Today we’d like to introduce you to Annette Berkman.
Annette, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been a makeup artist since I was 19, specializing in weddings and special occasions. My journey to starting Pearls really started in retail, working as a beauty advisor and makeup artist at Sephora. Interacting with customers, and watching their demeanors change as they found colors and styles that they liked, made me realize how looking good can help someone feel good.
But makeup is only skin deep. The idea behind starting Pearls of Chicago started with casual conversations with my husband Avi, who’s a photographer and has a passion for beauty and style. We started to think about how we could create a space where we could help people feel beautiful — and in a setting that was a cut above the average salon.
Those conversations became more serious, and then, we came up with a slogan: “Come, feel gorgeous someplace stunning.” We built around that concept.
We’re a husband and wife team. And we both brought our backgrounds to the table in designing Pearls. The salon is a mix of old world European and new world modernism. My family is Austrian, so I love chandeliers. Avi loves the clean feeling of mid-century modern. We designed Pearls together, and if you look closely you can see both of us reflected in every corner of the space. That stretches from our guest experience down to the smallest details of our salon. When a guest walks into the salon they are greeted by a design that exemplifies that mix that we term European modern.
From there, they are whisked into an experience of pampering that is reminiscent of a time gone by. Every detail has been taken into consideration to make our guests feel they’re most gorgeous.
Has it been a smooth road?
The hardest lesson that we learned is that concept and design are one thing, but bringing those into reality are another. From the beginning, we knew how we wanted Pearls to look and feel. The actual construction process was harder than we ever imagined.
A process that we thought would take six weeks ended up taking eight months.
There’s not enough space in this article to really describe the frustration we felt. At times, we thought that it might be better if we just gave up. But we didn’t, and when the doors finally opened in 2016, we couldn’t have been happier.
That’s the real piece of advice for anyone: Persevere. Making a dream come takes hard work and can be really stressful. Having a partner who’s in it with you is invaluable.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Pearls of Chicago salon and spa story. Tell us more about the business.
Pearls is a full-service salon and spa. We do everything from hair, facials, waxing, makeup, and massage to more specialized services such as wig styling, cutting and coloring.
Other salons in our area do great work, but we really pride ourselves on good customer service in a gorgeous setting. Pearls is a place where someone can feel beautiful in a place that looks beautiful.
And, you might not find a better cup of coffee anywhere in Chicago. We took months finding the right blend.
But the thing that really sets us apart is that Pearls is a place where anyone can feel comfortable. We think we have most diverse clientele in Chicagoland. We handpicked our stylists that represent what we stand for in a salon. Friendly, warm and super talented. The salon is upscale, but we’re really down to earth.
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
I’m a first generation Canadian. Both sides of my family — grandparents and great-grandparents — started successful businesses back in Europe that they built from the ground up after World War II. They had lost everything in the war, but they were able to start again in incredibly difficult circumstances. Their entrepreneurial spirit and ability to see opportunity even under an awful situation has always been an inspiration.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6724 n Lincoln ave
Lincolnwood, IL 60712 - Website: Pearlsofchicago.com
- Phone: 224-251-8264
- Email: pearlsofchicago@gmail.com
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/pearlsofchicago/
- Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/1466323223603297
Image Credit:
Berkman studios
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