Business & Tech
Profiles in Business: Lofty Goals for New Hair Salon Owner
Owner Karen Paolo Mena has experience in downtown Chicago and Naperville, but has found her niche in her new downtown Plainfield location.
Every week Plainfield Patch will profile new businesses that have chosen to call Plainfield home.
Business name: The Loft Hair Salon
Address: 24008 W. Lockport St.
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Owner’s name: Karen Paola Mena
Phone number: 815-782-8938
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Web site: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Loft-Hair-Salon.
Opening date: July 2011
Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
Type of business: Full-service hair salon
How long have you been in this line of work?
Karen Paola Mena has 11 years' experience as a stylist and color specialist at high-end salons on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue and in Naperville. She has a master’s degree in cosmetology and once taught at an area cosmetology academy.
What are the salon’s specialties?
Haircuts, color, highlights, perms, hair straightening retextures, deep conditioning, customized scalp and hair treatments, Malibu treatments, hair extensions, feather extensions, updo/special occasion styles, waxing, eyelash extensions, traditional and airbrush makeup applications.
Why did you open your business in Plainfield?
Mena is originally from Chicago, but she, her husband Andy and son Lucas, 7, moved here about six years ago. The more Mena explored her new hometown, she said, the more attracted she became to the downtown area.
“I always loved the little boutiques in the city,” Mena said. “And downtown Plainfield feels like being in the little neighborhoods in Chicago. I actually dreamed of this location ‑ when I saw it, I just knew it was for me.”
If you could spend a few hours as a client at your salon, which services would you book?
"The works! It is best to know that you are set for the next six-to-eight weeks and look magnificent," Mena said.
What is your favorite thing about owning your own salon?
Mena said she loves providing the personalized, one-on-one service that only a small hair salon can give its clients.
“I love having the ability to make a difference in this industry through owning my own salon,” she said. “Even in a down economy, I will always have work. This is one business where computers cannot take over.”
