Conversations with Michelle Marturano

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Marturano.

Hi Michelle, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I stepped into the hair world after realizing an art degree wouldn’t pay for itself, but wanted to still fulfill my desire to learn something new. I fell in love with doing hair and quickly realized it was going to be a career that allowed me all the things that help me thrive: creativity, collaboration, servanthood, and a chance to be constantly learning. Over my 20 years in the industry, I’ve had the privilege to work in different environments and facets of the industry.

Most notably I built a thriving bridal business and then opened a salon with the intention of growing that business further. I continued to service my regular clients during that time and had been slowly transitioning towards a cleaner salon environment and providing low-tox color services. Long story short, the universe had a different plan. It became clear that offering a clean air salon and low and no tox salon products was something that was missing in the salon world. I made the decision to move away from my bridal business and continued to build my regular clients.

During this time a friend of mine who grew up with me in the industry had started to build her own clean air salon business: The Organic Salon Denver. We talked for years about building our businesses together and being able to offer what we do in other locations and teach other stylists a more holistic approach to hair. So, after years of talk, the universe aligned, and in January 2020 (in the middle of the pandemic!) I took the leap.

I closed my other salon, rebranded, and opened The Organic Salon Kansas City in the West Plaza neighborhood. I scoured the city for the perfect space and I’m so glad I landed in the West Plaza. The people here are unlike anything else and have really embraced us and helped my business to grow faster than I would have thought was possible.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I’m starting to think that nothing in business ownership runs smoothly as a whole. I will just say it’s been a constant learning process. My first salon space was a disaster in many ways behind the scenes: the “3-month build-out” took a year and other extenuating circumstances forced me to hop around to 3 different salons until I could get in.

I made some major mistakes when it comes to my lease and ended up being stuck there for too long with a terrible landlord that ultimately cost me way too much money. Also, after I made the decision to move from there it took me a year and a half to find new space! I was ready to give up on the idea of even opening a new salon when the opportunity for this space came up.

It has definitely made things more interesting trying to build a new clientele in the wake of a pandemic. At this point, anything I think I know just has to be thrown out the window and I have to be open/prepared for change at any moment.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Obviously, our most known specialty is organic low-tox color. We’ve spent hours upon hours sampling and researching the cleanest options that speak to the key points of our brand: Clean, sustainable, inclusive, and transparent.

We try to keep things as local as possible and only offer brands that we would use on ourselves. For me personally, I love to create full looks for a client that speaks to their own unique situation: hair texture, density, lifestyle, maintenance level, etc.

As I have been rebuilding my clients in this new location and environment I am quickly settling into a niche of lived-in, low-maintenance color and curly and natural texture cutting.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Oh, man. I love so many things about Kansas City. I’m a foodie and the restaurant scene here is like none other.

I love that KC is such a supporter of small businesses. Everyone is here to support and uplift one another. I love that we’re finally on the map and people are starting to take notice of all that we have to offer.

There’s not much I don’t like, but if I had to choose I think I would say accessibility to the arts. Many options exist, but it seems like if you don’t seek it out or exist in the right circle of people it takes time to find them, and then it’s spending an arm and a leg to take classes.

I’m a mom of 2 girls and more specifically my 12-year-old who has a deep love of the arts. It’s taken a lot of time to find her places where she can grow and nurture that love.

Contact Info:

• Email: theorganicsalonkc@gmail.com
• Website: www.theorganicsalonkc.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/theorganicsalonkc
• Facebook: facebook.com/theorganicsalonkc
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-organic-salon-kansas-city

Image Credits
Brianne Elizabeth Photography