Three years full of growth, laughter, a multitude of hair cuts and colors, ALL of the extensions, and pretty much transforming the hair of Raleigh—it’s Garnish Hair Studio & Extension Bar’s Third Anniversary! In honor of this special day we wanted to share with you a little bit about the history of Garnish, and what’s made us who we are today.
You may or may not know that the birth of Garnish starts much farther back than when we opened our doors three years ago. In order to give you the history of Garnish, we need to start with a little history on owner Candice Motley. Let’s go back to the beginning for a moment. Straight from highschool, Candice entered cosmetology school, and fell in love with personal transformations.
The services that focused most on beautification—transformational colors, drastic cuts, and extensions—drew her in and inspired her. It didn’t take long into her career for Candice to realize there was a magic to transformative services that is brought to life in the shared emotional experience of helping someone achieve their ideal look. Over her career she worked for other business owners, and then in her own space by herself, through the years cultivating a culture of beautiful transformations for her guests.
It took a while, but eventually she found an amazing salon home—even investing in a portion of the salon—only to be told 6 months later that the salon would be closing permanently. The news was devastating, but it opened the door for Garnish to be born.
Candice, along with Ray (if you’re new to Garnish, Ray was Candice’s assistant, and pretty much right hand man) embarked on the journey to open Garnish Studio. Sahar (a long-time client turned Garnish accountant turned CFO), and Jenell, (graphic designer and creator of this site) were also a part of the journey from the very beginning.
It took one year for the space to be completely customized into the beautiful studio that you see today. Before the doors even opened, the team began to come together as first Tish, and then Christine, joined Candice as the OG Garnish Squad.
In the early days, there were only four stations, and the three stylists and Ray were the only team members in studio. Less than six months later, Andrayah joined the team and shortly thereafter, Donyata arrived. Niko joined the team around a year in, creating the need for a fifth station to be added to the studio design. Over the next couple of years the studio grew exponentially as Candice’s vision and passion for transformational services spread to her team and developed into a collaborative studio mindset.
Two years later and the Garnish team has expanded to include a new guest services manager, Kassy, receptionist, Stephanie, and will be adding a studio assistant, Reece, in the next few weeks.
We have expanded our extension services, gaining training and certifications in new methods. We have grown our retail offerings, and brought in new color lines to ensure we are continuously providing the highest standards to our guests. We have a blog that is chocked full of tips, product reviews and information, and other fun articles all about hair. Each of our stylists has dedicated themselves to staying at the forefront of the industry through a commitment to education and training.
More than anything, we have forged connections with our wonderful clients, building relationships based on Candice’s vision for meeting hair needs and transforming lives through hair. The history of Garnish is truly just beginning as we continue to grow as a team, and as a part of our community.
We look forward to continuing to serve you with all of your hair needs, and helping you achieve your hair goals and dreams!
