Meet Kasey Hooper | Vivid Hair Specialist

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

Hi Kasey, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Owning my own business has been the most essential and freeing step in my life that I have ever taken. I was never really a good employee, honestly. From the time I started working at 16, up until this day, I have tried my hardest to have a voice. As much as I love working hard, doing it for someone else’s gain was never something I wanted for a long period of time.

That was mainly because I like following my own path, my own thoughts, and was never heard by anyone when I believed my ideas were better or more efficient. My brain- as strange as it is, tends to make connections and recognizes what the general population needs and wants in “better ways”. I was never really respected for that. I pride myself in being extremely independent, self-sufficient, and I’m always thinking of new and better ways to do things. Working for myself is the only way I wish to run my business from now on!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a vivid/creative hair color specialist. I love mixing different colors, and pushing the limits of my industry. I love exploring color combos, and interesting new techniques to create bright, vivid hair. It definitely was not easy to get to this point. I was told multiple times in school that specializing in unique colored hair would not be viable; I could never make a living doing it. By working extra hard, posting all my work, and trying to be utilize hair and colors in the most unique ways my little brain can possibly imagine- I do believe I made it. The most important lesson I’ve learned along the way, as cliche as it sounds, is to Never Ever give up. I’ll be honest, on multiple occasions I truly asked myself how badly I wanted this. Everytime I thought about giving up, the Universe pushed it right back on to me. That within itself makes me never want to give up this amazing passion and world I have created for myself. I would want the world to know that as “easy” as my job seems, it wasn’t easy for a second. I fought my way just as hard as anyone works for promotions in their jobs. Starting out in this industry is toxic, getting away from that cloud is incredibly hard, and it’s easy to want to give in. But working for myself is truly showing exactly how hard I have worked to get here, and it only took me 5 years to grow this much in Atlanta. Also, being an artist is hard nowadays, but whatever support we get from those around us is infinitely helps us keep going.

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.
I have always been a huge fan of Little Five Points! That’s the first part of town I ever visited in Atlanta!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Honestly, the support from my family has been the one thing keeping me going during all of this. I have been at this for almost ten years, and they all have stood behind me the entire time. Even when the goings got rough, they have had my back and made me believe in myself like no one else. Their support is out of this world. They visited me and let me practice on them (they had some pretty cruddy haircuts and color back then), but regardless of my skill, they still trusted me and would would walk around with my student work and be proud about it. Even now, they still come to me and tell all their friends and coworkers to come to me, and it’s just amazing. I know many people probably credit their families for supporting them, but through thick-and-thin, these people have been my ride or dies; I love them so much for it! My mum, since DAY ONE, has been a huge support. She’s the one that helped push me into hair school! My dad has backed me and was always so happy to see me working hard for my business. My brother and sister were always down to let me experiment on their hair, and have always spoken so highly of me to friends. I couldn’t have done this for a single minute without them.

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