Back in the Bay

After spending five years in the mountains of North Carolina, I’m so happy to be back in the Bay.

When I left California, I was already a licensed hair and makeup artist with many weddings under my belt. But my time in North Carolina took my career in an unexpected direction. Somewhere along the way, what had been years of freelance artistry became a real bridal beauty business — with a team, systems, relationships, and more weddings than I could possibly work on my own.

I tell this story all the time, so I thought I might as well put it here for my clients, future team members, and anyone curious about how Contessa became what it is today.

So, what changed in North Carolina? How did I go from freelance hair and makeup artist to leading a bridal beauty team?

The answer is: it wasn’t exactly intentional.

I moved to Asheville shortly after COVID hit. Work at the salon had dried up, a friend was moving there, and I decided to follow. I found a spa where I could work part-time, and the transition was surprisingly easy.

I had already been doing hair and makeup on the side for years and had built up quite a few reviews and an online presence. Not long after I settled in, I started getting inquiries for weddings here and there.

I wasn’t loving my spa job, but I was loving spending my weekends getting clients ready at remote chapels and venues tucked into the mountains.

Then “here and there” became every weekend.

The bridal parties got bigger. The inquiries kept coming. Eventually, I reached the point where I simply couldn’t take all of the weddings myself.

So I put out a call in a local models and makeup artists group. After several interviews, I found two artists and took a chance on them.

This is the part of the story where I get a little teary-eyed.

I truly couldn’t have hoped for a better team. We spent the next three years working together — training, learning, supporting one another, troubleshooting very early mornings and very full wedding days, and experiencing all the strange, funny, stressful and beautiful moments that come with being artists in a fast-paced industry.

At the same time, a connection introduced me to a small-business support organization in Asheville. They gave me tools I hadn't had before, taught me how to think about building a company, and invited me into a cohort of other entrepreneurs who were also creating something from the ground up.

Over those years, Contessa grew exponentially. We added another stylist. We built systems. And I became increasingly clear about the kind of company I wanted to run.

I emphasized organization, transparency, ethical business practices and trust. Above all, we did not let a bride down.

Those values are still at the center of Contessa today.

When Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina, I saw a kind of storm destruction I had never experienced as a native Californian. It arrived during the height of wedding season. Weddings were postponed. Venues were damaged or washed away. Roads disappeared and communities lost power.

Like so many businesses in the area, we suddenly found ourselves navigating something none of us had planned for.

But the heart of the business was still there.

I stayed in North Carolina another year, finished what I needed to finish, and eventually made the decision to bring Contessa home to California.

And that's where we are now.

We may be rebuilding our presence here in the Bay Area, but we are not rebuilding our experience from scratch.

The years of bridal hair and makeup are here. The hundreds of mornings spent getting people ready are here. The lessons from building and leading a team are here. The systems, the relationships, the calm when a wedding morning inevitably throws us a curveball — all of that came home with me.

Now we're building the next version of Contessa Aesthetics here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

It feels a little like starting over.

But it also feels very much like coming home.

And we’re looking forward to getting you ready.