DALLAS TWP. — Hairstyles have come and gone, but good customer service and coiffing skills have remained in fashion for 25 years at The Styling Studio.
Libby Bryant, a stylist and owner of the Dallas Township salon, is developing a formal “thank you” to her clients and staff who have made her business a viable asset to the Back Mountain community for more than two decades.
“They (staff and customers) are like family,” Bryant said. “We have been through everything with them (clients).”
On Friday, Oct. 28, she is planning an all day event with gift card drawings and refreshments to show her appreciation for the continued support from, well, everyone.
“I do what I do,” Bryant said. “Everyone is so kind and nice.”
Bryant first opened The Styling Studio in the Dallas Shopping Center on Aug. 1, 1991, with business partner Mary Pat Baines. Baines has since moved to Mississippi but is still cutting and styling hair, Bryant said.
“We started with four chairs (in the salon),” Bryant said.
In 1998, Bryant relocated the salon to 619 Main Road, across from Offset Paperback Manufacturers Inc.
The move was risky.
She had to convert a previously residential home; it was out of view of traffic traveling on Memorial Highway, and the building was away from the foot-traffic of the strip mall.
The new location did offer space for three nail technician stations, private waxing rooms and a total of eight chairs to cut and style patrons’ hair, she said.
“It was a gradual renovation,” Bryant said.
The relocation worked.
The salon continues to service many customers who were clients since the business’ early days and continues to attract new patrons.
Bryant’s business secret? Keep staff trained on the newest trends and products while treating clients like family.
The Styling Studio is a Paul Mitchell Focus Salon, which allows Bryant to offer her staff in-house and online training directly from the hair product company’s representatives.
“We keep updated on current trends,” she said.
Also, taking the time to know their clients’ hair styling preferences is important.
“Some clients are wash-and-go and others like to spend hours on their hair,” Bryant said. “We (Bryant and staff) have a good report with our clientele. I am so very grateful.”