Today we’d like to introduce you to Valeria Bartolini.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Beauty is something that I have breathed since I could get my hands in it. From makeup to clothing to hair. I have always had a strong vision of what I want to look like and what I want the things around me to look like. When I was five, I moved to North America with my mother from Peru. I didn’t initially speak the language, and I found it to be lonely. Beauty became an outlet for me.
At the age of seven, I would come home from school and I would do my mom’s nails and my nails… every day… a new nail color. When I would do well in school, she would let me treat her hair with hot oil treatments. My infatuation with beauty went from nails to make up to hair, hair is where it stayed. I made a good friend around the age of 15. When it came time for us to begin college, she was moving away and I decided to take a year off because nothing called my name. One day, before going out and meeting with our friends, she came to pick me up and said: “I have somewhere I wanna take you after we can meet up with everyone.” So, I agreed, I had no idea what I was getting into. She took me to a school called Aveda. I will never forget walking into a professional salon floor for the first time. Everything was metallic, everyone was in black, I was home.
The idea to pursue this as a career had never crossed my mind because I was always too close to the subject I didn’t realize it was a possibility. I walked in, enrolled and never looked back. The story from there is simple, I got my hands in hair and it has kept my attention ever since. I got recruited fresh out of school, grew fast working in downtown Miami. Four years into my career, I decided to go solo. I named my company Barto Studios, a tribute to my grandfather Carlos Bartolini who I cherished. Now, I work as a freelance stylist, with a wonderful clientele and the world as my oyster. Cheers to the future.
Has it been a smooth road?
My advice to any human being is to find what is it you want out of this life, and then make the right decision. When you find what your passion in this life, you will surprise yourself with what you are willing to endure to make that happen. In my case, it was 14 hour days 7 days a week, there were times where even my bosses would come up to me and ask me if I was okay… there were times where the only time I had to myself was when I was asleep. I would take a two-hour commute each way to work every day, totaling a 4-hour commute every day because I didn’t have a car… 2 buses and two trains each way. If you asked me if I was capable of this when I was 15, I would have laughed in your face. For hair, I would do anything. I would have done anything to master my craft. So, find what you love. Combined with a good work ethic, you are unstoppable.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Barto Studios story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a freelance hairstylist working under my company Barto Studios located in downtown Miami. I specialize in color, cut, and extensions. I am primarily known for color. I enjoy doing color transformations, I enjoy playing with all the variations of blonde. Blondes are my specialty because it is a tedious job to have a good natural looking healthy blonde. It keeps my high interest. I am most proud of the integrity in my work, I know that I put my all into my work. I’m proud of my reputation to keep it honest. What sets me apart from others is my vision and my input in what I believe looks best on people, customized to who they are and what their facial structure is.
Do you have a lesson or advice you’d like to share with young women just starting out?
Love and believe in yourself fiercely. As a woman, you are capable of strengths that cannot be measured. You possess immense power within yourself, use it.
Contact Info:
- Website: BartoStudios.com
- Phone: 954-268-8617
- Email: bartostudiosinc@gmail.com
- Instagram: @bartostudios
Image Credit:
Jessica Soares
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