Meet Kylie Luke | Hairstylist, Makeup Artist & Co-Owner

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

Hi Kylie, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Work life balance has honestly been one of the biggest challenges in my career thus far. When I first started doing hair and makeup, I was working in a well established salon. There were set hours, so there wasn’t a lot of wiggle room to work extra. I was also expected to be at the salon during my scheduled hours, whether I had clients or not, just in case there was a walk-in. In this type of salon environment everything was about more clients, more services, more products- stay as busy as possible and make as much money as possible. After working there for a couple of years, I was able to make the transition into my family’s salon, the King and Queen at 8, alongside my husband and his parents. It was terrifying walking away from a clientele two years in the making having no idea when I’d get back to making that money again. Although I still had established open hours at my salon, it became very easy for me to say yes to coming in early, staying late, and coming in for appointments on off days in order to make my schedule work around everyone else’s needs. Not to say that I’m not still very driven to cater to my clients now, but I was so determined to rebuild my books as quickly as possible that I would sacrifice time with my family to make it happen. All of a sudden I started noticing that I had no breaks in my work days, my highly sought after nights and weekends were booked out for a month to six weeks minimum, and I was really having to put in extra hours to get everyone in. As exhausting as it was, it was so satisfying that I’d reached this goal that I’d dreamt about since my hair school days, and I didn’t want to take it for granted. At this point, I’ve been at our family salon for about five years, and we are extremely grateful that our business does so well. Our salon doors were shut for six weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic, and that should’ve scared me. I remember the day that we found out that we had to close the salon, we had no idea how long we’d be closed for, and instead of being worried about our business or getting covid-19, I was so thankful to have some time off. For someone else to tell me that I wasn’t allowed to work was such a relief; I felt like I finally had time to breathe and focus on me. That was my huge wakeup call that I was obviously overworked and needed to improve my work life balance. I spent my six week mandatory “staycation” getting enough sleep and exercise and spending all my time with family and close friends. I was in the best spot mentally that I had been since early childhood. I was a better person and a better wife during that time period, and I promised myself that I wouldn’t fall back into those self-sacrificing habits when our salon doors were back open. Six weeks of no income combined with extended appointment times for disinfection certainly encouraged me to slip back into working overtime, but balance is always on my mind these days. I’ve learned that prioritizing my mental and physical health equally with work isn’t just beneficial for me, it’s necessary for me to be inspired for my clients and excited to be behind the chair.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think my versatility is really what sets me apart from so many other artists. I have always loved change, and my look is continuously changing and evolving. I’ve had hair all the way down my back, I’ve shaved my head, and I’ve played with every color of the rainbow plus some. When people are looking for hairdressers and makeup artists, they tend to choose professionals that have similar looks to what they’re wanting. Because I’ve done so much experimenting with myself, I’ve got a very diverse clientele. I take pride in being able to offer so many services. I love doing updos on long hair, I love creating a really edgy pixie cut, and I have fun with all color whether it’s meant to look completely natural or it’s super vivid. It’s highly advised in the hair world to create a certain look and brand for Instagram profiles to really let potential clients know the artist’s specialty, but that’s not who I am as an artist. I love that everyone can look at my Instagram and see that I’m not a one trick pony; I am all about that uniqueness.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of my hobbies is craft beer, not just because of the beer itself, but because of the community of people involved in craft beer. Atlanta craft beer doesn’t get near the credit and attention it deserves, and I love getting to introduce other people to our beer scene. So many breweries put as much effort into creating their space as they put into making their unique beers. Orpheus, near Piedmont Park is one of my personal favorites in Atlanta; they’ve got lots of outdoor space and always have movies on and games to play inside. Halfway Crooks is a newer brewery in Atlanta located close to Georgia State’s football stadium, and they’ve got a great rooftop with a view and awesome brews. Some of my other favorite breweries to hang out for a while are Pontoon, Variant, and Cherry Street, and although they’re not ITP they are so worth the drive. Non beer related, I love taking people to the Atlanta Botanical Garden, especially around the holidays! Their Holiday Lights event every year is magical, but regardless of the time of year, it’s a gorgeous place to enjoy the whether and the view of Atlanta.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I wouldn’t be where I am today without my husband, Isaac, and his parents Thomas and Cindy. Isaac, Thomas, and Cindy established our salon in November of 2014, more than a year prior to me coming to work alongside them. These three created the perfect environment for me to flourish in my career. Since day one they’ve allowed me to be in complete control of how I do hair and makeup, and being allowed to have that freedom inside of a salon is so inspiring to be creative and continually grow as an artist. Thomas and Cindy have been doing hair behind the chair for over 25 years, and have also been educators for most of that time. Having two highly experienced mentors since the beginning years of my hairdressing career has been priceless; the amount of education I’ve received so early on has made me a much better hairdresser than most, and I am forever grateful for that. My parents and brothers have also been a much needed support system. My mom and dad have always encouraged me to have a career that makes me happy so that I’m not living for the weekend and dreading being at work. And the whole family has certainly been patient with me over the years as they were being used as guinea pigs for haircuts and colors!

Website: kq8salon.com
Instagram: @kylielukehair
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kylie-Luke-KQ8-1815698715395813

Image Credits
Kelsey Halm Photography Danny Gorman Photography