EMMA-GRACE WEITZMAN wipes down the sleek counters at her luxury salon, Blended Hair Studio, while her partner and co-owner, Lexie Roles, checks the appointment calendar for the week. Pink throw pillows adorn the seating areas, and a Keurig machine stands ready to brew warm drinks for their esteemed clients. These young business owners have created a posh destination for their clientele, 90% of whom are women, to feel pampered and beautiful. The building itself holds significant childhood memories for Weitzman, adding to its charm.
Located in the historic Coker Building at 401 Wilson Ave., the salon space sits in the same building as the former boutique, The Purple Cabbage, owned by Weitzman’s grandmother, mother, and aunt. Some of her earliest childhood memories were from that store, running around playing while the women in her family set up displays or checked out customers.
“I literally grew up in that building, which made it so special to come back to,” Weitzman said. “When the space became available, and spaces almost never open up there, Lexie and I knew we had to take a big leap of faith and do it now.”
But Weitzman, now 25, had not always known she would want to be a stylist. While attending the University of Tennessee, she originally majored in nursing. But when she was only 19, she was hired to manage a tanning salon that generated nearly a million dollars annually. This sparked her interest in becoming a stylist and ultimately led to her changing her career path.
“I realized how interesting this beauty industry was, and I really saw what people were going through because they needed the confidence, or they had weddings coming up,” Weitzman said. “I started seeing that I could actually have fun at work.”
She attended Paul Mitchell The School Murfreesboro, where she met her friend, Lexie Roles. They worked together at a larger salon, but dreamed of opening their own hair studio. The pair knew they wanted to focus on providing a private, luxury experience with personalized services focused specifically on customized colors and extensions. They chose to name their new business Blended Hair Studio because when people talk about needing to blend their hair, they are already saying the company’s name. They opened in May 2024 and just celebrated their first anniversary.
Weitzman said she and Roles stay up-to-date on all the latest hair trends and techniques, and they take pride in personalizing each client’s hair to fit their specific needs. Whether someone has hair loss due to health conditions, thinning hair from age, or if clients have simply never loved their hair, Weitzman and Roles can give them the styles of their dreams.
“I fell in love with being able to give people the hair they’ve always wanted,” Weitzman said. “You can walk in and leave two hours later with a head of hair that you’ve dreamed of your whole life. I have literally watched people cry… that gets me every time. That’s why I do this.”
Weitzman and Roles are both married, and their husbands helped get the salon up and running and built custom furniture for them. Creating the perfect atmosphere to reflect their personalities and appeal to a high-end clientele was essential.
Weitzman said she loves the intimate setting of running a private salon with just two stylists, and the creative freedom to do things the way she wants, offering affordable, fair rates and setting her own hours.
She and Roles both have Bellami extension certifications and offer custom clip-in and traditional extensions. Weitzman values continued education and growth as a stylist. She had the incredible opportunity to attend Bellami’s first-ever extension showcase in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she took classes with celebrity stylists, including Cardi B and Rihanna’s hair stylists. She met Eric Vaughn, a famous TikTok celebrity stylist. This experience helped her grow as a stylist and perfect cutting-edge professional techniques.
Weitzman has a special place in her heart for her clients experiencing hair loss. She said it is where she finds her purpose, because hair is deeply tied to most people’s identities.
“Helping people with hair loss is my passion. I lost a little bit of hair from COVID — not too much — but I know how very aware of that I was,” Weitzman said. “The consistent thing that I heard from my clients over and over again was that they were just so self-conscious about their hair, and I want to be able to give people that confidence back.”
Owning a business at a young age does not intimidate Weitzman, and she credits this to her time at The Webb School in Bell Buckle. Attending the preparatory boarding school from 6th to 12th grades instilled in her a professional, responsible work ethic and strong character in addition to the top-notch education. She encourages young entrepreneurs to have confidence in their vision and purpose.
“Don’t allow yourself to be confined by your own ideas or society’s or anybody else’s,” Weitzman said. “You can create your own identity and be bold and brave enough to stand apart even when it’s hard.” GN
Book an appointment with Blended Hair Studio at (931) 563-7087.
