HAIR DESIGN — SHAPE. TEXTURE. INTENTION.
“I’ve spent over a decade behind the chair and leading a team—and I still approach this work with the same fire. Leadership, to me, is about setting a tone: disciplined, creative, and unapologetically expressive.”
Kelly’s career launched in Chicago at Trio Salon, where she trained with precision and intensity before rising to top stylist at Art + Science. She later co-founded Beauty + Balance with her sister, Dawn—building a space rooted in creativity, trust, and evolution.
“This industry is intimate. We touch people. We shift how they see themselves. It’s never just hair.”
Kelly operates at the intersection of craft and culture—a constant student, a natural educator. Named “Most Inspirational Staff Member” at Art + Science, she went on to refine her edge through advanced training at Suki’s Academy (Vancouver) and Vidal Sassoon Academies across Seattle, California, Toronto, and London—absorbing the discipline of form and the language of shape.
Her work is informed by rare experiences—most notably collaborating with the late Oribe, whose influence continues to echo through her aesthetic. In Paris, she trained under Oribe educator Ramona Eschbach and styled for Rad Hourani’s runway—immersed in a world where hair, fashion, and identity collide.
From New York designer Anthony Thomas Galante to runways and retail stages including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and the Art Institute of Chicago, Kelly’s portfolio moves fluidly between editorial and real-world beauty.
As a former ARROJO Ambassador, she toured nationally alongside Nick Arrojo—educating, performing, and pushing creative boundaries. Time spent working at the ARROJO Studio in New York sharpened her perspective. “New York gives you edge. You bring that energy back—or you fall behind.”
In 2020, Beauty + Balance merged with Chicago’s Paul Rehder Salon—a shift Kelly describes simply: “Stronger together. Always evolving.”
Outside the salon, her creative language expands—movement, music, photography, food, travel, collage. Different mediums, same instinct: create, refine, repeat.