The Fresh Perspective...

You’re doing what?!

Back to school, back to life, back to reality.  Reality? I don’t even know if I know what that means! What is reality to any of us anymore?

The coronavirus really has done a number on every living being on planet earth. Some things were great (have you seen the photos of Venice?) and some things were terrible (me homeschooling full-time). This pandemic has single handedly decided for all of us that we need to change.  We need to change and we need to accept that sometimes things change.  For some reason, we have been conditioned to think that change is bad.  Change means things won’t be the same and why is that bad? If things were ABSOLUTELY perfect then change would be not-so-good. But let’s be real, things haven’t been good for a very long time and so maybe this is good?

After three weeks of not accepting that I was unemployed and Canada had essentially shut down, I started to let myself accept things just as they were.  Maybe we would be shut down for 3 months?  Maybe I’d be cutting hair out of my home?  Maybe I wouldn’t be able to retire at 55?  So much uncertainty and undoubted change loomed for me as the weeks added up. I started envisioning my life in a whole new way! Bad? In some ways bad, but in other ways good.

Like I said in an earlier post, I love change!  I love to try new hairstyles and I love to try new foods.  I love new experiences and welcome a good shake up.  All this being said, I enjoy change when I can control it.  I enjoy it when I choose it.  Choosing is the funnest as well.  It’s the full on committing to the ‘change’.  It’s a rush! But only when I want it…

So here is the conundrum. I need to change my mindset to look at my change through different lenses and attempt to choose something uniquely different. I often think about my commitment to the environment and how that choice is so easy for me. I have no problem changing my consumption of single use plastics. I made a decision and boom! Done!

Not having control during a pandemic is indeed difficult especially when you’ve been the one controlling and making decisions up until this point. None the less we should accept and attempt to live our lives a little more authentically and with intent intentions. If you haven’t thought about it before, maybe now? Change.

-the fresh perspective…

It's Saturday!

SWEET SEPTEMBER

We’re back at it everyone! It’s a new month, and I’m still here doing what I do! For anyone just joining us here, I am Praise. I am the owner of Freshair Boutique, an upscale eco-conscious hair salon in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

I’ve been cutting hair for over 20 years and through my trials and tribulations I have been blessed enough to have been given this platform. My experience is quite vast as I am a mother, wife, full time student, business owner and so much more. Seriously, there is so much more to me!

Two Saturdays a month I will do my best to keep you up to date with salon news and information. Sometimes I’ll have gifts, sometimes I won’t. This month we are focusing on C H A N G E S. School is back on, corona is still keeping us all on our toes, and we are all coming to terms with our new normal.

The new set-up is as follows: On Mondays, the fresh perspective will be my own opinion on all the things a human can have an opinion on! September’s focus is changes. Changes?! That word makes me so happy you don’t even know! From haircut changes to menu changes, I’m here for it all! We aim to try to give you a well rounded experience so please let us know if we are missing the mark. I love a good critique! Each Wednesday is wordless and features images for your viewing pleasure handpicked by me! It’s fun and refreshing. And sweet Saturdays are my salon reports and such. For example, the month of September has three staff birthday wishes! Niasha, Krista and I are all born this month! If you’re in the shop in September send us some well wishes!

September is also bringing us ‘Kwik tips with Kitty’, a new feature on our instagram TV. Be sure to check it out and give us a follow! She will be featured twice a month and has a lot to share. It’ll be a nice CHANGE to our lineup (see what I did there?)… Change is inevitable so why not lean in?

We have some fun stuff coming up this month as I explore changing your mindset and how corona really changed me, as well as some IG before and afters and some health and fitness inspo! Thanks for reading and if you are so inclined, drop me a line!

-p

The Fresh Perspective

Bare Body Sugaring!

This month, we’re focusing on a neighboring company that we love! If you haven’t had the chance to check out Bare, do yourself a favour and pop in. The atmosphere is so fresh and clean and the staff is always so welcoming.

Unlike most salons & beauty bars, body sugaring is all that they do. This allows them to fully delve into one expertise and make that experience as positive as possible for you. Sugaring is a service that may potentially have you a little nervous or shy, but they do such a great job of making you feel comfortable. Plus, in many cases you’re in and out before you can think too much about it! With a combined experience of 15 years, they put all of their knowledge into training their staff, as well as picking and choosing practices they’ve loved & hated from each place they’ve visited.

The way they portray their company is undeniably body positive. It’s a joy to see each and every post that they make on social media as it’s always inclusive. Give them a follow @barbodysugaring & make your appointment today!

-that’s the fresh perspective…

The Fresh Perspective...

Birthday post!

TEN YEARS! Whoo-hoo! My fist thought, is I’m so happy we made it here! There were a few times during this journey I thought I wouldn’t be able to see the light but here I am! Here we are! Many changes have happened to our little hop from that first February in 2010 to now!

We started out with 4 cutting chairs and now have grown to 8. We started out with an vision for eco awareness and now are trendsetting in this area. We hope that through all of the changes, you our valued client, still gets the same great feeling when you come to our shop for a service.

During these ten years, I have grown so much and have developed so much as a business owner and I hope the education I have taken up to this point will allow me to be able to still be here for ten more years. I’d like to thank each and every staff member of the team from then to now. All of your efforts have brought us here. All of my clients that followed me from Society and the new ones I found from being on Academy, Thank you!

Freshair 2019

That’s the fresh perspective…

The Fresh Perspective...

Outdoor Running

Winter running! Do you do it? I personally enjoy running outside in the winter. Everyone assumes that it is dangerous and alarmingly cold, but you would be surprised. First of all, you get quite warm as you run and your temperature regulates quite fast. I recommend running outside for at least 3 miles/5k. Anything less makes it really hard to warm up..

I have a particular running uniform and it does include a jacket with reflective trim because I run first thing in the morning, and in the colder months, the sun has not yet come up. I wear cold gear running pants, long sleeve cold gear shirt, t-shirt over top, a hoodie, and my reflective wind breaking jacket on top. I wear a belaclava and 2 hoods. On my hands, I use gloves instead of mittens, and I have cold gear socks as well. I know a lot of people that use the running clips on their shoes for more grip, but I have never had a problem. If it looks icy, don’t run fast. On days when there is too much snow, I run on the road. Just be sure to run INTO traffic as some drivers still text and drive.

The air is so fresh when you run in the winter and I find that the cold air really invigorates me. Make sure you lotion up well and be prepared for frozen lashes, nostrils and fogged up glasses. If you are thinking of trying some outdoor running this season, make sure you have a route mapped out and you are prepared for anything. As you get more comfortable, you’ll be able to go further and further. Something you may try this new year? Yes?

That’s the fresh perspective…

How to be sustainable now!

Happy New Year!

Planning ahead is an integral part of running a business and we have put a lot of thought and time into what our plans/goals are for 2020. To begin, we decided to make an overarching focus for the year. Sustainability is our focus and we aim to use this year to try to understand that concept, especially in the light of the climate issues we’ve faced over the past 6 months.

So how can I be sustainable now you might ask? I’ll tell you! This year the staff of the shop and I are going to tackle items like plastic and fast fashion. Plastic is not easy to make, it doesn’t breakdown and it is a growing item in trash bins. Fashion has been suffering as well as of late, so we’d like to shine some light on thrift shopping, which has become very popular in the last 5 years.

We’re going to try to show you guys, in our humble opinions, what we think are the best products out there to replace plastic bags, and saran and ziplock bags. One easy way to be sustainable now is by patronizing our shop! We will be leading by example!

We are now offering reusable hot/cold cups that you can use at starbucks when you come for an appointment. We would like all of our clients to know that we are no longer offering paper bags. We would love to see you guys come in with your own reusable bags, but don’t worry, if you’re in a pinch, we’ll have some available for retail. We will be offering discounts for cash users and welcome any suggestions from our clients on all of our new efforts.

So apart from patronizing freshair to be more sustainable, you are able to make small changes yourself. Reusable cups, reusable canvas bags or even silicone ones can replace your current situation. Reusing glass jars and containers for all storage needs is also an easy move that doesn’t take to much work.

Just ask yourself a few questions when you are thinking about items to purchase or use. Is the item biodegradable? Can your item be used more than once? Are there any ways in your home that you can recycle items or even do without? It’s actually quite simple if you think abut it a little.

I’m not saying learning how to be sustainable now will put an end to all of our climate issues, but it will be a small step in a direction of change.

That’s the fresh perspective…