrupt and handled the difficult job of our finances. Without her, we would not be here today.

A family friend named Homer Maxwell took over construction and maintenance (we are constantly changing our environment).

Lisa Wilson found us and is an amazing hairdresser and a dear friend.

Patsy Neely joined us on the journey and has become a premiere skin care specialist.

A landscaper named Craig Cobb became a friend and would frequent the salon. Over dinner one night, he asked to tell him about the beauty industry. I was traveling every weekend as a platform artist and took him to one of our shows where he was a model for us. ..need I say more. Soon after that, Craig joined our team and became an immediate influence and leader. Craig is a wonderful friend, a marvelous hairdresser, an incredible teacher and an inspiring leader. And the great thing is, we are all still journeying together. There are many other cast members who have played a great role and made our journey special, many of who you can meet on our team page. There are a few more that I want to mention:

Andrea Villanueva is a daily inspiration. She is one of the most creative people I have ever met.

Charise Brandt is a blast of fun and a wonderful talent who is emerging as a thoughtful and patient teacher.

The amazing Nikole Ballard joined our spa and later was drawn to becoming the energy of our client relations.

Megan Lowe, fresh from her experience of living in London, re-emerged in our journey (she is a long time client) and became our first general manager. She has brought a perspective to our team that has been missing.

Corbin Shullanberger entered our world and immediately put his fingerprint on who we are. He has grown in everyway and has emerged as a true leader and teacher, especially in color. There are many other cast members who I hope you will get to meet…they really are amazing individuals.

So that is really how I see our story. I could talk about ‘hairdresser friendly financial’, or ‘retail edge’, or ‘training goes tribal’, or ‘engageship’, or any number of the programs that we write, develop and implement to help the opportunities for our team continue to grow. I could talk about our classes we hold for the industry and how we are quickly becoming a premier education company. I could tell you about the future we have in the works and the salons we are opening. I could mention a number of wonderful things that make us different, however, the difference is in the cast members and the relationships that we are all fortunate to cultivate. It is the journey together that really tells our story. This is going to be another banner year for the William Edge Salon.