by Zachary Caronna | Photography by Dave Barfield<\/p>\n
Family is the ultimate safe investment. Few investments prove as beneficial in times of need, whether immediate as when confronted by adversity, or growth-oriented as a potted tree when it becomes too big for its container. Putting one\u2019s time into the preservation of family often leads to compound interest, only the \u201cinterest\u201d in this case is fully entrusting ones legacy to another to carry forward.<\/p>\n
It is always straining when we do end up having to call upon those we love most, especially when asking for their help distracts them from living their own lives. But having invested in the right people makes the decision so much more worthwhile, and you can almost never go wrong when choosing family. Over at Chelsea Salon & Spa, there\u2019s a person whose understanding of this concept was built upon more than her fair share of once-in-a-lifetime ordeals.<\/p>\n
Anyone who\u2019s met the woman could tell you that Mary Fannin is a fighter. In 2001, Mary discovered that she had breast cancer. She found inspiration and support from those around her \u2013 especially her family \u2013 when knocking down her foe in a once-in-a-lifetime prizefight to successfully overcome cancer. As with all victors, however, her championship belt was being sought by another: Mary was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s Disease in 2004. Mary has not stopped defending her title. It\u2019s not in her nature. Even during Mary\u2019s inaugural years running a hair salon\u2014she co-owned the first Hairsmith location on Dewey Street in 1977\u2014she was no stranger to adversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a full day of work each Saturday, Mary would offer her expertise in haircutting to many, many family members, free of charge,\u201d explains her sister Sue Pe\u00f1a, current owner of Chelsea Salon. \u201cThis couldn\u2019t continue for long. There was a point where we needed, as a family, to support Mary and her business, too.\u201d Thanks to this experience, Mary was able to buy Hairsmith, Inc. and open an additional location on the Parkway. By the time Chelsea Salon & Spa opened, she had salon business down to a tee, and Chelsea has become one of the most prominent in the city.<\/p>\n
One reason Chelsea Salon & Spa had become such a success in Tallahassee, even in comparison to Mary\u2019s previous ventures, was its introducing Aveda products to the city. Aveda is among the most influential companies in the industry globally, known for its aversion to harmful chemical-based substances as well as its very high-quality products. Aveda\u2019s founder Horst Rechelbacher also implemented business policies that deviated from those conventional to hair styling establishments and improved the experience for the customers.<\/p>\n
Many hairdressers pay for their booth or chair and essentially conduct their own business. This can lead to hairstylists becoming very possessive of their clients. Mary wanted to set up her institution with professional hairdressers and spa specialists. She re-prioritized the focus of the service providers from themselves to their clients and the company (in that order). The clients don\u2019t always come to Chelsea Salon & Spa for a particular stylist or spa specialist, because everyone in their employ is both adroit in their occupation and eager to please whoever walks through the door. Mary and Sue are sisters, but their Chelsea family includes everyone in their employ, and they do everything they can to make life easier for their kin: between regularly inquiring in regards to what can be done to improve morale, to what is needed to help the individual grow, to holding ice cream socials and other parties to celebrate special occasions, Chelsea Salon attempts to possess as positive a working environment for the staff as possible.<\/p>\n
Mary\u2019s ability to get her staff to leave their ego at the door\u00a0was instrumental to the success of Chelsea Salon. For quite some time, there was only one person whose ego caused Mary any issues: her own. Having been in the business for over three decades, one comes into a wealth of experience that can be passed on to those who listen. This, of course, also means that the listeners eventually know enough to start their own practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the beginning, I would take it very personally and get my heart broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary\u2019s witnessed a lot of bright young stylists come and go over the years, absorbing her knowledge for a few years before putting her teachings into effect in their own salons. \u00a0\u201cIf they would stick around, I could teach them that their caring for the clients is what makes the client come back.\u201d Of course, she still keeps in touch with many of her former employees, on a personal and a professional level. Mary\u2019s always been big on education and she takes any opportunity she gets to learn from or teach someone she takes under her wing.<\/p>\n
So much time and compassion had been invested in her staff members that it\u2019s no wonder that the majority of salons and spas in Tallahassee are a product of Mary\u2019s own lineage. But any parent of a collegiate student could tell you that nothing makes watching someone you\u2019ve spent so much time with leave hurt less, no matter their destination or intentions.<\/p>\n
Horst hated this feeling, particularly when it pertained to the ownership of Aveda. He was determined not to give\u00a0it up for money, and spent the latter part of his career attempting to hold onto Aveda in order to ensure that the next owner was as singularly-passionate about entrepreneurial and nutritional-advancements as he was.<\/p>\n
Succession was not a priority of Mary\u2019s upon opening Chelsea Salon & Spa. However, after a few years of working two full-time jobs\u2014running the Salon & Spa as well as fighting Parkinson\u2019s disease\u2014Mary realized that this battle may require the entirety of her attention and focus, clouding her future as Chelsea\u2019s woman-in-charge. Fortunately, she did not experience Horst\u2019s dilemma when looking for the successor for her pride and joy.<\/p>\n
Sue joined the company as its office manager in 2012. She and Mary didn\u2019t realize in 1977, they would both prosper from Mary\u2019s exceptional hairstyling and business skills. \u201cI think about it now, and I realize that I made the right choice because she can communicate so well with both my staff and our clients. You wouldn\u2019t think that\u2019s what you\u2019re looking for in a money manager. But my staff and clients feel secure that they\u2019re in the right place because she makes things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
This, mind you, is coming from the founder of one of the largest and most successful salon and spas in Tallahassee. It\u2019s high-praise from a high-impact member of the Tallahassee community who knows a thing or two about the industry, and she\u2019s never doubted the decision.<\/p>\n
Sue did not start off as certain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was never in my plan. I wanted to be a dental hygienist, I wanted to be an airline stewardess, then I wanted to be a mother. Then I put myself through college and became an accountant, and that is when I came in to help Mary.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Sue\u2019s business acumen meant that Mary could focus on doing what she loved most\u2014speaking with clients and teaching her stylists\u2014without worrying the hassle of worrying about the constantly-churning stream of profit in the slightest. Of course, Sue\u2019s influence extends far beyond the salon\u2019s financial stability. Sue has brought structure to the business that continuously leaves it prepared for any possible obstacle.<\/p>\n
In fact, even though it\u2019s been roughly two years since she purchased the company, Sue has already picked and is helping to train an eventual successor: her youngest daughter Jenna.<\/p>\n
Like her mother, Jenna had business experience before becoming a part of the management team, and actually worked at Chelsea Salon & Spa when she was age 15: first as an assistant then working her way up to front desk coordinator. Four years later, she moved to Chattanooga, where she co-managed a restaurant before returning to Tallahassee and reunite with her Chelsea family. Jenna\u2019s taking an active part in various parts of the business, with the intention of at some point either taking the reins of or co-owning the salon. Both Sue and Jenna believe that this passing of the torch is the best possible outcome for Chelsea; Sue insists that her and Jenna\u2019s primary goal with every decision made at Chelsea Salon is to prolong Mary\u2019s legacy. Whether this means Sue remains in place for another year or ten, she\u2019s ready to take as much time as it takes to ensure that her 26 year-old apprentice masters her prospective role atop the chain of command.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do it as we go. By the time another change is made, we\u2019ll be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
For nearly forty years, Mary Fannin had run some of the premier salons in Tallahassee. With Chelsea being the culmination of everything she\u2019d learned in her career, she could not simply give it over to anyone. She decided to trust Sue, and the results have almost exclusively been positive so far. It makes sense, then, that Sue would follow in her older sister\u2019s footsteps and look within her own family tree for a capable individual worthy and willing to water the ever germinating sprout that is Chelsea Salon and Mary\u2019s contribution to the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tallahassee’s Mary Fannin by Zachary Caronna | Photography by Dave Barfield Family is the ultimate safe investment. Few investments prove as beneficial in times of need, whether immediate as when confronted by adversity, or growth-oriented as a potted tree when it becomes too big for its container. Putting one\u2019s time into the preservation of family […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,369],"tags":[95,396,395,322,321],"class_list":["post-1424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-fashion","tag-local","tag-salon","tag-stlye","tag-story","tag-survivor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1424"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1427,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1424\/revisions\/1427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}