Life & Work with Rylee Clevenger of Kerry town Ann arbor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rylee Clevenger

Hi Rylee, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It’s a cliche to say, but I have always had an interest in the beauty world. Not so much for myself as I wanted nothing to do with it when it came to myself. When I came to others I loved it. I loved playing with anyone’s hair who would let me. Countless baby photos of me on my dad shoulders comb in hand. I would braid my grandmas waist length hair as many times as she would let me. I found any chance I could to play with the someone’s hair. As I got older the interest shifted onto coloring and cutting my hair. I was fortunate enough to attend cosmetology school in high school and graduated in 2020. A rocky start none the less. I started at a salon in my hometown. From there I moved to One Eleven Salon in Kerrytown Ann Arbor. Where I’ve been growing my craft ever since.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Certainly not. Starting my career in covid was no easy task, as I assume many people felt. One we in the beauty industry returned to work. We had to reconfigure how we operated. Starting my career in such a volatile time was incredibly intimidating and had me questioning if I even had a chance. In spite of this I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I was able to build a stable clientele and decided to move to Ann Arbor to further my craft. While I had a reasonable portion of my clientele able and willing to make the drive, I still had much to rebuild. It was scary having to reset all the hard work i spent years building.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a hairstylist. I aim to bring joy to my clients. I am incredibly fortunate to do what I love for a living. Not only do I love the craft itself, but I love how I make people feel. I’m truly in my element with vivid hair color and blonding. It brings out the best in me and my true creative side.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Definitionally my job is to cut and color hair to the likings of my client but every hairstylist knows that the best of us makes our clients smile when they look in the mirror. My clients define my success by how they feel when they leave my chair.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roots_by_rylee?igsh=aHF6NzI2aG8wczk3
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1ACMoFhr5N/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@roots_by_rylee?_t=ZP-8tW67tLmBsl&_r=1