Meet Kristian Cardona | Salon Owner & Stylist

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

Hi Kristian, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I wanted more freedom to be a creative artist and to have more control over both my experience and my clients. It was important to me to create a safe space for my clients that felt like luxury but also comfortable enough to feel like home. I love being able to provide an array of services that fit multiple needs and having a salon suite was the perfect option.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I first started school I faced so many set backs. I was expecting my first child with my then husband when we were involved in a car accident with another driver who was drunk. Out of the accident only myself and the other driver survived. After that heartbreak and loss I knew I had to choose between allowing my pain to handicap me or motivate me. I had no job and no savings so I worked 3 jobs during school to keep myself busy and provide for myself. I kept telling myself God would never give me anything I couldn’t handle so with that mentality I finished school and started a mentorship under my close friend Amber Maldonado. To this day I still think about how lucky I am to still have a body that is healthy and able to do what I love. I understand not everyone who has experienced a traumatic event like mine was so lucky. With that in mind I knew I had to take advantage of every single moment to make the two guardian angels I started this journey with proud. I think it’s important to take in as much knowledge you can from fellow artist and your clients but also remember to always be true to yourself as a professional and an individual.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I couldn’t let them leave without stopping by Gough Gough for a blossom, a pickle shot and some fire fries at Proudest Monkey, and a walk around Lick Creek Park. Maybe not in that exact order! But I honestly love to host friends and family at home. I love cooking for people. It’s my love language. So maybe a stop by the local farm patch and grocery store so I can make a huge breakfast spread and my specialty, homemade chicken fried steak.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First I would like to say thank you to my late friend and partner Fabian Guerrero for pushing me to start cosmetology school after attempting to make it in the corporate world for years. Another person is my mentor Amber Maldonado for sharing her knowledge both in life and behind the chair. And my husband, Rodolfo and our son for encouraging and empowering me everyday to be the best mother and small business owner I can be.

Website: https://kristianguerrero.glossgenius.com/

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