When choosing a wedding-day hairstyle, Canvas the Salon owner Jevata Herman says, "What do you want to feel like? What do you want to look like when you look at your gown?" Asking this will establish your likes and wants for your hair. (Photo by Kayla Belle Photography courtesy Canvas the Salon)
Jevata Herman recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of her business, Canvas the Salon, at 212 E. Clay St., Unit 1C. She says she feels blessed that even in the midst of the pandemic, her hair salon is thriving, but it didn’t seem that way when COVID restrictions hit, forcing her to close her doors from March-June 2020. She pivoted to e-commerce to meet her clients’ at-home needs, selling items including shampoo, conditioner, and a line of silk scarves and pillowcases, available at jevataherman.com. Now Herman is opening Lily Black, an event venue next door to her salon. The building, which dates to 1910, formerly housed the Mechanics Savings Bank, founded by John Mitchell Jr., a businessman, politician and civil rights activist. We caught up with Herman to get her wedding hair advice and thoughts on opening an event space.
Jevata Herman at Lily Black (Photo by Jay Paul)
Richmond Bride: What tips do you have for selecting a wedding hairstyle?
Jevata Herman: The first thing I would say is have a budget, and when you are considering your hair care experience for that day, what do you want to feel like? What do you want to look like when you look at your gown? … So you’re scheduling hair color, you’re scheduling your trial, you’re scheduling your bridal photo, and most times there are packages that are discussed where you have to get your practice done for the wedding day. And the reason for practice is because emotions are running high, it’s a really big deal, it’s a wedding day, and you want to have the opportunity where time is not a restraint to have a conversation [with your stylist]. Take it up, take it down and play around with it, and really get to see what you look like with this hairstyle before the actual day. It’s so important to explore those options and to really have the confidence and the comfort with your stylist.
RB: Are you noticing any trends in wedding-day hair?
Herman: I’ve been a stylist for 30 years, and before, [styles] were a lot tighter, a lot more perfectly coifed. Whereas now things are more organic, the flyaways are a lot more acceptable. … I think that the trend is definitely for more lived-in looks, something that looks a little bit more natural as opposed to being so perfect and in place.
RB: Are there any common mistakes people make when choosing a hairstyle for their wedding?
Herman: It’s the era of social media. People are bringing in an Instagram picture or a Pinterest picture, and it may not match the integrity, length or density of the hair that they have, and so they have this unrealistic expectation that they will look like this picture. That’s why the consultation is important and having a relationship with the stylist.
RB: On average, how much should people budget for their wedding-day hairstyling?
Herman: That can be tricky because there are different price points, so I would not want to necessarily quote a budget, but here’s the other part of that: In the past, the bride will maybe pay for hair and makeup for her whole entire bridal party, and then some brides opt out to allow the attendants to go to their own stylists. … Nowadays, sometimes the bride and the groom are paying for their own wedding, so either way I think that it really just depends on the nature of the situation, but if I had to throw out a number, I would say if the bride is paying the bill for her entire bridal party, she may want to budget for that day $1,000 at minimum, but it really just depends on the locality [because rates can vary regionally]. I would safely say definitely budget for like $1,500 to $2,000 for the bridal party for the hair, and that’s just day of. If you’re talking about total experience in terms of trial package with your bridal photo and the day of ceremony, just for the bride, that alone could be upwards of $800 because that’s three different services provided at three different times, so it really just depends on where you live and the scale of the salon and their price points.
RB: Why did you decide to open Lily Black?
Herman: Honestly, when you think about it, how many Black-owned event spaces do you know of in the city of Richmond or surrounding areas? And so, as a hairstylist, as a Richmond native, I’ve gone to a gazillion birthday parties, bridal showers and you name it, and for me it was just having a space that we could call our own and be able to offer a convenient location in historic Jackson Ward.
A styled table setting at Lily Black (Photo by Kayla Belle Photography courtesy Lily Black)
RB: What does it mean to you to be able to give the space new life, considering its historic significance?
Herman: It means a lot as a mother of two, three now — I’m newly engaged, so I have two daughters and a son — and so for them to be able to see the legacy and the shoulders that we stand upon and being able to pass the baton so that their kids’ kids know the legacies, and the rich history that we come from is amazing, and I’m speechless still sometimes to think that I get to participate in, and experience, and help to share some of this history with our guests and continue the stories.
RB: How far in advance should people book the event space?
Herman: With the governor removing some of the restrictions here recently that’s impacted the celebration and wedding industry, I think people should definitely, as soon as they get an inkling and they have a date, to book as soon as possible. And maybe if they can do a year in advance, that’s great, six months definitely, because any less than that, and you might run into a little bit of a problem in terms of availability because everyone who may have had to put their celebrations and experiences on hold are now starting to get back in there and trying to book those dates.
