Today we’d like to introduce you to Mio Sota.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I always loved to draw and appreciated art so I for sure thought I would become an illustrator. But at the age of 16, my mother took me to my very first hair salon – up until then she was cutting my hair. The stylist ended up giving me the complete opposite of what we had discussed, cutting off about 15in more. It was very traumatic at the time but it was then I realize that I wanted to become a hairstylist who listens to all of their client’s needs and makes them look and feel great about themselves.
After graduating high school, I attended cosmetology school – Pivot Point International in Chicago. Upon completion, I joined the apprenticeship program at a prestigious salon, eventually working my way up to becoming the top stylist as well as an educator at their Academy side.
I was with them for 9 years and now have moved on and found a wonderful home at TRIO Salon Chicago. I also started educating for Goldwell US, traveling on the weekends to salons to teach continuing education courses to all level of stylists.
Always being into art, starting a few years ago, I took an interest in collaborating with photographers, makeup artists, models, etc, and sending my work into editorial photo competitions. Last year in Las Vegas I was awarded the prestigious award of 2017 North American Hairstylist of the Year. Few months after that I placed Gold at a global live competition, Goldwell Colorzoom event held in Barcelona competing against 30+ countries.
Many opportunities have opened up from these experiences. This year I am opening up the big award show in Las Vegas with my own runway presentation. I also have had the honor to be part of the global team to create the 2019 trend collection which will be presented at the global Goldwell event in Toronto in the fall….. I really think the biggest win from this all though is that I have the opportunity to meet and work with inspiring artists around the world.
With everything happening, it has been quite the busy couple years. But ay home, I like to balance that all with my side bartending job I’ve been doing for 12 years now. For the last 5 years, I have been bartending at a lovely restaurant called Kamehachi. They treat me like family as well as everybody at TRIO salon and Goldwell. I started co-hosting a very hilarious improv comedy show called BATSU! and they have certainly become a close family as well.
It’s really the people I get to meet, clients, customers, colleges, other artists, and of course my friends and family that keeps me inspired to continue doing what I do.
Has it been a smooth road?
One of the challenges would be the apprenticeship program I went through. It was designed to be about 2 years long and had about 7 levels of tests to pass in order to complete the program. But they only allowed 3 fails per each level, and if you failed any levels 3 times, you were terminated as it showed lack of dedication to the program.
There were many cold (and hot) nights on the streets of downtown Chicago I was running around tearing up and begging random strangers to be my model for the next day due to the last minute cancellation.
2 years into my program, I finally got my final test…. but failed. So they gave me another 2 months to practice… in which I failed again. Another 2 months passed and they failed me again… for the 3rd time. I was nearly in tears knowing I was going to get fired, but the instructor at the time told me “We’re not going to fire you, we like you because you work hard, and you’re really good at blow drying”.
Definitely, at that point, I felt a huge stab and felt like this profession wasn’t for me if I was only good at blow drying after all of those training. But thankfully for all the incredibly supportive people in my life, I tried for the 4th time and finally passed. I’ve also had on many occasions throughout my 15 years in the industry where people would let me know that I will never be successful if I no longer worked with/for them. It’s hurtful and sometimes I really let it get to me and often doubted myself.
“Success” (whatever that really means) isn’t what I ever strive for – I just really enjoy good art, a good company, and a good laugh. So it was extremely meaningful to receive the recognition last year just when I finally started appreciating to staying true to myself.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Mio Sota at TRIO Salon story. Tell us more about the business.
I specialize in cutting and styling, and color on the side. I’m known for clean shapes and lines as well as modern textured loose shapes and everything in between.
As a hairdresser and an educator, I am most proud that I am told that I am a really great listener. I genuinely am interested in people and their stories. You can have excellent technical skills but if you don’t listen, it doesn’t matter how good you are – you cannot fully provide the needs of the clients and students.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
That’s a very hard one! Everything is changing so fast these days that it’s getting harder to see where the next 3 years would even take us. What’s clear though is that social media is so massive and people (especially younger generations) are turning to Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube etc for beauty tips and tricks and getting the experience there.
They are constantly engaged and getting all of the information they need with just the tip of their fingers. So it’s really important for us to not only try and keep up with the social media presence but as licensed professionals, we’re really going to need to step up our client experience more than ever before. That means putting the clients’ needs higher than it has ever been but it also says education is a big priority for us.
We need to be able to constantly educate our clients on the how-tos and the tips and tricks. To stay relevant, to stay fresh, and be able to provide change. Constant change. Because they are looking for that.
Contact Info:
- Address: 712 N. Wabash Ave Chicago IL 60611
- Website: www.miosota.com, www.triosalon.com
- Phone: 312-944-6999
- Email: miosota3@gmail.com
- Instagram: miosotahair
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MioSota.Mio
Image Credit:
John Rawson, Jackie Jasperson, Babak, Melissa Musseau, Adrienne Wheeler, Ainsley Klug, Klaudija Gaigalaite, Ellie Kohn, Parker Greer, Isaiah Grass
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
