Today we’d like to introduce you to Gaelle Secretin.
Gaelle, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Growing up in France, South America and Africa, I fell in love of painting and art and eventually decided to explore my innate creativity through styling. Before long I was the youngest style directors at the renowned Toni And Guy Academy in Paris, and worked alongside her mentor, the hair designer and entrepreneur Stéphane Amaru. I learned so much and the experience gave me confidence and pushed me to go explore the world on my own.
Drawn to the California lifestyle, I relocated to Los Angeles, working in salons in Beverly Hills and Silver Lake, eventually writing a business plan and beginning to visualize the place I wanted for myself. After launching a hugely successful crowd-sourcing campaign, I finally opened The Hub Factory in the Downtown Arts District in 2013, just as the area was experiencing it’s most fervent revitalization. I was drawn to this area because of the energy of what was happening here and also because I felt I had found my social tribe in the artists and creatives who were transforming downtown. Starting over in LA was hard, When I moved here I didn’t know anyone and I didn’t speak English very well. But I didn’t ever question my decision.
Over the last two years, I have built a thriving clientele and brought on a team of stylists as eclectic and diverse as the space itself. There is Amelia Sukiennik – creative, crafty, intuitive, great with structured and graphic cuts. There is Nicole Gehweiler is the resident surfer girl, skilled at natural beachy highlights and texturized cuts, all executed with a laid back, California vibe. And there is sweet Sully Layo, delicate but also creative and bold, a pro with edgier and avant-garde cuts and coloring.
Together I and The Hub Factory team offer something for everyone, a stylist synched perfectly to the tastes of each and every one of their diverse, evolving, creative clientele. Our job is to read our customers, to look at what your wearing, your taste and to listen to you closely. It’s important to understand you and what you like – in order to translate that into a style that suits you, that feels true to who you are.
And to pursue this wonderful journey, I am now working on creating a natural unisex hair product line designed for outdoorsy/active/busy people, that provides great style with no effort or tools…
Has it been a smooth road?
The challenges that I encountered were mostly financial, as a foreigner I was not able to apply for a business loan, so I got to improvised and got creative. I maxed out two credit cards, ran a crowd funding campaign to pay for the furniture, plumbing and decoration, etc.
I’ve built my clientele over the years, creating a giant community of friends-of-friends type of clients, which makes my studio a real convivial and friendly place to be.
Have you ever wanted to stop doing what you do and just start over?
As difficult as it was to start a new life (learning the language, making new friends, building clientele), I’ve never ever thought of quitting, the faith in the fact that I was in the right path kept me going and gave me the strength to overcome challenges.
One step at a time, I’m “climbing” my personal mountain… I don’t set up goals that would be too high for where I’m at in the moment, I’m trying to go with the flow, without judging myself if I fail, if that makes sense.
I believe that there’s always a great reason/lesson in the experience of “failing”, it sounds corny but it happens to be a soothing thought process within myself
What advice do you wish to give to those thinking about pursuing a path similar to yours?
I would advice them to first create a moodboard of what they’re envision creating, then define their own vibe and look for the neighborhood that curate shops that share the same aesthetic, social tribe, etc. it is really important to respond to the social tribe’s needs that we want to attract.
That’s what helped me building my clientele and tribe…
What are you most excited about these days?
I’m creating a hair product line promoting natural style, and designed for active, outdoorsy men and women whose perception of beauty is more about how they feel within and not how they “should” look like based on society standards. I’m very excited about this project that I hope will be finalized end of 2016!
Pricing:
- Haircuts are between $90 and $100
- Balayage between $150 & $260
- Full color $110 & $150
Contact Info:
- Website:www.thehubfactory.net
- Phone:310.994.8015
- Email:info@thehubfactory.net
- Instagram:Thehubfactory
