Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Bolden and Kaitlin Casper.
Hi Natalie and Kaitlin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Kaitlin and I grew up and met in advertising. We were working on the account and strategy side of the business and both made the jump to client side at the same time, so we met at Park Nicollet/Health Partners. We built a friendship and bonded over many things, one of which was clean beauty. We both had the entrepreneurial bug and that combination set us off on a journey to raise the bar – the experience and safety in the nail salon and beauty world.
We left our agency posts and enrolled in nail school to really get an understanding of what it takes and how it should and shouldn’t be done. And that experience really informed the build out of our studio, how we hired and trained and it even allowed us to jump in the chair from time to time to fill in during our first year in business. 🙂
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well as with all new and small businesses you anticipate a few bumps and learnings along the way but you don’t quite anticipate a global pandemic at the start of your second year. 😉
It’s been a wild year, no way around that. We were shut down with the rest of the country from April to June, but have been blessed to be open since June. Our customers are the best and showed up for us during our closure and immediately following our reopening – so demand has actually been great. We’re working hard to hire some more amazing artists in order to meet the demand and have recently launched both waxing and tinting services to better serve our clients’ needs and bring them the same elevated experience they’ve grown to love from our nail services.
Beyond the obvious financial challenges, it’s been a year of learning how to be flexible, roll with the realities of our “new normal” and seek that connection with our team and clients that is such a hallmark of what we set out to do.
Because of our focus on safety, we met many new clients this year and have been so excited to welcome them in along with our existing clients for some much needed self-care, pampering and human connection. Lot’s of people are coming in saying this is their first pedicure in a year! We are just excited to have them and to still be here after that crazy year.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Haven, we are all about safer products, smarter techniques and waterless services…plus an elevated experience. We aim to create a healthier-for-you experience by screening all of the ingredients for safety and ensuring they meet our standards, we also use hospital grade sanitation practices so customers have greater peace of mind.
We have developed our services to employ smarter techniques that are both better for the health of your nails and skin and also more pampering. We’re focused on overall health so there’s an element of consultation and customization that comes with each service – and did we mention the pampering.
The waterless piece is what is most unique for many of our first-time clients. In lieu of a hot water soak for hands and feet, we use hot steamed towels to great effect. Going waterless allows us to provide our safer, smarter services – not only is it better for the duration of your manicure, but it also reduces the risk of infection and helps out the environment. A traditional pedicure uses about 10 to 15 gallons of water per service and by eliminating the water soak, our single studio will save thousands of gallons of water per year and we are mighty darn proud of that!
In terms of the experience, we also like to hit all of the senses from what the studio feels like, looks like, sounds like, smells like so it really is a different vibe than most nail salons.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Our new waxing and tinting services bring everything our clients love about Haven into a whole new service! We have hired two incredible waxing specialists who are working with us to raise the bar in the world of hair removal. We’ve worked hard to define what waxing looks and feels like at Haven, partnering with Christina Snead of the award-winning Blink Studio to train our team and bring our clients a new kind of waxing experience. Our safer, smarter, elevated approach holds true for these new services – from the waxing products we’ve selected to the care you’ll receive. It’s an exciting expansion for us!
Pricing:
- Nail Services $35+
- Waxing/Tinting Services $13+
Contact Info:
- Email: business@havennailstudio.com
- Website: havennailstudio.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/havennailstudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehavennailstudio/
