Meet Kachina Provonche of Solace 49 Salon & Spa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kachina Provonche.

Hi Kachina, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story kind of starts all over the place! I was born in Hawaii, and both of my parents were in the Army, so I have traveled and lived all over! I graduated from Fruitport High School, where I was awarded scholarships for singing, and ended up going to MCC for a little bit. I quickly discovered I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life during that time, so I took some years off and ended up working for a while and then finally was able to go to cosmetology school where my ‘story’ truly begins. After getting licensed for a week, I went on an adventure to move to Alaska for a couple years, where I decided after some time, it was time for me to move back home to Michigan. I have been a licensed cosmetologist for almost 10 years, working in the wedding industry doing hair and makeup, working in salons, and now finally to the point where I have achieved my ultimate goal of owning my own salon, Solace 49 Salon & Spa, September marked the beginning of my second year in! In my first year in my salon, I received the Grand Haven Tribune’s People’s Choice Award for Best Hair Salon 2024, and I also placed in the top three stylist two years in a row! That was one of my best accomplishments for the year, and I am so thankful for all the people who have supported me along that journey! I truly wouldn’t be were I am today with out all of the people who support me, believe in me, and my best friend Alyseah who always pushes me and is who encourages me to do anything I set my heart to achieve!
In the past couple of years I started working as a professional photographer as well for my dear friend Carolyn Carmel, it’s been such an amazing learning opportunity, and something I love doing so much! My slogan for my Solace 49 brand has always been “find the beauty in everything”, I think in both aspects of my jobs, it gives me the opportunity to show people with their hair, and through photos, how I find the beauty in them, and get to show them how beautiful I see them.
I have always gone by the term “Jack of all trades, master of some”, because I do so many things, and have taken so many different paths in my life. I am a seamstress, I wood work, I am a cosmetologist, I am ordained, I do photography and the list goes on.
I am married to my husband Eric, and we have two girls, Evelyn and Verona, who truly push us to do everything we set out to accomplish. I am thankful that I have a partner who has helped me on this journey of owning my own buisness! We work so hard to achieve our goals and make our girls apart of the process every step of the way with everything we do. One thing I have always instilled in my girls is that “you can do anything”, because even when life isn’t easy, if its meant to be and the path is meant for you, you CAN do anything, and if anything, I want my girls to grow up knowing that and seeing it!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As everyone, we all have struggles. I grew up in such a way, with my single mom, and couldn’t always do everything because it wasn’t always in the cards for me. I think that is also why I push so hard to tell my girls that they CAN do anything, because if there is a will, there is a way. I didn’t do well in school academically, I was always a social butterfly, which caused a lot of distractions for myself. I wanted to do the cosmetology program where you go to school part time, and to a tech school the other half, but academically, I couldn’t do it. It took me some years to be able to finally afford to do the program on my own after graduating high school. It was a rough couple of years, that taught me a lot of lessons, and now has lead me down the path to success. I am very grateful for everything I have endeared to get to this point, even when it felt like it could break me, and know that everything life has brought me through, that it was exactly what I needed to go through to bring me to where I am today!

We’ve been impressed with Solace 49 Salon & Spa, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
For starters, everyone always asks, where does the name come from so I will start there! When I moved to Alaska, it was a really difficult move to go all the way across the entire country on my own. I had friends, but essentially I was on my own. I was listening to this song one day, and they said the word Solace, which I ended up finding out meant “finding comfort in a time of distress”, and when times were most difficult, I would just go and sit and look at the mountains, because nothing is more beautiful than that, and in my opinion, not a picture, or a description can capture how the mountains truly make you feel, and 49 (because Alaska is the 49th state) which is where I found that solace. I always used the business name “Solace 49” for all my business endeavors in the past with sewing, beach cleaning, and everything in between, it has always been my brand. When deciding my salon, it was only right that I continue on with something so special to me and correlate it with something that was such an accomplishment to me of starting my own salon. I went back to working in a salon after a couple years after having my daughter, and during that time, the only option for me was to work after my husband got home from work, which in turn, I built a large clientele of people who needed to have services done in the evening, so it ended up being a win for both of us. So over the years of working toward my goal, it was like I worked alone anyways because I worked different hours than most people, so starting my own salon by myself was the perfect business move for me! Many people have asked “don’t you hate working alone? I wouldn’t like that at all!”, I have had that asked to me so many times I’ve lost count, but its quite the opposite actually, I LOVE IT! It has not only allowed me to continue the same type of environment that I have always had, of having one on one with my clients, but I have been able to create a physical space that reflects me one hundred percent, and someone else isn’t taking credit for my work! It’s truly been very rewarding, over and over again!
I am most proud that I get to be who I am in my space, let people express who they are, and provide a safe space that people don’t feel judged or that they have the freedom to talk, or cry, or vent, and know that it is in a safe, judgment free environment.
I really enjoy creating and making things over the top, which has really let me explore festival hair! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE doing these colors on peoples actual hair, but the freedom and the fun I have creating festival hair for people who are going to music festivals is so much fun to me! By opening up this avenue and creating custom experiences with it, I have been able to meet people who come from all over the world, and end up in my chair! The fact that we have such an incredibly massive festival every year, right in our back yard, has opened up such an amazing opportunity, and has brought me some of my favorite clients, who are now not just festival hair clients, but are regulars!
I just want people to know, that I support who ever they are and that when they come in my salon, if even for that moment, I want people to feel seen, heard, loved, and safe. That is what I always want to give off to people who step foot into my salon! So many people see my industry as “it’s just hair”, but it is SO much more than hair to me. My whole career has shown me that, and the people that trust me to time and time again do their hair, have taught me that it isn’t “just hair”, because it is so much more than that.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
In my industry it is always changing, which is something I love, as it is not repetitive. I don’t know where that path will take me, but I love that I get to grow with it! I hope that moving forward I get to continue to do what I love doing, and maybe I will expand. At this moment, I love where my path is, and I don’t see any big shifts, except continuing to grow personally and in my industry!

Pricing:

• $30 Hair Cut- Includes Wash And Style
• $15 Clipper Cuts- Includes Wash And Style

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/Solace49Salon
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/between.shears