Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Rabourn.
Hi Amanda, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
How did I start and get to where I am today? Well, from an early age my dad had me interested in drawing. He worked at a local graphics art studio and there were light tables all throughout the shop. I remember learning to trace in the beginning, cartoon characters and such. Later, he taught me about light and shading to add depth to my artwork. This is where my artistic enthusiasm started and only grew with each art class I took throughout high school. Growing up, my mother babysat other children. When I was around 10 years old, I made up a little notebook with fabric lining the outside. The front read, “Amanda’s Beauty Palace.” Inside, I had drawn up different hairstyles with prices listed next to each one. In the back, I had a form with lines for each client to sign in with how much they were charged that day. My clients were the kids my mom looked after. So when people ask how long I’ve “been doing hair?” I usually reply with, “13 years licensed, but I’ve been at it my whole life.” In high school, I never really had a solid plan on what I wanted to do or “be” after I graduated. My only plan was to graduate and then head to Europe to backpack and explore as long as possible before I had to be a “real grown-up.” Well, life is funny sometimes; My senior year I ended up welcoming a baby boy into the world and my life changed forever. I still hadn’t figured out what I wanted to do. I figured I needed to start by taking classes at the local college to get my Associates’s degree as a basis. 2 years in and I still couldn’t find a “college-based career” that fueled any passions of mine. I had always wanted to be a cosmetologist but for some reason had never seriously considered school. I had met a friend who was a student at a local Cosmetology school and it clicked!!! This was what I wanted. And the rest is history! I found a career that never feels like I work a day in my life. I absolutely LOVE coming to work, creating, boosting people’s confidence, and being challenged along the way.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Has it been a smooth road? Hell NO!! Life has thrown me challenge after challenge. While completing cosmetology school I had gotten married and welcomed a baby girl into my family. When I graduated, I started my career working at a corporate salon. One of those places that you do 20 clients a day for a small hourly wage; Those places won’t make you rich but offer a lot of quick experience. 4 years into my career I added a 3rd child to my family, another baby girl. At this point, I started feeling like I needed a career that offered benefits such as a 401K and health benefits. My husband had benefits but our marriage was rocky to say to least, and I did not want to be dependent on him for those things. So I reluctantly went back to College. I decided to get my Registered Nurses license. So much blood, sweat, and tears have pored into all the classes I took for my nursing degree. Working, raising 3 kids, and going to school was TOUGH but I was rocking it. Unfortunately, (or fortunately depending on how it’s looked at) in the last year of my classes, my marriage came to an abrupt end. This sudden loss of my marriage along with the sudden death of a very close friend and the passing of my biological father (I have a dad that raised me and one that “made” me) catapulted me into an unknown territory of grief. And in this grief, I completely lost myself. Without going into crazy details, I ended up finding myself lost in an I.V. meth addiction for a little over a year. As one can imagine, when someone ends up abusing drugs to the point of shooting up, almost all of the life lived before is a distant memory. Whatever aspect one can imagine as a junkie’s life is exactly what I put myself and my loved ones through, for a little over a year. Details on that story can be found on my page www.facebook.com/fadedline. In the end, I fought my way back. I fought harder than I ever knew I had in me. I spent a solid year fighting for my life and for the life I once had. I am now over 5 years out from those days. Those days of emptiness have added new life and passion back into me. The fact that I made it out alive when so many of my friends did not, has made me appreciate the brevity of life. I don’t want to waste it doing things that don’t light my fire! Since getting clean, my career has taken a different turn. I left the corporate salon world. There were a couple of salons I worked at until I finally found my forever salon home. I am now at a shop, working with my best friends. I have benefits and everything I had wanted out of a nursing career. One thing nursing wouldn’t have offered me though was the ability to be creative daily. Today, I realize all the challenges came together to get me where I am. I wouldn’t trade a damn thing.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I love doing all things creative! One day, I would love to sell my paintings along the boardwalk in Venice, California but for now, I do hair! I offer cutting, coloring, and styling services. When it comes to cutting, I adore doing shortcuts; there’s just something about a bad-ass pixie cut that gets me excited. Color is my absolutely favorite service to perform though. I enjoy all things color, including highlighting and the balayage technique. I specialize in what is referred to as “Fashion Colors.” I.e. purples, blues, greens, etc. I follow an artist on Insta, that works out of Los Angeles, filling their days doing only rainbow color services!! #GOALS I absolutely love playing with ALL of the colors and using the hair as my canvas.
One of the things that I believe sets me apart from others is my passion. Not only my passion for creativity and hair but for my clients and their stories. I enjoy the way a new style can breathe life back into a person; It can turn a horrible day around. I enjoy hearing my client’s stories of life; taking in their hard-earned wisdom and becoming and sharing a part of their life. Over the years I’ve shared in people’s most heart-wrenching moments. Moments such as shaving a woman’s hair off because it’s coming out in clumps from chemo. Or getting a wife ready before her husband’s funeral. I’ve shared in the most joyous of moments as well; styling out a client as she receives the news that she is going to be a grandma!! Or that they finally landed that JOB! I enjoy this aspect of what I do most of all and I believe my clients see that and appreciate that.
One day I hope to incorporate my insatiable wanderlust into my work, with the ability to offer travel services. I absolutely love meeting new people, hearing new stories, and sharing my passion for hair and creating while doing so!
How do you think about luck?
What role has luck, good or bad, played in my life and business? Well, for me luck is all about perspective. Quite honestly, events or circumstances that in one moment in time seemed like the WORST LUCK, ended up in another moment in time seeming like the BEST luck. In case that seems confusing let me give an example. At one point, I worked at this salon that I thought was a perfect fit. I LOVED my coworkers and the clientele was fantastic. There’s so much detail here I could give but to keep things short, we were not being paid appropriately. When I brought this up to the owner I was promptly fired. At the time, this seemed like bad luck. But you know where I ended up next? I ended up at a salon working with my best friend. I ended up at a salon where the owner invests in me and my future. I ended up right where I was always meant to be but I couldn’t see it at that moment. As I said, luck is all about perspective.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/Amanda.Dawn8
- Facebook: Www.facebook.com/studio58salonraymore
- Other: Www.facebook.com/fadedline
