Below is a recap of some of the conversation between Katelyn Alberts, the creator of VERVERY, and Tim Pyrcz, the owner of Fringe Hair Studio in Tewksbury, MA. For the entire interview with more fun Q & A, watch our video here!

So, Tim, give us the cliff notes on how you got started in the beauty industry to where you are today!

Actually, I fell into hair accidentally! My mom told me when I graduated high school that I either needed to go to college or work full-time. So I went to community college with undiagnosed ADHD, and even though I had decent grades, I quickly realized that I could not sit in a classroom.

On my one day off a week, I would hang out with a couple of my friends who did hair and I thought 'Maybe I could do hair too - it looks like it would be fun and creative'. I always loved chemistry, and I actually wanted to be a forensic scientist, so once we got into color theory in hair school, I quickly realized that there was a lot of chemistry involved - and I loved it!

Fast forward to graduating from school - I knew I wanted to make this a lucrative career, so I decided to work at higher-end Salon. I became an assistant at a salon in Andover. The owner was big on education and put me through every type of class you could imagine every Monday. And for that, I will always be grateful!

About two years in, I realized it was time to go to place that’s a little closer to home so I found a salon in Tyngsborough. This became my home for the next 12 years as I continued growing, getting advanced education, as well as 'finding myself' as a hairstylist. Side note - I was incredibly shy!

2019 came and I made the decision that I needed more, so I decided to branch out and become a booth renter. That salon temporarily closed when the pandemic hit so...I decided it was time to go off on my own. I took my entire savings account and signed a lease to open my own small studio by myself. I took a 500 ft.² outdated unit and turned it into an upscale, beautiful studio space - the first Fringe Hair Studio if you will!

Very shortly after that, coworkers from my old salon were reaching out to me asking if they could please come and be part of the team! I never planned on being a boss and this was definitely scary but I embraced this new calling. Within two years of being open, we quickly realized we needed more space.

This led me to find my new space a couple towns over and once again start from scratch. I completely gutted and renovated this space into what I’m hoping will be our forever home. As of today, we have a team of 8 employees, and I couldn’t be happier with my entire journey!

'Coworkers from my old salon were reaching out to me asking if they could please come and be part of the team. I never planned on being a boss and this was definitely scary...'

What a great journey! OK, so you leave your 500 sq ft. space in the town you grew up in, and hop over here to Tewksbury, MA. How familiar were you with Tewksbury and how did you amerce yourself into the community as a brand new salon?

Well I had probably driven through Tewksbury once or twice in my entire life actually - haha!

A few things I knew were that I really wanted to have a solid and recognizable brand, that felt high quality and inclusive. I had a vision for the type of salon culture I wanted to create with my team which was very education based, but also focused on constantly giving back to my team.

I also knew I was coming into a small town and a tight knit community, and that I would need to show them who I am, who the salon is, and that we're here to stay. I immediately joined the Chamber of Commerce. They are such a great local support, and care a lot about the community and small businesses in town.

Well not only did I join, but somehow, I'm now on the committee! We meet monthly and talk about events we're going to be hosting, and I love it. I want to give back to the community as much as possible.

OK, so you're running your salon, actively participating in the community, I know you're also working 40 hours a week behind the chair, AND you're working for Kevin Murphy as an educator. How do you make time for all that?

Haha yes! And I just got promoted within Kevin Murphy as well, so I'll be even busier!

But to put it simply, I DON’T SLEEP.

It helps that I have a really supportive partner, and I also do best when I have a lot on my plate. I find that I get more accomplished even though I might be slightly stressed during the process - Haha!

I guess when you have such a passion for your craft and you know your vision is solid - it keeps you striving to be the best that you can, and wanting to constantly do better for your team. Because of that I don’t mind investing so much of my personal off time into the brand that is Fringe. 

And on top of all that - Fringe Salon now has a sister company - Fringe Weddings! Tell us how this came about, who on your team is involved, and what you all are up to?

So myself and Brianna have always loved doing weddings. I am all about the hair and she is an amazing make up artist. Because it was just the two of us we would always lean on one of our coworkers from our old salon when it came to booking larger wedding parties.

This shifted October 2023 when I had a fellow Kevin Murphy educator, Kashmir, reach out to me and asked if I was looking for any more stylists. Kashmir is an amazing bridal specialist, that is her passion and she has won Best of Boston multiple times and has gotten the cover of Boston magazine for her bridal work. With her joining the Fringe family, it only made sense to start focusing on what we already love doing.

With that, we started a second Instagram page for weddings to really work on amping up our social media, content, and website for our bridal packages. We are already hitting off the year strong by having two amazing high-end wedding venues add us to their preferred vendor list. And this will only continue to grow as the year progresses!

We have a few openings left for 2024, but I wouldn't wait to call, because things are moving fast, and we're also really busy at the salon too!

'We are already hitting off the year strong by having two amazing high-end wedding venues add us to their preferred vendor list.'

I love how you never stop innovating and evolving Fringe - and you’re always ahead of the curve. Do you have anything else in store for us all in 2024?

Oh, we always have ideas brewing! But, it is funny that you asked that because we have two big things for this year.

One is that we just hired a clinical aesthetician and we're now offering specialty bridal packages! So this includes things like bridal facials that actually help put collagen back into the skin to help with fullness and suppleness for all of those high def photos and videos - all well as full service packages with everything a bride would need head to toe - from waxing to spray tanning to lashes - leading up to the big day.

We are also in the process of adding on a brand new service that is unlike anything else...and we can't talk about it yet haha. It's a secret!

We have seen a few places around New England working on something similar, but not exactly like what we are offering. We do have to keep it secret until it is officially here, but all I have to say is that it will blow your mind! So definitely check back sometime this spring. 

Amazing! I know you're really passionate about improving salon employment culture in our industry because the environment we all became stylists in is so outdated . Can you tell me more about that?

Well, I knew the benefits that a commission salon could offer its employees and customers, if done right- and especially if it had the right leader.

There's a lot of room for improvement with traditional commission salons. And I knew what didn't work. With the amount of stylists that have gone into booth renting, or renting private suites in order to have autonomy over their business, it has left a lot less salons with the culture, energy, and excitement that comes with team comradery - which many stylists and customers still crave.

I know the younger generation of stylists expect to feel heard and supported, and they need flexibility, which we weren't seeing in employee based salons for decades. So I made it my mission to show stylists that they can have the best of both worlds.

I had a vision that I believed would resonated with other stylists so I immediately got started on how it would all work.

I created a training program for new grads, I have continued education scheduled regularly (that I pay for 100%) because investing in your stylists benefits everyone in the long run.

I also allow them to book their own schedules and I give them vacation pay and birthday bonuses. And my plan for the very near future is to have end-of-the-year bonuses, in addition to their Christmas bonus, based on the profit of the company.

I love what I do and I feel it's most important to continuously give back and support your staff so that they see this kind of salon model is an evergreen opportunity for them and it will only help grow our brand. 

So for me, my staff means the world to me and without them I wouldn’t have what I have now. Our clients love the environment we've created for them and all the extra touches we put into the Fringe experience!

Interviewed by: Katelyn Alberts, Founder of VERVERY

Katelyn is a master hairstylist in Boston, independent educator, and the creator of the VERVERY app. A community builder at heart, Katelyn enjoys shedding light on all the talented beauty professionals around Greater Boston.

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