We had the good fortune of connecting with Lesley Jarboe and Alysha Reeves and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lesley Jarboe and Alysha Reeves, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We’ve always had a passion for hair, hair stylists, hair salons, even being educators at salons for the first 10 years of our careers. It was when we met in 2014 that our dream of opening our own business really started taking shape. We were traveling to take classes as much as we could, while also working with our clients behind the chair. One trip in particular to Los Angeles, over drinks at our favorite place (the Beverly Hills Hotel), we finally said to each other out loud “Lets do this!”. We dreamed of a space where hair dressers could come in and just create- no drama, run your own schedule, and have a work/life balance. Everything fell into place after that with a lot of hard work and Forward Salon was born in August 2019!

What should our readers know about your business?
Forward Salon is a place where collaboration and creativity are key. We believe once you learn there is room for everyone, you are truly set free as a creator. We feel hair stylists are done accepting the status quo of salon environments, where everyone is fighting for clients and the bosses attention. We sought out to create a space where stylists of all backgrounds could come together and have an amazing place to create art. We wanted a place with good music, a welcoming environment, useful continuing education, fun drinks, and more. We are really proud of what we’ve come up with, it’s truly a labor of love. With the industry ever-changing, we believe learning never ends. We host classes at our salon, pay for our team to travel for education, and offer virtual classes to all our stylists.

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?
We feel so lucky to live in Houston. You would first need to start your weekend trip off at Forward Salon getting our signature color service, The FWRD Highlight. Its a lived-in color that is good for brunettes or blondes, and can last until your next visit 3-4 months from now! Finished off with our FWRD. Signature Blowout, and you’re set to hit the town. Then we would go to El Tiempo for the best fajitas in the city. We would never let our friends leave without visiting Kata Robata, Hughies, RBar, Tacos agogo, Artisans, Postino, Colitvare, Better Luck Tomorrow, or Squable. We love live music, Astros games, our museum district, parks (if it isn’t too hot) and any brewery your heart desires. The thing we love most about Houston is our diversity. Anything you could possibly want, you can find here. We love you, Houston!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A huge inspiration behind us starting Forward Salon was the mentorship from Nikki Lee and Riawna Capri of the Nine Zero One salon in West Hollywood. We’ve taken countless classes with them, including 2 owners luncheons, and the advice they give is always spot on. Watching them thrive as best friends turned business owners really empowered us to know we had the tools we needed as long as we had each other.

Website: www.forwardsalon.com

Instagram: @forward.salon @lesleyjarboehair @alyshareeveshair

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