Daily Inspiration: Meet Susanna Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Susanna Smith.

Hi Susanna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I originally owned hair salons (Makin Waves Salon) and a hair extension company (Hollywood Hair Extensions) and still do, however, born out of Covid became California Curated. California Curated is a boutique event company, specializing in certified farmers market, craft fairs, art walks, and vintage flea markets. During Covid, my hair salon was closed, and I had time on my hands and realized I loved creating and managing events which I always had done on the side. Since my business Hollywood hair extensions was based out of Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles I had close ties to many people in the area and attended all of the fantabulous LA parties one can only dream about. From art gallery openings to red carpet events to Emmy gifting suites and the Playboy Mansion. This eventually led to me to not just attending but coordinating and setting up. All of these exciting gatherings were directly connected to my hair salon and hair extension company in Los Angeles.. Then we experienced the dreaded Covid. I unfortunately had to close my downtown Los Angeles salon location and retreated to my beach house in Huntington Beach. As a single businesswoman in my mid 50s, this quickly became a drain on my savings and thus I created something based on food that was Covid proof. Out of that became a management position of my first certified farmers market. From there, I started doing pop-up craft events. Now California Curated is quickly expanding and I am looking forward to bringing my event skill set to help revitalize gatherings in Los Angeles. The last few years have been tough times and the best remedy is to get back outside and gather in relaxed community environment.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s actually been a pretty smooth road. I believe if you can dream it you can make it happen. Of course, there are always struggles along the way in any business venture that having been in the salon industry for over 20 years I’m up for pretty much any challenge. The most difficult part of putting on events is finding the correct location. Beautiful surrounding, some foot traffic and parking is a must.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Aside from my hair salon business and the event company I am an artist. That’s my true passion and both of these career paths expressed that. My art depends on the day really, sometimes it’s painting sometimes it’s refinishing furniture. My current passion is shell art. I’ve been importing ethically sourced shells from beaches around the world and turning them into Mandala wall art.

What were you like growing up?
I’ve always had a passion and dedication for the arts and animals since I was a young child. I grew up on a small farm as an only child so you find ways to entertain yourself. In elementary school, my hobbies were writing and illustrating children’s books along with 4H and riding horses.