Meet Kristin Collins | Hair, Microblading, and Lash Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristin Collins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
The single most important decision I made contributing to my success was learning to seek God first in all of my decisions. Over the past 5 years I have been searching for the perfect spot to open my beauty bar. I was turned down so many times. Each time I would pray, asking God to shut the door on things that would not be good for me and my family and my business. There were so many obstacles in my way that would get me down, but each time I would get on my knees and I could feel that God was shaping this for me and I would trust Him. So even though things felt heavy and impossible at times, there was no doubt of the proof of His hand in it. Once I was told no by my contractor about getting the coveted courtyard spot in our development. I understood that they wanted to save that spot for a restaurant so I went ahead with my floor plan for another spot in the development. Then later, I was told that I could not choose the exact location of the rear door, which completely messed up my floor plan and took away a complete lash station. When I was told this I started worrying about it and was thinking I was going to have to rework the entire floor plan once again. But then I decided instead of worrying I would pray about it. I went to God and I told Him that I knew and trusted that He could come up with a better solution than I ever could and that I would trust that He would give me an answer. Within minutes, my contractor called me and asked if I would like to have the courtyard spot that I had wanted in the first place, and if I did take it I could have the rear door on the side of the building instead of the back wall and it wouldn’t affect my floor plan at all. So, I got to avoid the rear door and got to have all of the natural light that the courtyard spot afforded me. Deciding to line my heart up with God’s will for my life through my work has ensured that my number one goal is to serve Christ by serving others through the creative gifts that God has given me. I believe that that will always be the single most important decision I have made in business. If God built me with these gifts, how could I go wrong using them to serve Him???

Alright, what should our readers know about you, your business, your story?
I think it’s important to say that I started out as an architect major. I have always been artistic, but also oddly enough, mathematically minded. I felt architecture combined the two things. Later I changed my major and ended up graduating with a major in marketing. I decided I would one day take over the family wholesale lumber and moulding business. After my granddaddy sold the business I no longer enjoyed working for the new owners and decided to quit and stay home with my then two baby boys. Later, I decided I would go to nursing school because I thought the world needs loving nurses. I later discovered that in fact what the world needs is who God made them to be, and I was no nurse hahahahaha. I had always been good at styling hair, and friends, family, and friends of friends were always getting me to do hair for their weddings. It was my natural God-given talent that I had never thought of using to earn a living. So I got with my best friend, who does makeup, and we started an on location hair and makeup business called A Glamour Affair. I then went back to cosmetology school. I know it’s sounds like I must just love going to school, but I actually DO NOT! I quickly saw a correlation between my love of architecture and 3 dimensional art and hair. It’s something in the structure and balance of the style that I have an eye for that I think sets me apart. I always prided myself on creating hairstyles with a structure that lasts even through dancing and sweating and Georgia humidity. Later I decided to become certified in Microblading, which also uses my artistic abilities by creating hair-stroke tattooed eyebrows. I really love giving people eyebrows who don’t have any, either through age, or cancer, or certain autoimmune disorders. It just amazes me how it balances out the face and really frames peoples’ eyes. One of the best aspects of doing the sort of art that involves other peoples’ hair or face is getting to know these people while I do it. My customers become like my friends and I truly love the time I spend with them. They are daily blessings to me, in that I get to interact with such wonderful people that I can learn from. I have had many challenges along the way, but the one thing I have learned is that you have to follow your dream and what God places inside of you, and just because it’s inside of you doesn’t mean other people will understand that. Most likely they won’t. In deciding to branch out and open a full service beauty bar I consistently was afraid of failing. In addition to that I kept thinking maybe I won’t be good at this or maybe I’m not the man for the job. My sister said, why wouldn’t God want you for the job? If you want to love people through your gift then you are exactly the man for the job. That really resonated with me and reminded me that I am in fact using the gifts God gave me to do the work He put me here to do. Everyone should believe in their gift and abilities in that way. After all, only you can do the job you were put here to do. I have had to deal a lot with self doubt and well meaning protective comments made by others that contributed to what I was already fearful of. This goes back once again to believing in the gifts God placed inside of you and knowing that when you use them combined with the vision He placed inside of you, you should move confidently forward.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well first it would start with a blowout at my beauty bar! We would definitely go to Ponce City Market and hang out there to shop and eat. I think it would be fun to get a room at the Georgian Terrace because it’s my favorite hotel in Atlanta.

Not just because of the architecture, but also because it’s located right across the street from The Fox Theater which I LOVE! So we would definitely have to see a show. We would probably eat at Houston’s, because I absolutely love the food there. Then, if we are going more off the beaten path to my neck of the woods, which is more in the country, we would have to go to coconuts in Cartersville for a tsunami, which is like Hawaiian shave ice with ice cream in the middle and it literally tastes just like it does in Hawaii! I also love the Westside Provisions District and all the little shops and restaurants. They also have some great photo ops! We do a lot of photo shoots there. I love the made in Atlanta sign there too!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh gosh, there are so many people! My granddaddy owned a lumber & moulding wholesale business. He taught me everything I know about running a business. I worked with him in high school, through college, and after until he sold the business. He gave me the best example of a Christ like love in the way he treated employees and customers alike. We were all family, the employees and customers. He was so generous with the people who worked with him. One thing that always stood out is that he would never say anyone worked “for” him. They worked “with” him. He gave such a humble example for such a successful man. He taught me that success should never put you above doing the dirty small jobs that have to be done and that if you see something that needs to be done, you do it. Then my grandmother, Jo Ellen, taught me everything about being fashionable, and also to never be too “fashionable” to roll up your sleeves and do the dirty work. She also taught me everything about hospitality and going out of your way to make sure people feel welcome and wanted and loved. She passed away this last September. I have vintage 1920’s theater seats in my beauty bar and was excited to paint “Reserved for Jo Ellen” on the bottom of one of them. I was going to do this before she passed anyway. I’m sad she didn’t get to see it and see my dream come true, but she is in all of the details at the beauty bar. I even prayed her hospitality over the building and that people would feel as loved when they enter as she always made me and everyone else feel. Of course my parents, have always been supportive and have held me accountable for working hard and being diligent in all I do. My twin sister has been right by my side working all night and inspiring me with words of affirmation along with my brother in law Matt, my sons Fisher and Sawyer who have been the muscle behind their mama lol, my cousins Dana and Jeffery, my friends Brandon, Kelley, Laci, Cindy, Johnathan, Ben, Brandy, Nisha and my real estate agent Debra who has been a Christian mentor filling me with scripture and helping to shape my business. They have all helped me late nights to accomplish so much on a budget. I truly could not have done this without them. I am so blessed that God put so many special friends and family and customers in my life.

Website: Www.6thandbig.com

Instagram: @6thandbigbeautybar

Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/6th-big-beauty-bar-co-813244059053721

Other: 6thandbig@gmail.com

Image Credits
Anna Shackleford Alisha Collins