Innisfil resident and small business owner Mel Smith is the hairstylist who owns Mels.Hairstudio.
With 15 years of experience, Smith offers a variety of haircuts and styles.
“Hairstyling is in my genes,” Smith says. “My Italian grandfather was a successful barber/hairdresser. He was an entrepreneur and owned many successful salons in the Toronto area. He would always tell me about the benefits of owning your own salon. Ever since then, it was my goal to make it happen while raising a family like he did.”
Before opening her salon in 2019, Smith became a co-owner of a salon in Thornton in 2012. When she gave birth to her first child, she decided to open her own business because it gave her and her family more flexibility.
But Smith's home-based salon was destined for a unique upgrade. Mels.Hairstudio moved to a shipping container last year.
“It was actually all my husband's idea,” Smith says. “He saw people online making containers into tiny, little homes and he thought it would be a good idea to make one (into) a salon for me and he made it happen.”
Smith says Container Built in King City helped them through the process of transforming a shipping container into a space fit for the beauty business. They helped put the door and windows in after delivering the container.
Friends in the trades, which Smith says she’s lucky to have, helped her make her dream come true through a lot of hard work.
“It took us three months to have it all set up and running," she says.
Officially open in its new form in October 2023, Mels.Hairstudio is known for making her clients feel at home while getting their hair done.
“I've (known) Mel for five years. She treats everyone like family and goes completely above and beyond. I got married this past summer and it was no question who was going to (do) my hair and my girls’ hair,” client Justine Maguire says.
“She has been there for all the big moments, from making sure my hair was good postpartum — that postpartum hair loss is no joke — to my wedding," Maguire adds. "She even does my mom's hair. (I) wouldn't imagine it any other way, she has such a gift with people and hair. Her studio being anything but a container is perfectly her it is so creative and unique. It feels like home.”
“I love being creative and having the ability to always learn and grow," Smith says. "I love creating custom techniques to suit each person and helping my clients feel more confident and beautiful about their new hair. I love my job.”
For more information on the salon, click here.
