Going Beyond Hair: Meet Kure Salon
Michelle Victor | Owner of Kure Salon
For as long as she can remember, Michelle Victor always loved and gravitated towards the salon environment. As a child, Michelle never missed an opportunity to tag along to her mom’s monthly hair appointments, where her young curiosity about the salon and beauty industry quickly developed into a creative passion. While her mom got her hair done, Michelle would spend her time exploring the salon, chatting with hair stylists and clients, and watching from start to finish the inspiring process of a hair transformation.
“My mom got her hair done religiously, so the salon became like a second home - I’d even bring my American Girl Doll to the appointments and ask stylists to cut her hair too,” laughs Michelle.
Although Michelle’s passion for hair and the salon industry started young, her journey towards a career in Cosmetology and salon ownership wasn’t a direct path. Having gone to a college preparatory school, attending college and selecting a college major seemed like the path outlined for Michelle, however, she knew it wasn’t the right path for her. After her first year as a nursing major at the University of Georgia, Michelle was certain this was not the life she envisioned for herself and dropped out.
“Looking back, it was the best decision I ever made,” recalls Michelle. “I chose nursing because I knew I wanted to work with people, but I had a realization that I was searching for the things I loved about Cosmetology in other careers. Also, I hate blood, so the nurse route would have never worked.”
The idea of pursuing a career in the beauty industry never left her mind, and Michelle admits that she was touring hair schools as well as college campuses before making the decision to attend UGA. After moving back home, Michelle had a clear vision of the life and the career she wanted as well as the goals she needed to achieve to get there. Wasting no time, Michelle enrolled at the Aveda Institute in Atlanta with the steadfast goal of landing her dream job, which was to work at Van Michael Salon. And she did.
Michelle began working at Van Michael Salon immediately after graduating from the Aveda Institute. During her time at Van Michael, Michelle worked every role a salon environment requires to operate efficiently and successfully. From folding towels and taking out the trash to working the front desk, assisting stylists, and doing hair, Michelle gained the knowledge, experience, and perspective of what it takes to run a salon and the crucial roles each part plays to make that salon a success.
“I loved my time working at Van Michael. It shaped me into the person I am today,” expresses Michelle. “I never wanted to own a salon. It seemed like a lot of work, and it is, but I underestimated myself. After the work and experience I gained at Van Michael, I had a newfound confidence that guided me on the path towards salon ownership.”
Starting off in a salon suite, Michelle hit the ground running finding new clients and building upon her book of clientele. Sunup to sundown, she texted friends and family, messaged people on Facebook, and even joined a gym for the sole purpose of scouting clients. Michelle took advantage of any and every opportunity she had to grow her business, and her hard work paid off.
“I was not shy at all about trying to get people in my chair,” laughs Michelle. “I hustled, and within 2-3 months, I was making more money than I ever had and already outgrew the space I was in.”
As Michelle’s business grew, her salon suite felt smaller and smaller by the day, so she teamed up with her sister, Theresa, to find a forever salon home. Michelle hoped to find a freestanding space with a comforting and homey feel, plenty of natural light, and ideally a place that could embrace a cottage chic salon aesthetic. Throughout the search for the future home of Kure Salon, Michelle never imagined she’d find a space with all the characteristics she was looking for – that was until her sister found THE space in historic downtown Roswell, Georgia.
“This building checked off every one of my boxes and then some,” Michelle explains. “Not only did we find a freestanding space with a historic cottage design flooded with natural light, but we also found out it used to be a salon.”
From negotiating a lease to challenging renovations, Michelle, like any soon-to-be salon owner, faced obstacles along the way, but she was determined to make this space the Kure Salon home. With renovations underway, Michelle set out to find salon furnishings that embrace and complement the space’s homey, cottage chic aesthetic. Having worked at Van Michael Salon, Michelle experienced firsthand the quality of Minerva’s salon equipment, and knew with their variety of colors, designs, and styles, she could find the exact furnishings she envisioned for Kure Salon.
After browsing Minerva Beauty’s website, Michelle fell in love with Minerva’s French Provincial Collection because the styling station, retail display, and salon mirror designs perfectly matched the shabby chic, antique aesthetic she wanted to achieve. Michelle chose Marseille Styling Stations in Chantilly White, Cinque Salon Styling Chairs in Cashmere, Black Watson Salon Service Trays, and Cashmere Avant Shampoo Systems with White Bowls.
“The classic and timeless aesthetic of the French Provincial Collection is what drew me in,” explains Michelle. “I have a lot of antiques around the salon, and the Marseille stations look like an elegant vanity I’d find at an antique store. They blend in so well; clients ask me all the time if the stations are antiques too!”
Kure Salon opened its doors for business on February 1st, 2023, and has been a success ever since. Michelle cultivated a bespoke salon environment that’s a one stop shop beauty boutique, providing a variety of services from women-owned businesses including nails, hair, lashes, clothing and more. The perfectly curated cottage chic, antique aesthetic captures that home away from home feeling – providing warm, comfortable, and inviting energy the moment you walk through the door.
“Creating a salon space where my clients feel safe, comforted, beautiful and celebrated is so rewarding,” expresses Michelle. “The connections I have with my clients, and I’m trying not to cry when I say this, is my favorite part. Time spent in the salon chair isn’t just for hair. It’s for celebrating pregnancy news. It’s for confiding about a cancer scare. It’s for sharing a big secret. It’s for solving life’s problems.”