AMY SMITH
When You Know More, You Do Better
story by WENDY NILSEN POLLITZER photos by CHARLOTTE BERKELEY-STANGE
Amy Smith knows women. She learns from them. She grows with them. She believes in them. And they believe in her. Amy, the owner of Orchid Salon in Port Royal, is a successful and revered master stylist. To her loyal clients, she is so much more. She is a savant of feminine energy. She has that special trait to receive, amplify and give back. She awakens the soul by paying attention to each client’s deep well, and many have been loyal to her for over 22 years.
Amy is a native of Pennsylvania and has called Beaufort home since 1986. She and her former husband, a U.S. Marine, were stationed here until 1990. She was an operations manager for a small business, but always knew she wanted to style hair. When they moved to Andrews Air Force Base, Amy decided it was time to study the trade. And she wanted to learn from the best. Amy was accepted to a night school program at the elite Graham Webb International Academy of Hair, based in London with a satellite facility in Arlington, Virginia. She was also working two part-time jobs during the day and raising two small children. She graduated early from the 18-month program in only a year.
Amy had her license, but she needed practice. She worked Sundays at a salon called Hair Force, and the clientele were exceptional test models for Amy’s evolving creative process. Most were dancers at a prominent gentleman’s club, the same one that Mayor Marion Barry and Sinbad made famous.
“It was perfect. Sundays were their day off. And these women were professionals. Some were even Centerfolds. I learned corrective color in no time, because they demanded perfection. That took patience, and Hair Force is where I learned it,” laughs Smith.
In 1998, Amy and her husband moved back to Beaufort where they wanted to raise their children. Amy became a stylist at a downtown salon. She lived a normal lifestyle in an industry that catered to chaos at times. Amy stayed until 2004 when she was approached by the Millennium Group to open her own salon.
Amy recalls being nervous. She always wanted to manage a salon, but not own one. One of her clients and now lifelong friend and mentor gave Amy some advice that she’ll never forget.
“Amy, this story is getting old and tired. We have to change the story,” she advised.
Those words of wisdom gave Amy the courage to leave the salon and begin negotiations to open Orchid Salon at 1839 Paris Avenue, a creative business that would be education-focused where she could mentor younger stylists. It would be a safe refuge for her employees and her clients, where beauty would be embraced from within, not necessarily affirmed with flash and glamour.
For two years, as the business center was being built, Amy rented space at Island Trends salon, where she worked with a great group of women who lifted each other up.
“These were strong, smart women who inspired each other. They made other women feel valued, and I felt at home,” explains Amy.
And so … Amy Smith’s story began to change.
Orchid Salon opened its doors in 2007. Amy’s mantra, “When you know better, you do better,” is the secret of her success. Smith is a resourceful warrior of continued education and empowers her staff to study new techniques and trends with virtual learning. In addition to knowledge, her mantra focuses on wisdom, and that’s what makes Orchid Salon different. Her salon is a revolving door of opportunity to gather and share wisdom with other women. Amy has a deep sense of balance and a keen awareness of thoughts and feelings. She not only imparts this on her clients but also her employees as well.
In the break room at the salon, Smith hangs a whiteboard for her staff members to write their truths, what they can and can’t control, at home and at work. She wants her salon to be a safe haven for these young women who are in the midst of the first chapter of their career. She is their mentor. She doesn’t want her salon to be satiated with conversation “filler.” She encourages her staff to be okay with saying, “I’m not comfortable talking about that.” Amy understands the energy of flow, of being, of intuition. She hopes her staff members will appreciate that as they develop professionally and personally.
Amy doesn’t give herself lofty goals. She learns from small successes and moves forward day by day. She is grateful for the many women before her who were her mentors—women who believed in her potential. And now she can give that back. She knows that every woman has the potential to be a better version of herself, not so much by “doing,” but by “being.” As the owner and operator of Orchid Salon, Amy Smith has found her worth and value with every smile that continues to walk through her door.
