Life & Work with Esther Laveck of Yellow Springs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Esther Laveck.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have wanted to be a hairstylist since I was 12, and after highschool enrolled in cosmetology school. Soon after I got pregnant with my first child, worked my way through an apprenticeship after becoming a mom and graduating, in Centerville at an Aveda salon, worked there for 7 years and then continued on to open our first salon “937 Salon and Spa” with my husband Jason in Kettering where we employed well over 60 people over the past 6 years, trained young hairstylists in all hair textures, hosted annual community fundraisers, and education classes for staff all year long. A huge mission for us was to be a welcoming space for guests of all walks of life, all hair textures, and a lgbtai+ safe space. Since then our family has has 2 more children of our own, we had been licensed foster parents and had multiple bonus kids who have lived with us over the years. In 2024 we opened our second location “In Salon” in Yellow springs and we fell in love with this community. We have been on a minimalism journey the past 3 years which led us to downsizing our life by selling 937 Salon and Spa to make room for more travel, family, and space for more community involvement. In Salon is more successful than we could have imagined and we have Dayton, Cincinnati and guests from all over the states that travel here to see us and love visiting this little eclectic village. Yellow Springs has been an incredible place for us to put down roots and the support has been endless here, which feels amazing because we craved that community vibe. In Salon was created as a space of independence, inclusion, diversity and inspiration. All artists work at their own pace, and handle their own business and customize each experience. The space has a colorful esthetic with a laid back vibe inside that always catches the eye as soon as you’re in our intersection, we work with our friend Harley who also works with all hair types. We’re so grateful for all of our client support over the years and we wouldn’t be here without it. At the beginning of the 2025 Esther celebrated 14 years behind the chair and Jason graduated cosmetology school joining her behind the chair. All of our success has led us to this point of having the ultimate freedom and peace within our business and values that align with our vision.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a climb to get to where we are today, we sourced all of our own funding and built our businesses from the ground up, renovating everything by ourselves, with very little support. Neither of us came from wealthy families but we made a way financially and it has worked out incredibly in the end. We definitely learned that having employees is not for us, especially in a salon environment which can tend to be very caddy. We also opened 937 Salon just 11 months before covid which came with its own unique challenges with being shut down, economy changes, and industry changes. Ultimately all of these things led us to the freedom and location we have today though so I’m incredibly grateful for these “challenges”, because it ultimately led to our growth.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We specialize in all hair textures, and gender free hair services (based off of length not gender), gender affirming services, pre and post cancer haircare, razor cutting, natural haircoloring, vivid colors, beaded row extensions, curly cuts and more! Our industry tends to have niche stylists and we believe working with a variety of services keeps us inclusive and accepting of all types of guests. Our industry tends to remain very segregated and we are very proud to have such diverse clientele. Our stylists also stay up to date with education which isn’t common, so that keeps us ready to handle any challenge that comes our way.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t believe luck good or bad has affected us at all. We have worked incredibly hard for everything we have and any challenges have just redirected us to better things!

Pricing:

• haircuts range from 40-150 based off of experience and service
• color ranges from 100-400 based off of experience and service
• extensions range 175-500 (consultation required)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.insalonys.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insalonys/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/insalonys