We are spotlighting the winners of Beauty Launchpad’s 30 Over 30 contest, sponsored by Denman Brush.
Get to know Liz Edwards (@atomicliz.does.hair). She is a stylist and salon owner of Studio Kintsugi in Richmond, VA.
Q&A:
Beauty Launchpad (BLP): What is a fun fact about you?
Liz Edwards (LE): I learned how to sew during COVID, and now make clothes in my free time.
BLP: How did you get your start in the industry?
LE: I like to tell people my career started long before hair school. Back in the early 2000s, I was a weird alt kid who would color mine and my friends hair with Manic Panic. After high school, I attended school for fine art. I lived off campus, and my next door neighbors were two girls my age who were hairstylists. They seemed so cool and like rock stars, and I KNEW I wanted in on what they were doing, so I left art school. That winter I enrolled in what is now the Toni & Guy Academy in Newton, CT.
BLP: What is your proudest achievement in the industry thus far?
LE: Opening my own studio during the pandemic, I felt as though I was presented with two options: I could do what many others did during that time by finding another career that wasn’t so uncertain, or I could really go for it and take a risk to do what I always wanted.
BLP: What advice would you give to the younger version of yourself just starting out in the industry, looking back on your whole career?
LE: Comparison is the thief of joy. Everyone is at a different place in their career. You will get there.
BLP: What is your current favorite hair trend?
LE: I’ve been living for vivid coppers!
BLP: What is a valuable hair tip that you want to share with your fellow stylists (whether it’s a business tip or something related to styling/working with hair)?
LE: Don’t ever stop educating yourself. I don’t care if you’ve been doing hair for 50 years. There’s always something you can learn and bring to your guests to keep them from getting bored.
BLP: What inspires your work?
LE: I’m incredibly inspired by women in music: Joan Jett, Hayley Williams, Stevie Nicks, Debbie Harry and Miley Cyrus. They all have such bold and timeless looks that have and will hold up over the years, and I draw a lot of inspiration from them in so much of my work.
BLP: What is something that keeps you passionate and motivated in the industry each day?
LE: As cheesy as it sounds, my guests! Seeing them feel themselves after an appointment with me and have them keep coming back makes me want to make every appointment better than their last.
BLP: What changes would you like to see the industry make in order to grow/change/evolve/be better than it was before?
LE: I would love to see people foster community over competition. Starting out I was told time after time that we need “thick skin” to survive in this industry, I don’t think it needs to be that way. Allowing stylists to set their own services, hours and rates, even in a commission style salon, getting rid of gender based pricing for services and creating a strong support system between stylists are all great ways to move this industry forward in a positive way.
BLP: What is a career goal you have for yourself?
LE: I’d love to eventually become a razor cutting educator, and, hopefully, move from my own studio into my own full size salon.
To see the full list of winners, read Beauty Launchpad's May/June issue.
