Meet Maria | Hair artist / salon owner / educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maria and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started to think about creating a space that catered to specific needs that seemed to be absent along the pathway in building my career. Often times I worked at salons and something felt missing, maybe it didn’t offer education or there was a lack of community in the environment, a sort of every man for themselves type of feeling. Although renting a booth at salon means you are an independent entity I still craved togetherness in the environment. I knew one day I would have a salon and I knew what elements I missed as an artist, i wanted to create a place to offer all the missing elements for other like minded artist.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
God gave me a craft to use with my hands, I knew first hand by some of the experiences in this world that a woman could feel damaged and feel like her beauty was gone. Sometimes domestic violence or other traumatic events can make these feelings become real , when in reality they are untrue. Every woman is created beautifully and I knew that by using my craft I could help woman feel beautiful again through kindness, through love behind the chair . Standing behind the chair and just giving a listening ear can make a difference for one human being. It’s so Important to me to create this safe space of healing for those whom have been hurt. The safe space included for stylist. With time my thought process expanded what does it look like for the stylist and the guest to feel safe. By trial and error here we are 8 years later, with many guidelines in place that help support the vision for a safe place for all. It’s the systems that were created to help keep up us professional and at the same time protect us. This was not an easy task, as some individuals do not believe in the vision. Along the way I have had stylist leave and that’s ok ! Not everyone is meant to stay and not everyone will crave community, that’s what makes us all individuals with a choice to choose where our path goes.
One of the biggest challenges I faced within my career was the support of being a single mom. I often felt shamed that I had to bring my children to work with me. I had no other option. Our 6th year in business we were able to expand the salon. We are a hybrid salon with suites . With this opportunity in growth we were able to see a lot of mothers within our shop transition to the private suites and have there kids with them. We also have an accessible kitchen for the whole team. We have made it very easy for a mother to raise her kids while simultaneously build a career for herself and be accepted in our community. I want mothers to thrive and feel welcomed. We have seen so many salon babies grow up in the shop this has been a great blessing.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I really love Riverside. I grew up here and so did my children. If you are a visitor to the city I would definitely say you would have to visit Inland Empire Hair Co a one stop salon a spa . Stop in and get an amazing blowout, a scalp treatment, or a relaxing facial.

next, you would have to hit one of my favorite local family owned coffee shops
Called Kramers coffee . My favorite drink is the strawberry Matcha with strawberry cold foam. It’s not too sweet perfect to be honest.

We are really into sustainable shopping. We have a huge flea market with over 20 vendors offering so many different styles of clothing y2k and handmade goods called raincross district in the downtown area.

We have the The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture at the Riverside Art Museum , for dinner you don’t wanna skip the Mexican food at Los campanas Mexican cuisine located inside the iconic mission inn.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Dedicated to my sisters my husband and my children who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself, who pushed me to keep putting one foot in front of the other through each struggle.

Instagram: Inlandempirehaircompany

Image Credits
Professional photos by Vincent Sanchez