Hello friends!
I'm starting a little blog and photography series to highlight "Creativity in the Community" as a source of inspiration for finding your inner creative.
Lately, I've been thinking about the ways that creativity is woven into our lives. It is a way of living and a mindset that can spark inspiration and a sense of purpose, even during the most mundane tasks (designing powerpoint slides or taking on home improvement projects, anyone?).
I believe by connecting with our inner creative, we can find a lot of joy in life. As a kid, I absolutely loved making up games at the park with my friends, performing musicals on the trampoline, and playing make-believe in trees that lined my backyard. I doodled on the edges of my notebooks in school, played dress-up in my mom's closet, and put on fashion shows in the neighborhood. The possibilities were endless. And the results? Maybe cute, but likely cringey.
These days, while the most obvious way that I exercise my creativity is through painting, I also enjoy photography, writing, rearranging furniture, baking, doing my makeup, designing yoga flows... and the list goes on. All this is to say, there are so many ways to connect with your imaginative side and nurturing your inner creative feels so good!
One of my favorite things to do is connect with other creatives and to learn about what inspires them and their work. So, I had this idea to tie together my love of photography and storytelling, and showcase some of my creative, beautiful friends.
First up is the lovely Maeve.
Maeve is a hair stylist based in Waialua, a small country town on Oahu's North Shore. While she started her career in New York, Maeve moved to Hawaii in 2021 with her now-husband Myron and quickly fell in love with the laid-back vibes and natural beauty of the North Shore. When she is not in the salon, you can find her surfing, walking her dogs, or trying the latest fitness class in Haleiwa.
We cruised in her pickup truck along the quiet coastline of Mokuleia for a coastal cowgirl inspired shoot. In true island fashion, we had every type of weather in one afternoon, from sunshine to rain showers, topped off with a rainbow at sunset. Afterwards, I chatted with Maeve about all things creative... but I'll let Maeve tell you the rest!
Q: "What does creativity mean to you?"
Maeve: That's honestly such a tough one for me! I do not feel like I am an authority on creativity, but it is good to sit down and and ponder this!
Q: Can you share how living on the North Shore of Oahu influences your hairstyling techniques and overall aesthetic?
Maeve: I would say that the biggest change as far as living in New York and doing hair there and then coming to North Shore, is that people are much more low maintenance. People aren't styling their hair with heat on the daily, they are not getting their color done all that often, and they are not looking for super high impact color services that are going to look drastically different than their natural hair.
I love creating those super blendy colors that are going to last a long time and that you don't have to get them done very often. And for me that is something that when I look at it at a glance, isn't always creative, but it is very detailed work to get that look. Something that looks like a really simple and subtle change, can take so many different steps! You have to take such tiny fine sections and be really intentional about where you are placing foils, and where you are blending the color to get what is, that really simple look.
And as far with cutting, a lot of times clients will come to me with photos for inspiration that is very clearly styled ... and I know that so many of my clients here are not going home and picking up a flat iron or curling iron, and blowing out their hair on the daily. So you have to be creative as far as educating your client. Giving them a look that is similar to what they want, but that is achievable for their lifestyle. Asking them questions about what their day and what a realistic styling routine looks like for them and then finding shortcuts to get the look that they want, whether it is giving them a product or a technique to help them air dry their hair.
Q: What inspires you to blend surf culture and country vibes in your personal style?
Maeve: Honestly, it is an aesthetic style that fits my lifestyle. I am definitely more in my natural girl era than I have ever been before. I find that being surrounded by clients, friends, and women who are super low-maintenance and natural with their beauty and their style is inspiring for me and different. Creativity to me used to look like being up to all hours of the night experimenting with crazy colored eyeliner and make up and hair. Glitter and neon and all that stuff, which is always really fun to do every now and then.
But stepping into this new part of my life, living in a new place, and being in the ocean all of the time, it is slowing down and finding ways to be creative that aren't so loud and crazy. I do feel as far as the country vibes and surf culture.... I do love the coastal cowgirl aesthetic. I love that vibe and I did grow up in a 🤠 yee haw 🤠 environment and it is fun to pay homage to that. You can just wake up and be easy breezy, work with what you've got going on naturally and enhance that in little ways.
Being done up now is different to me. I definitely feel more beautiful when I am understated, which is a fun era to be in.
Q: How do you stay inspired and continuously bring fresh, creative ideas to your clients?
Maeve: It is really easy to get into a rut! In the beauty industry and other artistic industries, a pathway to success is finding your niche. That naturally happens when you are mostly reliant on word of mouth referrals to build your clientele. Someone comes in... they saw their friend's hair and they want that exact same cut and that exact same color. I feel like I do have a niche, as far as a lived in blendy look and I definitely have a signature haircut that I love to give people that looks beautiful on them.
There are things you do to customize for people's face shape, lifestyle, if they like to wear their hair up or down, are they shampooing a lot or not as much, the type of texture they have in their hair. All of these different things play a little factor and it can feel kind of repetitive. But also it is easy to forget that I am making those little creative and customized choices for every client! It is cool to step back and think about all of those little details that go into each service.
I love when a client brings me something different that I don't normally do. Something that they aren't really seeing on my page when they book the appointment, but they are still going to come and give me that challenge. Recently, I've had this client who is wanting to do a copper look, and I love that she is giving me the time to figure out her hair. Sometimes it can take a few appointments to figure out how someone's hair reacts to different colors. Finding that perfect shade is a really good exercise in creativity as far as formulating!
Stepping outside of my niche and my comfort zone is what keeps things really fun and creative. Courtney, the owner of the salon that I work at, she does a lot of really bold, bright, fun placements. Even just being in the chair next to that, watching that go down, I feel like that is really cool and inspiring.
Q: What advice would you give to someone looking to infuse more creativity into their own hair and personal care routine?
Maeve: A really big thing for me is having a dedicated space in my house to sit down and look in the mirror and take the time to do my skin care, hair care, a little bit of makeup if that is what I am doing that day. Giving yourself a physical space and allowing time in your schedule for self care is important!
As far the creative aspect, recently I have been playing with a lot of multi-use products. I have been using a cleansing conditioner to wash my hair and can leave it in my hair for couple hours as a mask, if I am doing chores. Also, I am liking a Himalayan pink salt texturizing product that you can use in a lot of different ways. I can use it to slick back my face framing layers when I go to work out, or to enhance the wave in my hair.
We are sold "one product for every specific little thing," when I feel like you can get a lot of use out of what you have. Since I work in an industry that tends to produce a lot of waste, I try to be conscious of using things down to the last drop and that gives you an opportunity to get creative.
For instance when I finish a big liter of conditioner at work, but that last little bit of product won't come out, I dilute it with water and pour it into a spray bottle to take with me when I go surf and use it as a leave in conditioner. There are so many ways that you can use these products, it is really about playing around and finding what works for you.
Thank you to Maeve for playing in the sand and inspiring me to get behind the camera! You can book an appointment with her at Maeve Does Hair or find her on Instagram. Stay tuned for more creative features, and if you're interested in working together, shoot me a message!
With love,
Kirsten
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