Melissa Carlson

Stylist/Owner

Melissa began her career in 2006 and brings nearly two decades of experience behind the chair. She completed advanced color training with L’Oréal Professionnel, balayage and foil training at the Di Pietro Todd Academy in San Francisco, and continues yearly education to stay current on evolving techniques and trends. Melissa is also certified in Bellami Extensions. She is experienced in the hand-tied method and offers multiple different extension lines tailored for each client.

A truly versatile stylist, Melissa is known for her thoughtful, customized approach and believes the best hair is created by honoring each client’s individuality and lifestyle. She has a strong passion for dimensional color, lived-in blondes, precision cutting, and is especially sought after for expertly crafted bob haircuts.

When she’s not behind the chair, you’ll likely find Melissa on a boat on Lake Washington, chasing the sun during the winter months, or traveling and drawing inspiration from wherever she lands.

Rachelle Short

Stylist

After 18 years behind the chair, Rachelle’s work has always been rooted in intention, education, and care. Training extensively with Bumble and Bumble, Oribe, and L'Oréal Professionnel - including hands-on education with Oribe himself, she has also had the honor of styling for editorial publications and bridal shoots. She specializes in lived-in balayage, corrective color, and certified in Habit Hand-tied extensions, with a focus on tailoring each cut and color to fit her client and their lifestyle. Rachelle’s goal is simple, for every client to leave feeling confident, elevated and their absolute best. Bringing years of experience, refined technique, and calm, she wants all clients to feel a welcoming approach with her.

When Rachelle’s not in the salon, you'll find her running, or soaking up time with her husband and three children.

Jennette Mendoza

Stylist

Creative, versatile, and passionate about her craft, Jennette has an eye for style. Jennette began her career in the hair industry 20 years ago. Starting at Gene Juarez and completing her advanced training with Vidal Sassoon, she has also taken extensive color courses with Wella and Schwarzkopf color.  Jennette is skilled in highlighting using different techniques such as balayage, foilyage, and ombre to name a few. Throughout the years, Jennette has attended workshops and hair shows in New York, LA, Miami, and Canada. Jennette is also Keratin Smoothing treatment certified and loves to continue her education and continues to grow to keep up with the trends.

Jennette understands the importance of listening to all of her clients' needs. Her goal is to make each client feel beautiful by creating a style that is designed just for them.

Leah Kostelecky

Stylist

Leah began her career as a stylist in 2013 after attending Gene Juarez Academy. Since then, she has worked with various product lines and has an extensive background using Oribe, R&Co, L’Oreal Professional, Redken, and Wella. She loves the ever-changing industry, and has continued her education throughout her career in order to keep up with future techniques and trends. Past opportunities include working Seattle charity events, styling for fashion shows, and educating newer stylists fresh out of beauty school. She has a passion for creating beautiful, bright blondes through balayage, and loves to use many types of foiling techniques. In addition to lightening, she enjoys formulating vibrant, multidimensional brunettes, and tailors her cuts to each individuals specific lifestyle, bone structure, and face shape.

In her free time, Leah loves traveling, and hiking around Washington. She loves staying involved in regular community service events, exercising, and spending time with family.

Kara Quakenbush

Stylist

From the age of three, Kara knew she was meant to be a hairstylist — a dream she brought to life in 2012. Known for her soft, dimensional color work and luxury extension transformations, Kara specializes in low-maintenance blondes, natural-looking redheads, rich multi-tonal brunettes, and seamlessly blended hand-tied extensions designed to enhance fullness and movement. With a holistic approach to haircare, Kara focuses on enhancing each client’s natural beauty while prioritizing scalp health, hair integrity, and long-term results. She loves working with clients who value effortless color, customized maintenance plans, and a luxury experience rooted in care and intention. Kara has trained with some of the industry’s most respected artists, including Nikki Lee and Riawna Capri of Nine Zero One Salon, Daniel M Beauty, Johnny Ramirez, and Anh Co Tran. She is certified in hand-tied extensions and specializes in creating natural, lived-in extension looks that feel lightweight and beautifully blended. 

Having worked with professional color lines such as L’Oréal, Wella, Redken, and Schwarzkopf, Kara blends technical expertise with artistic intuition to create one-of-a-kind results for every guest.

When she’s not behind the chair, you’ll find Kara doing Pilates, spending time with her dogs, or planning her next adventure.

Brittany Brown

Stylist

Brittany Brown is a seasoned hairstylist with over 15 years of experience and a graduate of Gene Juarez Academy. She specializes in elevated blonde services using advanced foiling and balayage techniques, with extensive training in L’Oréal Professionnel Hair Color. She has also attended multiple hair events, charity events and fashion shows over the years learning styling techniques from Oribe himself and the R+Co professional team. She is known for creating low-maintenance color tailored to each client’s lifestyle to maintain their look beyond the salon. Brittany is passionate about continued education and is currently working toward certification in hand-tied hair extensions. 

Outside of the salon, Brittany enjoys spending time with friends, family, staying active, traveling, attending concerts, and raising her young son and daughter.

Wesley Kelly

Stylist

Wesley has been in the hair industry for over 16 years and is deeply committed to continued education and intentional craftsmanship. Throughout her career, she has trained with leading educators and brands, continually refining her skills in both cutting and color. Her advanced education includes training at DiPietro Todd, as well as Vidal Sassoon, Oribe, and Kérastase. Wesley is a certified member of the L’Oréal Expert Network and holds specialized curl certifications including Forever Curls Cut & Color, Cādo, and Mizani AirCut, allowing her to thoughtfully customize each service to the individual—especially for curly hair. 

Passionate about lifelong learning, Wesley is always growing to better serve her clients. When she’s not in the salon, she enjoys the outdoors, caring for plants, cooking and good food, traveling, laughing with friends, and volunteering. Come see Wesley for a personalized cut and color experience rooted in expertise, creativity, and genuine connection—tailored just for you.

Carissa Gevaart

Stylist

Carissa started her career as a hairstylist in 2014 after graduating from Gary Manuel Aveda Institute. Later, she continued her education with Wella to become a master colorist as well as getting her certifications in balayage, color correction, extensions and more. She continues to refine her craft in color and further her education with experts in the industry. 

Known for her dimensional brunettes, bright blondes, and rich reds, Carissa’s work focuses on seamless placement and thoughtful customization to create color that grows out beautifully, maximizes longevity and ensures effortless grow-out between appointments. Carissa values building genuine, long-term relationships with her clients and is dedicated to providing an experience feeling both elevated and personal. Her goal is for every client to leave her chair feeling confident, refreshed, and completely themselves. 

When she's not behind the chair, Carissa enjoys spending time with her friends and family and most importantly her dog.

Sami Knowles

Stylist

Sami starter her career as a hair stylist in 2010 from Gene Juarez Academy. She had the pleasure of apprenticing with many senior stylists, as well as traveling to LA, Portland, and Arizona to further her education. She regularly takes classes in-person/online to educate herself and keep the creative juices flowing. She thrives on giving her clients the best cut/color for their personal style, lifestyle, hair texture, face shape, and skin tone. Sami enjoys making her clients feel and look beautiful every day!

In her free time, she likes to explore, be in nature, and spend time with her boyfriend+ two cats, as well as spend time with friends!

Kristel Shelley

Stylist

Kristel has been behind the chair since 2012 and known for creating beautiful blondes and rich brunettes. With advanced training with Oribe, L’Oréal, and Redken, she has continued education with some of the industry’s most respected artists including Lisa Walker (Lisa Loves Balayage), Maggie Hancock, Linh Phan, Gina Bianca, Zach Mesquit, and Sarai Speer. Kristel specializes in all things blonding, from bright, seamless foils to soft, blended balayage, always using a customized approach to help each client achieve their version of dream hair. She also loves creating multidimensional brunettes and taking on the challenge of color corrections. Her philosophy is simple: every client should leave her chair feeling confident, beautiful, and truly taken care of.

When not in the salon, Kristel enjoys exploring nature with her family and German shepherds, watching football (go hawks!), cooking with her husband, and unwinding with a good thriller book or the Real Housewives. 

Gina Facchini

Stylist

As a stylist for over 20 years, Gina is an expert in creating beautiful hair that has a natural and sophisticated feel. Taking pride in listening to her client’s desires to tailor each look to their personal style, physical features, and individual lifestyles, she specializes in artistic cuts and styles utilizing her extensive training in both French and British cutting techniques with a strong attention to detail. She continues to expand and further her technical skill set by pursuing learning opportunities with experts in the field.

Jenica Mahinay

Stylist

Jenica is Alaska-born and raised and attended a cosmetology program during high school. After graduating, she moved to Dallas, TX to train at the Toni&Guy Academy and then continued doing hair in that area for the next 9 years and eventually owned her own studio. She moved to the Seattle area in 2007 and continued to grow and learn through education events from L’Oreal, Oribe, Bumble&Bumble, R+Co., Ashley Norman, and many others. She has 25 years of experience and loves working on special occasions & wedding styles, hand-tied extensions, curly hair, and creating beautiful dimensional reds.

If she’s not behind the chair, she’s probably baking cookies or camping with her husband and kids somewhere in a PNW forest.

Hayley Cunnington

Stylist

Hayley has been working in the hair industry for over 13 years and has a deep passion for her craft. Throughout her career, she has had the opportunity to work with respected brands such as Aveda, L’Oréal, Wella, and now La Biosthétique, which has strengthened her appreciation for high-quality, natural-focused products and maintaining healthy hair. She is known for her versatility behind the chair, specializing in versatile cuts, advanced color training, and tape-in extensions, allowing her to create customized looks tailored to each client.

Outside of the salon, Hayley enjoys traveling with her husband, spending time outdoors, and visiting the park with her dog, Boba. Wellness is an important part of her lifestyle, and she brings a calm, thoughtful approach into the salon, ensuring every client leaves feeling confident, refreshed, and cared for.

Natalie Graham

Stylist

Natalie began her career 18 years ago. She’s always been very interested in fashion and the beauty industry as a whole. Lucky to apprentice under the creative director at Gene Juarez after completing advanced training, she worked at Gene Juarez in Seattle and Alderwood for the first 8 years of her career. She has spent the last 18 years perfecting her knowledge of hair color and different styling techniques. She is certified in L’Oréal, Schwarzkopf and Mydentity color lines. She specializes in blondes and French cutting. Natalie keeps up on education by always learning the latest trends and techniques. She has a passion for what she does and making sure each person that sits in her chair feels and looks amazing every time they leave.

When she isn’t in the salon she enjoys time with her family, hiking outside and spending time with her frenchies.

Sai Sutha

Stylist

Sai has spent over two decades refining a modern, thoughtful approach to hair. Specializing in elevated color—luminous blondes and dimensional brunettes—along with precisely tailored men’s haircuts, Sai’s work balances technical excellence with effortless style. Known for cultivating long-standing client relationships, each look is approached with intention, personalization, and quiet confidence.

Sai has styled at Paris Fashion Week along side the Oribe team and worked fashion shows in New York, Las Vegas and Seattle

Outside of the salon, Sai draws inspiration from time spent outdoors, planting, and unwinding with his dog Wilson - grounding rituals that inform a calm, considered aesthetic.

Courtney Ahearn

Stylist

With five years of experience in the beauty industry Courtney is passionate about creating styles that empower and inspire her clients.  She believes hair is a powerful form of confidence and beauty that she takes pride in by listening to your vision and bringing it to life. Whether it's a fresh cut, color, or a complete transformation, her goal is to make you feel confident and beautiful. Continuing education is important to Courtney. She believes having a variety of skills is necessary to achieve a certain style and can best customize and accommodate each client. Recently, Courtney completed the Wella advanced color class along with their cutting masterclass.

When Courtney is not in the salon, she enjoys time with her horse Mark, and spending time with friends and family.