Today we’d like to introduce you to Solange Sarria.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Solange. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started my creative life as a singer, attending performing arts magnet schools through high school and later transitioned to visual arts, mixed media painting and sculpture, for University. Cutting hair was a side hobby that provided me a social outlet while I focused on my studies.
After a few years of college, the economy crashed and I ran out of student loans. I realized I would have to hustle if I wanted to complete my degree and make my dreams come true. So, I decided to get my Cosmetology license and apprentice with Vidal Sassoon educators. Training with them would mold me to be the best hairdresser I could be in order to afford student loan payments, rent and tuition.
I love people and problem solving. Using a lifetime of creative thinking allowed my hairdressing career to flourish. As my career evolved, I finished my Bachelors of Fine Art at FIU, after 10 years of studies, opened my first salon at 25 and my second salon at 29.
Since then, I’ve been featured in a dozen magazines for hair and art. I will also be showing new artwork in my first legit art show at Fat Village in Ft. Lauderdale this summer. My 20’s have been a long and crazy rollercoaster but I’m excited to enjoy some cruising now at 30!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have experienced traumatic and unexpected struggles along the way. Sexual abuse, hospitalization, a business partnership dissolution and 180 degree lifestyle changes in order to preserve my health. I’ve had to completely reroute my road trip to this destination many times and take plenty of pit stops for self care, healing and hustling. I am extremely fortunate to have supportive family and friends that never let me lose sight of my goals. I wouldn’t be where I am now if it weren’t for them.
Please tell us about Sodada Salon.
I founded Sodada Salon in November 2017 as Miami’s home for all natural hair textures. Sodada is named after the Dada art movement which rewrote the rules for artists at the beginning of the 20th century. At Sodada, the client is encouraged to utilize their natural hair texture, from wavy to curly and kinky to straight, rewriting the beauty values that are authentic to them.
I’m known for cutting and coloring hair in a way that brings out hair textures my clients never knew they were capable of having. I tap into each person’s fullest potential by coaching them to a place of healthy hair practices, growing new, stronger hair, and caring for their wild tresses in an easy, minimalist way.
I’m proud to have a clientele of independent and conscious thinkers who are contributing to Miami’s cultural boom. They inspire me every day and keep me devoted to my craft. Sodada is unique to other salons in Miami because it’s culture is not about being flashy. It’s about valuing your true self before anything else.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Driving my four wheels A.T.V through the mud in the middle of Ocala National Forest at top speed, so I could park in a remote area where no one could hear me and I could sing at the top of my lungs.
Contact Info:
- Address: 601 NE 27st Miami, FL 33137
- Website: Www.sodada.salon
- Phone: (786) 578-3202
- Email: hey@sodada.salon
- Instagram: @sodadasalon
- Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/sodadasalon
- Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/sodada-salon-miami
- Other: https://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/100-creatives-solange-sarria-finds-art-in-the-beauty-industry-9002165
Image Credit:
Salon images by Jeanne Cant, Sodada hair images by Celia D. Luna
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