Hometown Hero: Salon owner gives back to the community

Kristin Speakman grew up being “the kid that was running around the salon.”

Today, she is the founder of Bella Red salons and is the leader of a 30-person team that staff their locations in Federal Way and Bonney Lake — and gives back to her community through her work.

Speakman grew up watching her aunts model values of being lifelong learners and finding independence and success through the hair industry. While she said she admires their hard work, passion and dedication, she also learned a hard lesson about the importance of taking care of yourself when one of her aunts passed away from breast cancer.

“I watched her work herself to the bone and ignore her breast cancer until it was too late,” Speakman said, adding that she watched her aunt work her whole life to build this career only to have it all fall apart at the end.

At her shop, Speakman said she tries to model how to have a balance between work and life and provide a career path where people can take care of themselves.

Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror Kristin Speakman joins the fun with her team at a pool party team Energizer event for Bella Red employees.

Even after shutting down during the pandemic, Speakman was able to start providing health insurance to her staff three months after they reopened. Last month, they announced they would also offer a 401K option. These benefits are rare in most salons. Most of her team are able to support themselves comfortably on or under 30 hours a week, allowing them more time to take care of their needs and dreams outside of work.

Cara Forward was Speakman’s first hire after working alone for the first 6 months after opening her first shop, and is now the director of new talent for Bella Red. She told The Mirror that learning from Speakman empowered her in ways she didn’t expect, including becoming independent and empowered enough to seek a new life path. The networking, social media and business skills she learned have helped her gain financial independence to provide for her family and make choices that helped her find freedom in her life.

“My vision for myself was never that I would be able to support myself and my children,” Forward said, adding that Bella Red and Speakman’s mentorship changed that.

Forward said that she appreciates Speakman’s approach to being a human first and the rare experience of being in a commissions-based job where toxic competition isn’t present.

Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror Kristin Speakman and stylist Roslynn share a hug during a recent team Energizer event.

“We get to show up as our authentic selves,” Forward said. “We don’t have to pretend that things are perfect all the time.”

Jae’ana Davis, a staff member of the Bonney Lake store who is in Bella Red’s associate program, told The Mirror that she noticed this value at Bella Red from her first interview when she was asked about what she loves to do outside of work.

Davis ultimately plans to do editorial fashion work and has a background and education in theater. She said that even though she doesn’t work with Speakman directly, her values show everywhere in the company, even down to their status as a Green Circle salon that recycles all of their waste.

Speakman recently coordinated a free hair cutting event in collaboration with the City of Federal Way that was just the most recent in a history of working to give back to the community. Forward shared memories of fundraising events and volunteering at local organizations like FUSION since the beginning of Bella Red.

Speakman is quick to highlight that she is not the first or only person to offer free haircuts, and even volunteered at a Boys and Girls Club event the day before her own to do the same. This being said, she is soon to be recognized by the Mayor of Federal Way for her contributions by being presented a Key to the City.

Her staff shared that they saw firsthand the impact of those haircuts. Forward said she heard from several parents that getting a haircut for their kids was financially “not even an option,” and that there were many happy tears. Davis said that her last client of the day was the “highlight of my career” because she reminded her of why she had become interested in hair in the first place.

Davis told The Mirror that growing up as an African American woman, she dealt with hair insecurity not helped by stylists who turned her away from their salons because they were unwilling and not equipped to work with her.

The little girl whose hair she cut at the back to school event was shy at first and didn’t know what she wanted. “Her hair was super matted and she hadn’t had a haircut for a year,” Jae’ana Davis said. It was extra meaningful because “she has hair like mine.”

By the end of Davis’s 45 minutes with her, the little girl was smiling and suggesting possible hair styles she might want to try in the future.

Speakman is dedicated to breaking down barriers like the ones Davis has experienced so often. She said she is grateful that she had the opportunity to work with all textures and styles of hair during her time at Bates Technical College because many stylists are not lucky enough to be in a diverse community.

Education of herself and of her team is a core value at Bella Red, and one that Speakman’s aunts modeled to her growing up. As part of this education, she offers free monthly classes to her teams to expand their skillset, whether that is through color demonstrations, new skills with razors and shears, or techniques for braiding and clipper cuts.

Speakman said that making sure everyone feels welcome and included in her shops is important to her because it is “such a beautiful gift that hairdressers have, it’s intimate and you provide that safety and space, it’s important to cultivate and nurture that relationship.”