Scarlett O'Donnell Stewart, 21, has opened Solace, a beauty, aesthetics, hair and wellness space in Ryton, Gateshead. The salon, which officially opened on August 8, brings together a group of self-employed professionals under one roof.
From teenage entrepreneur to salon owner
Scarlett began running her own business as a teenager. She started Scarlett Rose Aesthetics, which specialises in advanced aesthetics, facial balancing and skin treatments, when she was 18 years old. Now 21, she has opened Solace in Ryton, where she lives.
Solace offers advanced aesthetics and skin treatments provided by Scarlett, as well as BIAB and nail services, hairdressing and colouring, hair extensions and hair styling services offered by other specialists.
Building stability through her own work
Scarlett said she has worked since she was 13 years old and has spent much of her teenage years and early twenties working towards creating a better and more secure future for herself. She has worked up to three jobs at once alongside building Scarlett Rose Aesthetics and has continually reinvested what she earned back into her business.
She told ChronicleLive: "Growing my own business from such a young age gave me the confidence and experience to eventually take the next step and create Solace. The vision was never to create just another salon. I wanted Solace to become a destination for beauty and wellness where people can take some time for themselves and escape everyday life, while also providing a beautiful environment for independent professionals to build their own businesses."
Scarlett said she created Solace without business funding, loans or borrowing, which meant a lot of sacrifices, particularly over the last few months.
Overwhelmingly positive response
The salon's opening event saw all 20 prepared goodie bags gone within the first 20 minutes. Scarlett said she has since been working through many kind messages and a huge number of enquiries for herself and the other professionals at Solace.
She said: "It's still very early days, especially as we have more team members and services yet to be announced, but the response so far has made me incredibly excited about what Solace can become. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive."
Scarlett said additional services have not yet been announced. She added: "And for me, this is only the beginning."
