Meet Alissa Titi

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alissa Titi.

Hi Alissa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am from the suburbs of Pittsburgh and I moved to Nashville in 2014. My husband is a Nashville native and wanted to come back home after getting out of the Marine Corps. He dragged me here kicking and screaming because we lived in a cute, little military town on the beach that I didn’t want to leave. I had a hard time finding a place I fit in here. I worked at a cosmetology school and 2 different salons in the first 3 years of living here, but none of them felt like my “salon home”. After being in the industry since the age of 16, I decided it was time to create my own salon home. I opened a little studio by myself on Kirkland, right off of 8th Ave. It grew very quickly and I was turning away a lot of business. I found a really cool space just minutes down the road in Wedgewood-Houston and had a vision for it. I fell in love with the artsy neighborhood and felt like I had finally found the place I fit in.

We started with 4 manicure stations and 3 pedicure stations and after 2 years we had grown so much we expanded into the space next door and added 2 more manicure stations, 2 hair styling stations, and a lash room.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The biggest challenge starting out was learning how to be a business owner and how to lead a team. There are a lot of challenges in this that you don’t know of until they come up. I’d say now though, the biggest challenge is working through the pandemic.

During the 3 month shut down, my husband and I drained the hard-earned savings we had finally built up after being open for 2 years. Once the world re-opened, it was like starting over from the beginning again, but with even more challenges to navigate.

The cost of supplies, shipping, and rent is constantly rising. People are not spending money on luxuries the way they used to, and they’re avoiding going out into public places that aren’t necessary.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At Lacquer Lounge, we offer hair, nail, makeup, and lash services. We are definitely known for the nail art we do. We offer lots of different nail services including Après gel extensions and builder gels. We have an amazing close-knit team. We all love each other so much we hang out outside of work on the weekends. We encourage everyone to be themselves 100% of the time, clients and staff alike. We are unlike any salon I’ve ever been in. Our clients love that we are our real, authentic selves and have fun with them, while still offering quality work. Every day is different at Lacquer Lounge. You could come in and we could be jamming to anything from 2000’s pop-punk to R&B, or watching anything from Schitt’s Creek to true crime.

I am most proud of creating a safe space for people to be themselves. I’ve never worked anywhere that didn’t have a dress code and where you can always be yourself. My favorite thing is when clients start talking to each other while getting serviced. We have clients that connect with each other all the time! We draw people in with our talent, but they continue coming because of the fun atmosphere!

 Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I see Lacquer Lounge growing and changing with Nashville. We could possibly expand again, so that we can offer even more services and explore more areas of retail.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: Www.thelacquerlounge.com
• Instagram: Www.Instagram.com/Thelacquerlounge.Nashville

Image Credits
Amy at Wilde Company, Morgan Corbitt, Alissa Titi, and Ashton Mitchell