Meet Chasity Davenport | Salon Owner & Master Stylist/Extensionist

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

Hi Chasity, how do you think about risk?
I’ve always heard “without risk, there is no reward”. My career behind the chair started out in the middle of the Great Recession and as a mother, I could not risk waiting around in a dull economy to build a clientele. I worked a corporate job for years, doing hair on the side and quickly realized the success I had behind the chair outweighed what I was capable of with my other career. I was traveling for long periods of time, putting in far more work than was recognized until something finally clicked; it was time to take a risk, a MASSIVE risk, to build the life I wanted for myself and my family. This meant more flexibility with my schedule, my trips now included my family if they chose to join me and I was in a place where work felt a little different, it was enjoyable. Not just because I was good at it but because I loved connecting with people, building relationships, helping them solve problems and really feeling like I had purpose.

That risk was terrifying, I went through a period where I regretted it, had an identity crisis immediately after. My whole routine changed and to top it off, Covid made its entrance. Little did I know quarantine, those weeks home with no beauty maintenance or upkeep, would make women even more eager to feel beautiful, to spend time on self care than ever before. After less than a year of making the leap, Wildflower was born. The Wildflower Collective opened in September of 2020, my husband thought I was insane but I realized the need for an upscale, fun salon in our little star struck town. We have since filled every chair in our salon and added more services to the menu. We offer an array of luxury products and services to our clients as well as our very own hair extension line, Bloom & Vine. My background in business operations propelled us in ways I couldn’t have imagined, simply by applying that knowledge and experience to my own business.

One of my dearest friends told me at the beginning of this journey, “leap and the net will appear” and that it did.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My passion has always been with making people feel incredible about themselves. Once we start to feel value in ourselves, even if from a small confidence boost, our lives change.

My art lives in the form of hair extensions. I’ve been wearing them since I was a teen and have always loved the elevated feeling I had when wearing them. Seeing people who struggle with hair related issues no longer have that negative association with their hair is pretty incredible. For some people it’s life changing and it is absolutely an instantly gratifying result.

Balayage is my second love. I enjoy stepping outside of the box to create hair color but as a process driven brain.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Believe it or not, Covington is quite the charmer! I could drive them to the city to see the bright lights and fancy restaurants but our little town is full of charm, history and even cooler, filming. We have tourists fly in from all over to visit the Mystic Grill thanks to The Vampire Diaries. Sweet Magnolias and The Dukes of Hazzard were also filmed here. We are home to Twelve Oaks, which inspired Gone with the Wind, there are still many antebellum homes standing. You never know if you’ll run into an A-lister here and the Covington square is full of charming local businesses.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout goes directly to my friends and clients. They watched me fly out on Monday’s back in on Friday’s and straight to the salon on Saturday and Sunday to do what I loved. I called it my “jobby”, it was certainly a second job but felt more like a hobby than work.

They encouraged me, told me I was crazy to continue working at that level and needed to trust it! Without them I may not have had the confidence to make it happen.

Website: www.thewildflowercollectivecov.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/the_wildflowercollective

Image Credits
Jessica Bailey Photography