Photos courtesy of Aspen and Ash.
Krystal Millender opened Aspen and Ash this summer in Vestavia.
A father’s support and years of experience led Krystal Millender to open Aspen and Ash Collective, a coworking space for independent salon professionals like she wished she’d had when she first started out.
Millender has been a stylist for 26 years, and she most recently worked in a salon suite across from Life Time in Vestavia. A wife and mother of two, Millender grew up fixing her hair and styling others in the community and went straight into cosmetology school after high school.
Photos courtesy of Aspen and Ash.
Customers and stylists can enjoy the panoramic views, amenities and relaxing environment at the luxury salon.
She also earned a degree from Montevallo and had a job in social work, but Millender continued to find ways to work in the beauty industry before coming back to it full time in 2012. Three years later, she was faced with the decision to continue working as a stylist for someone else or set out on her own. After talking with her family, she decided to follow her father’s advice.
“He told me, ‘Follow your dream, and bet on yourself. You have your entire life to work for someone else if this doesn’t work out. But I think it will,’” Millender recalled. “He believed in me so much that it gave me the extra push to not be scared to go out on my own.”
She’s now been an independent stylist for the past decade and said she wants to help others do the same, which is why she opened Aspen and Ash. The salon has space for eight stylists, and there are currently four working full time and one part time.
“It’s a really good opportunity for independent stylists who want luxury, to use their own products and be their own bosses,” she said. “I’m creating the space I wish I had when I first became an independent stylist.”
The stylists pay weekly rent and operate as their own bosses, but they also get the perks of being a part of the coworking space. That includes amenities like towel service, someone who greets customers, an online booking system, website and a station with coffee, beverages and snacks.
Photos courtesy of Aspen and Ash.
Aspen and Ash offers a coworking space for independent stylists.
She’s been looking for the right commercial building for the past five years, and she finally found it right behind The Summit. The space previously was a conference room for ARC Realty, but Millender transformed it into a luxury salon with a warm, welcoming aesthetic. The salon has panoramic views of Cahaba Heights, and the location offers ample parking outside and a peaceful, relaxed vibe when people come in, Millender said.
When thinking about a name for the business, Millender said she wanted something that was catchy and brandable, and she came up with Aspen and Ash. Aspen trees represent strength and resilience, and ash means to be made new as in rising from the ashes. That theme of rebuilding especially hit home for Millender after her father passed away last year.
Though her father wasn’t there to see her business open, he was still a part of the big day. Millender held the official grand opening on his birthday, Aug. 14.
Looking ahead, Millender said she hopes the business continues to expand and that it’s a place stylists can call home and grow their own businesses.
Aspen and Ash Collective is located at 4274 Cahaba Heights Court, Suite 225, in Vestavia Hills. For more information, visit aspenandashcollective.com.
