New Season New Studio!!

At the end of September I said goodby to my little corner in downtown Bellingham. I have so much love and appreciation for my time there of almost 6 years. It was bittersweet to leave, but I have been craving change! My new little studio is coming along and I am ready to start seeing clients here.

My inspiration for this change was driven by a need to fulfill more artistic desires and spend less time and stressful energy managing a space. I hope to have more bandwidth to get back into my sewing room, do creative hair projects, work on photography, and even collaborate with other artists. When my artistic brain is fulfilled I find that I am a much better hairstylist and can give my clients more of my expertise.

With this change I anticipate some hiccups along the way. I will still be working full time behind the chair but will need to navigate different timing issues being in a private studio. My space is suited for just once client at a time with no waiting room. I will be planning extra buffer time for appointment turnover and this will likely evolve over time as I get settled. Each of my clients reserves time with me and I respect and value that.

Read policies here please! https://www.topaz-salon.com/studio-faq

We are officially in the fall season and holidays will be fast approaching. This has always been the busiest time in the salon for me! I genuinely hope that I can accommodate everyone that chooses me as their hairstylist. If you can’t find an appointment time that works for your schedule please utilize my waitlist online. My waitlist works very well for me as it allows me to see when you want to come it. It is also automated so if an opening becomes available a notification will go out to to book. You have a limited time to reserve that spot before it alerts the next person. It is not a general waitlist, you must add dates. You can add up to 5 dates per request and submit as many as you like. It’s not guaranteed to get an appointment but I will do my best. Please refrain from emailing or texting me waitlist requests.

I will still have an amazing selection of quality haircare in stock for you to purchase. I will also still have refills available of my most loved products! You can buy products at the time of your appointment, if you want refills remember to bring your empty containers. If you need something outside of your appointment time please consider using my direct shopping links on my products page on the website. I get commission from many of these so you are still supporting my business by shopping online.

As always if you have any Qs please email or text.

~kelly

A New Era for Topaz Salon

Greetings friends!

I am so excited (and to be completely honest a little scared!) to share with you all some changes coming for Topaz Salon. First a little backstory. I opened Topaz Salon in early 2019 with a dream to change the standard of salon environments for stylists and guests. Removing as many toxic chemicals from my daily work environment became a non negotiable. We are the first low tox salon in Bellingham using only no ammonia color and all products free from synthetic fragrance and other sneaky dangerous ingredients that pollute the beauty industry. We also pushed other environmental conscious practices with our salon specific recycling program, lowered plastic inventory, offering refills etc. Our service menu had a big shift too offering only non-gendered services. All of our stylists were encouraged to take time with consultation creating a very easy going low stress atmosphere for all types of guests wanting services. We have hosted a number of community art events and industry specific education opportunities. I have absolutely loved the success and name that Topaz has brought to the community and all of the stylists that I have had the complete honor to work along side.

Now after almost 6 years I am ready for a change! I love the challenge that change brings to me. It sparks new ideas and ways to be creative. This is exactly what I have been craving in my work environment. I have made the decision to downsize Topaz Salon this fall when my lease is up. I will be moving into a smaller private space for just myself to take my clients. This will allow me more time to focus on my career goals, dive into creative endeavors, and be more present for my clientele. I have been working on this shift for a few months now, all of the stylists here have new salon homes they have already transitioned to. You can scope social media pages for all of our stylists for the details on where to book with them.

As for the new location of Topaz, some details are still being worked out. The location will be on the south side of Bellingham and I will likely start taking clients there in October. As for booking appointments, during this shift I will be doing my best to accommodate everyone that wants to get in with me. My availability in my schedule will be shifting regularly and I will be opening up calendar spots as frequently as I can. Please utilize my waitlist option on Vagaro (booking links on the website). It is also important to make sure your contact info is up to date and notifications are on when you use the waitlist. This system is the best way for me to stay organized with puzzle piecing my availability together to accommodate the most people. I am currently taking appointment requests for September and will be prioritizing my regular clientele. If you would like an appointment in September please send a text to the salon phone 360-201-5463 please include your first and last name, what type of service you want and a few dates that would be best. It may take me a couple days to respond. I ask that you please be patient with me!

If you have any questions regarding any of this info the best way to contact my is via email topazsalongallery@gmail.com

Happy summer to everyone!

Kelly

Refill Event with Pumped March 19th 3-6pm

We are so excited to have Leah of Pumped popping up at Topaz Salon Tuesday March 19th 3pm-6pm. Pumped is a zero waste refill store in Bellingham. You can check out their website https://www.pumpedbellingham.com and give them a follow on Instagram.

During this event Pumped will be set up at Topaz Salon with many of their popular household products for bulk/refill purchase. Things like hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, body wash, reusable paper towels, gear wash and more! In addition Topaz will be offering refills of many of our popular hair products like Hairstory New Wash, Innersense cleansers and conditioners, styling products, and Reverie shampoo/conditioner, and the very popular leave in milk. This is an event focusing on ZERO waste, so please bring a bag and clean empty containers from home to refill. These can me mason jars, empty product containers, small tupperwares etc. Everything is sold be weight! So cool.

Kelly will also be taking walk ins for bang trim/express cuts. These mini cuts will be 15-30 minute services done on clean dry hair ranging $20-$55. If you are interested in this service just show up between 3-6pm and there will be a signup in salon, if there is a wait you can shop and learn about zero waste lifestyle.

If you can’t make this event be sure to check out Pumped physical location at the Ohio St Workstudios 112 Ohio St

Side note, holy moly sunshine Bellingham! I hope you have all gotten a chance to be in it at some point this weekend. Spring break is right around the corner and our schedules are filling up! Find all our stylists direct booking links on our website.

https://www.vagaro.com/topazsalon/services

Alex has openings still this month. Early April there are openings with Mk and Alex. Late April into May you can find openings with all of our stylists Deirdre, Kelly, Mk, and Alex. As a reminder our online booking is available to reserve appointments 8-10 weeks out, we have a waitlist you can add to as well.

Dark Days are here

It is dark, but Winter Solstice is a time to honor the sun. Life continues through the dark as our evergreens are thriving in this wet time and standing tall. This time of year I love having dinner ready by 6pm and eating by candle light. After dinner I put on a headlamp and my dog Ochi gets a light up collar and we walk the quiet dark and damp neighborhood. You can feel the coziness of houses with wood stoves cranking out heat. The amber glow of dim lights that fill living rooms as everyone is winding down for the evening. The mood seems slow, but let’s be real, everything is still hectic and crazy this time of year! It doesn’t happen every day, but I strive for a moment of calm, a reminder to be patient, and to be thankful for all the things I have.

We are rounding out our 5th holiday season at Topaz Salon and want to thank all of you for your support. All of our stylists have been busy this season and we are beaming with gratitude. If you missed out on getting an appointment before the end of the year I am so sorry! Our January schedules are filling up so pop on our online booking and reserve your spot. BOOK DIRECT HERE

Some notes and reminders on our booking, our calendar is available to book roughly 9 weeks out online. Within that, each stylist can block out days and change their schedules as they need for time off etc. So just keep in mind that schedules shift and change. If the system says nothing is available at that moment more dates will open soon so you can check back or add to waitlist. If you need a specific date for an event or travel or something else just ask your stylist! Email is a great way to communicate with us!

In other news we have some very cool photography displayed at the salon. Artist Erika Lamothe took a trip to Iceland earlier this year. They brought along their film camera to document and we are thrilled to be hosting their work. Wednesday December 20th @ 6:00 we will have an artist reception. Come learn about Iceland travel and film photography! To preview the art and for more info ERIKA LAMOTHE PHOTOGRAPHY

Many of you have already heard about the local business fire at Harris Ave Cafe / The Old Independent. I started my Bellingham career in Fairhaven as a neighboring business and almost daily visitor for over 7 years to Tony’s coffee shop. The people and the space will forever be imprinted in my memory. Our community will miss that spot, please consider donating to the employees funds https://gofund.me/46f92351

I’m going to end this post with a reminder for everyone to be kind this season. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the moment of hustle and bustle and what our current needs are regardless of others. We all have different feelings around holidays, winter, and the general state of the world currently. Kindness is the most genuine yet simple gift that everyone has to give. Let’s all try to give more of it!!

Stay safe my friends!

xx ~ kelly

Spooky Season is here!!!

Welcome Fall! Which also means the holidays are coming in hot right behind! We have bumped our online booking to go out 3 months which means you can start planning for those holiday appointments. It is especially important for those of you that want color services done to pre book those! The longer the appointment, the harder it is to find time last minute. So balayage and blonding services get in there!

Reminder that each of our stylists have their own booking menu, you can find direct book now buttons on our STYLIST PAGE. If you use the vagaro app or a web browser a tip is to click services, from there you can find your stylist’s heading and there are descriptions and prices of all services they offer making it easy to pick what you need to book. If you are unsure just send an email. If your preferred date and time is not available you can also add to the waitlist. There will be a button for that and you can add up to 5 dates/times per request. Make sure that your phone and email are up to date and notifications are on so you get alerts when a waitlist spot opens up.

Many of you asked for early morning appointments, and they are popular and booking fast! Mk is offering 8:30 am on Wednesday and Friday, Kelly is available early morning Tuesday’s and some Fridays and also evenings on Thursdays. Deirdre works early on some Friday and Saturdays.

We have a special event coming up later this month Oct 21st. We will be hosting Leah from Pumped! She will be popping up at Topaz with lots of her bulk refills to shop. We are very likeminded people wanting to make the zero/low waste eco friendly lifestyle as easy as possible. More info to come on that event, but for now you can check out PUMPED BELLINGHAM

The rare ring of fire eclipse is coming right up October 14th! It will only be around 75% obscuration of the Sun up here in Bellingham. Oregon gets a better path again (like the total eclipse back in 2017). But we’ll get a pretty good sense of this annular eclipse reaching max at around 9:20am. In a solar eclipse the earth moon and sun are aligned, either in totality, partial, or as this next one annular, which means the moon lines up between the Earth and sun, but it’s too far away to fully block it, so you get the “ring of fire” glowing around it. Pretty darn cool! It will likely be cloudy with rain here, so we may not really see it, but it will get momentarily dark and the birds will go crazy! Energetically what does this mean for us? Well there’s lots of interpretation of solar eclipses, but it’s a great time for self exploration! The moon rules emotion and intuition, so while it’s casting a shadow on the sun may you be driven to reconcile with how you see yourself. It’s also a great time to amplify harmony with others in your life. All around positivity wins.

Once again thanks for reading to the end! I hope you enjoy my ramblings of the moon and such. If there are other topics you’d like random facts about please let me know! It’s been primarily astrology related that I add in these newsletters for the past almost 5 years but I’m open to change.

Best

Kelly ~ owner @Topaz

Summer Updates!

Greetings!

It’s been a minute since we’ve done an update. Summer is cruising along and we hope it has been an enjoyable one for you. Some new and exciting things happening at Topaz.

We have a new apprentice stylist, Woohoo! We are thrilled to welcome Jaxx to the team. Jaxx is a recent cosmetology graduate and is undergoing additional education to refine and master their skill set. We would like to extend an offer to our existing clients and direct referrals! Book a Haircut (1 hr service) in the month of August and get $10 off, just mention this newsletter in the notes when booking! Click here to book directly. Jaxx is available to book online for haircut services now. Color is also available but please email to book to ensure the correct service and timing is reserved Topazsalongallery@gmail.com

It has been almost a year since MK joined our team! Thank you to all who have booked with her and referred her to your friends! She is thriving in Bellingham and we are loving watching her grow her clientele. She is crushing all the balayage and highlight transformations and is quickly becoming our go to color specialist.

Our very own Deirdre has really been growing into her specialties of razor cutting and energy work, she was recently nominated top 25 for a very prestigious award within our industry, help her rise to the top by voting for her directly HERE. She is also busy getting ready to open up her very own head spa just a block away from Topaz to offer more intensive treatments and energy work in a private studio environment. Check out Moondog Head Spa. Don’t worry she is not leaving Topaz.

Last but not least, Kelly (me, writer of these newsletters, the one behind the scenes, in the scenes, and dreaming up the scenes LOL!) To those of you that already know me it is no surprise that I am constantly scheming up new projects in and out of the salon. As a lover of all things nature and outdoors I spend my free time adventuring in the mountains, forest, and sea as much as possible. I also love to bring elements of these things back into the salon environment. As an herbalist and wildcrafter I have been making small batch herbal hair care for some time and very casually extending that to my guests. We have had my Spirit Mists available in salon for a while now, they are plant hydrosols blended with essential oils and nourishing extracts to refresh your hair and offer an aromatherapy experience. I expanded on that collaborating with a good friend and fellow herbalist of Newaukum Wild to create our Salish Sea Spray and hair tonic which includes Salish sea salt to add texture while also nourishing the scalp and hair. My newest offering is custom blended scalp treatments! These are a mix of specific clays, flowers, herbs, and oils chosen and blended to address your specific scalp and hair needs. Many of the ingredients in these masks are grown and harvested out of my organic garden and surrounding areas. You can add this onto any service at time of booking, just book your regular service and click “add additional” and find the “scalp or conditioning treatment” button. I will also have some pre blended scalp treatments to purchase and take home.

Some other friendly reminders for Topaz! We are a Low-Tox eco conscious salon, this means we keep nasty chemicals and synthetic fragrances out of our space for yours and everyone’s health. Our color lines are free from ammonia, and all of our products use only high quality essential oils for fragrance. No toxic fumes in here. This salon was opened because Kelly (me again!) developed multiple chemical sensitivities. I often experience flare ups from environmental factors like lingering smells from laundry detergent, perfumes, cleaning supplies and more. It is important for our guests to refrain from wearing fragrances in the space.

Downtown parking is metered from 11-6 Monday thru Saturday, please plan your visit accordingly.

Our stylists schedules are available to book online up to 8 weeks in advance. Find all our booking links on the stylists & booking page here If you see nothing available for your preferred stylist check back in a few days when more spots become available. You may also add yourself to the waitlist through the booking system. You can make changes to your appointment up to 48hrs in advance, beyond that you may be subject to a fee for canceling or changing your appointment.

Your reviews mean the world to us! Consider leaving one on our google page here

Are you on social media? Please consider following us on Instagram here you can also find each of our stylists linked to our page. And tag us in your best hair day selfies 🧡

Products! We love hair products, but we aren’t pushy sales people. We offer a curated selection in the salon of only the best in non toxic hair care. You can also support us by shopping online directly here many of the links offer direct discounts and we get credit as a salon referral! Win win.

Let’s finish up with the Moon! August brings us 2 full moons! August 1st is our Aquarius Super Full Moon (also the Full Sturgeon Moon) and at the end of the Month August 30th we have a Pieces Blue Super Moon. The entire month will bring big energy ready for releasing and letting go. There are so many names and meanings given to our moons and their cycles. Some of our Native Peoples refer to the August moon as pedTaqa or moon of the salal berry. Chinook runs will reach their peak in August and many native plants will be ready to harvest like trailing blackberries, currants, and camas bulbs. I hope you all get an opportunity to enjoy a bounty of native plant offerings as well as planted garden goodies!

Gratitude to the moon

As we near the close of another year at Topaz Salon I would like to show thanks and gratitude. Whether you visit 6 times a year or 1, your support of this small business matters more than you know. The vision at Topaz has always been to offer a safer hair care experience free from toxic chemicals and a gender inclusive service menu that serves ALL of our community. As with any small business there have been changes along the way in how we run things and you have shown patience and understanding, and for that I am most grateful.

Remember, a visit is just one way to support our small business (and others!) Wherever you are at this holiday season if you would like to continue to support Topaz here are some other ways to share your appreciation.

• You could leave us a review on google https://g.page/r/CaCzmxUT3Ob3EB0/review

• Share photos on Instagram if that’s your thing and tag us @topaz_salon (find your stylists handle linked there too)

• Refer a friend!

• Shop our affiliate links on our products page.

• Drop us a note through our old school mail slot on our front door!

  A refresher on booking an appointment. ALL of our stylists schedules are available to book online up to 8 weeks in advance. This type of scheduling gives us as service providers a bit more flexibility in scheduling time off when needed. Simply pop over to our stylist & booking page find your preferred stylist and follow the links directly to their booking. If your preferred date and time is not available there is a waitlist option. It is important to make sure the notifications are toggled on in your vagaro profile, our waitlist is mostly automated and you will receive notifications if a spot becomes available.

  As of right now both Kelly and Deirdre are booked through the end of the year (waitlist is an option) and Mk has availability. If you would like to guarantee an appointment before the end of the year please book with Mk here . If you have any questions regarding stylist suitability for your needs or what service to book you can always send an email .

Alright my friends, the real reason you read through all my ramblings! The cold moon is approaching. And cold it has been, with clear skies for perfect starry night viewing. The moon will be full Wednesday Dec 7th at 8:09 pm and it may be cloudy but as we all know in the PNW the weather forecast is unpredictable. You can start looking for that big bright moon as it starts rising late afternoon before sunset to the northeast.

This time around rather than discussing our astrological alignment with the current moon lets learn about the naming of the full moons. The naming of the full moon comes from our Native ancestors who gave the big bright orb in the sky names based on behavior of animals, plants, weather, and even the people. The cold moon has many other names. tsothohrha is a Mohawk name referring to the frigid conditions. shanáx dis is of the Tlingit people of the PNW meaning unborn seals are getting hair. gáangálang kungáay means ripe berries and is from the Haida peoples of Alaska. And from the Kalapuya people just south of us in Oregon adshampak meaning not bad weather! The Samish name is S7elálexw meaning moon of the elders. These are all Colonial American interpretations that roughly align with the months of the Gregorian calendar. Native Americans did not record time using months but rather a lunar cycle. For some tribes a year consists of 12, others 13. The names of these moons may even change year to year. Some of my other favorite translations of our next full moon are Long Night Moon and Storytelling Moon. So when you look up at that beautiful bright moon this month (and every month) let’s think of our Native ancestors who named them.

Stay cozy my friends! ~ Kelly

Fall Salon Updates

Greetings folks,

Rather than sending out emails that end up in spam I will be posting salon updates here on the website. Hopefully these will be at least quarterly. But you can always check here for any updates. I will try to keep them short and direct. If you have read my emails in the past there is generally something astrology related.

Fall is underway and we just had the most beautiful Hunter’s Full moon. This was a full moon in Aries bringing us big healing energy! I hope you all felt it. Later this month the Sun will be in line with Arcturus, one of the brightest and considered the “lucky star”. This event is called the Arcturus gateway Oct 17-19 and is a time to harness abundance, prosperity, and facilitate heart opening. October 25th brings us the Scorpio New Moon Solar Eclipse, then Mars retrograde just a few days later! Some energy shifts, big ups and downs.

Booking Info

We are entering the busiest season in the salon! Just a reminder on how our booking works. This goes for all of our stylists. Our online calendar for booking goes 8 weeks out at a time. So we are currently booking into the second week in December. The best way to book with your stylist is to go to the stylist page and follow the booking links there. Please remember that each of our stylists has their own service menu, pricing, and booking guidelines. Please make sure you read the descriptions for the service you are booking, if you are unsure you can reach out. We are a collective of stylists and do our best to have an easy streamlined client experience while also giving our stylists the ability to build their business how they see fit. For example Deirdre’s hourly pricing includes gratuity while the rest of the stylists does not. And Kelly only accepts bang trim appointment requests week of. All this info can be found on your stylist bio pages.

New Stylists to Topaz!

You may have already seen or met Angela, she started the end of summer and is fitting right into our crew. She has over 20 years experience doing hair. She is extremely well rounded as a stylist and is continuing to build her clientele at Topaz.

We will also be welcoming MK (pronounced by saying the letters “M” ‘K”) in November! She is moving here from Austin and is sure to bring good energy to the salon. She specializes in color, and is excited to be joining us in our environmentally minded low tox salon. Read more about her on our stylist page!

We hope you can get booked with your preferred stylist during this busy time, but know that if you cannot find a time slot that aligns you are always welcome to book with another stylist at the salon. We also have a waitlist option through our booking platform. You can add up to 5 dates on a single waitlist request. If your preferred date becomes available you will be notified and will have an hour to book that spot before it gets offered to the next in line.

Free Product!

Some of you may already use our favorite conditioning cleanser New Wash. it’s absolutely the best! It’s eco friendly, gentle on scalp and hair, and works for every hair type. If you haven’t yet tried it (or haven’t ordered it online!) Hairstory has given me a special Hairdresser code that allows first time online customers to order a full 8oz New Wash pouch and Scalp Brush for free! All you have to do is visit my link: https://www.hairstory.com/?r=813a60​ Then add an 8oz New Wash and Brush to your cart! The discount will be applied after you create an account at checkout. (Ends 10/31/22​) *you have to add both products for the discount to be applied, and it must be a new online account. I only like the rich and original formula, I do not use the deep formula.

If this one step conditioning cleanser isn’t your thing you can visit our products page for direct shopping links to the other products we carry. Reverie is my all time favorite if you like a traditional shampoo and conditioner, it’s an aromatherapy experience in the shower! Shopping our direct links through our website benefits us as a small business and we thank you for that!

xoxo - kelly bird