By Jessica Oates
As she prepares to celebrate her salon’s one year anniversary, Andrea Sheehan reflects on the very beginning of her career with fondness.
Though The Loft has only been in business since last December, Sheehan had spent the previous 10 years working for her mentor and role model, Anna Ragnacci, at Anna’s Hair Studio, in the same location.
Sheehan began working for Ragnacci when she was just beginning her career as a student of Empire Beauty School.
“I started as her her assistant—answering phones, washing hair, sweeping up—but eventually she had me on the floor as a stylist, and I grew alongside her,” Sheehan said.
Cancer took Ragnacci’s life. The studio remained open, and a year after Ragnacci’s death, Sheehan took it over, renamed it and reopened it as her own.
“As my dear friend got sicker, she began passing her clients on to me, training me to take over,” Sheehan said.
Now known as the Loft Salon and Spa, the salon at 2622 Nottingham Way offers haircuts, color and highlighting, styling, extensions, permanent straightening, air brush tanning and makeup, as well as waxing and nail services. Sheehan describes her salon as relaxing and laid back.
“Everybody knows each other,” she said. “It is a very comfortable atmosphere.”
Fellow stylist Erica Schaeffer has worked with Sheehan for over a decade.
“I think what sets our salon apart from others in the area is the high-end work we do in a very welcoming environment and at reasonable prices,” she said.
Sheehan adds that maintaining a friendly setting with a focus on customer service is of the utmost importance to her.
“Anna taught me that it isn’t about the dollar,” she said. “And she is so right. I love working for my clients, doing whatever I can to accommodate them and achieve the look they want.”
Sheehan and her team are dedicated to mastering new techniques and staying up on the latest trends.
“We hold frequent training sessions to make sure we are always learning,” she said.
Though Sheehan acknowledged the challenges of owning her own business, it’s definitely something she is proud of.
“I gave birth to my son two months before I opened my salon last year, and I spent the next few months after that making The Loft my own,” she said. “It feels good to have the flexibility I need as I grow my family.”
Sheehan lives with her fiancé Ahmad, who owns a restaurant in northern New Jersey, and her son, Aydin, in Hamilton.
“As The Loft’s one year anniversary approaches, I want to thank my beautiful clients—and my fabulous team members—for helping make the salon into the friendly, vibrant place that I enjoy coming to everyday,” she said. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
The Loft Salon and Spa is located at 2622 Nottingham Way in Mercerville. Phone: (609) 245-8271.
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