Devoted to hairstyling, daughter

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – Sara Keo says that “growing up” she ignored the “naysayers.”

The nattering nabobs of negativism attached a “stigma” to those who didn’t pursue a college degree.

Their message was: “If you are a hair stylist you are failing in life,” said Keo, who opened Bella’s Artistry Salon in May in a 750-square-foot space at 616 Federal Road in Brookfield Town Center.

“The attitude was that you should be going to a regular college and you should be getting that college degree,” she explained.

“Yes, I didn’t go to a conventional college, but, you know, I’ve been able to support myself, support my daughter, and not listen to the naysayers that say that you should be doing something better with your life,” said Keo, a single mother who lives in Danbury.

She graduated from the 1,500-hour program at Paul Mitchell the School, a cosmetology & beauty school, then located in Danbury. It takes a year, full-time to complete the curriculum or two years part-time.

After being an administrative assistant, she has been in the beauty and cosmetology profession for 18 years.

Keo not only has been able to support herself and her daughter, Isabella, but even she named her salon after her.

Lynita Reid of Norwalk, a friend and client, said, “Her daughter is her life.”

Said Keo, “Every time I do something, whether it was career-wise or in general, I always want to be a good example for my daughter,” she remarked. “I want to show my daughter that you can do whatever you want.”

Brookfield municipal Community Development Specialist Greg Dembowski said in a phone interview with Patch.com that a sister of Keo’s traveled from out of state for the salon’s grand opening on June 25, and she told him that Keo “is all about family and doing what is best for the community.”

Bella’s Artistry Salon does hair-cuts, coloring, highlighting, and provides hair and make-up services for weddings either at the salon or on site.

Remarked Keo, “I never have advertised. Most of my clients are word-of-mouth. It tells you a lot that they will tell their friends and family to come.”

She formerly worked at A Cut Above Hair & Body Studio at 270 Federal Road.

In a phone interview with Patch.com, Debi Mansolf, the owner at that salon, said, “Sara has a gift of connecting with her clients and having a high level of customer service.”

“The conversation is the most important part” Keo explained.

“I talk to people all day,” said Keo, noting that for hair coloring her clients are usually in the chair for two to six hours.

To succeed you have to you have to “ask as lot of questions to find out what they want done to their hair,” Keo commented. “Not everyone can handle constructive criticism. If they [the clients] are not happy, you have to find out why.”

How has the pandemic changed the hair-styling salons?

Keo commented, “I think more people are conscious of their appointments. They don’t cancel at the last minute.”

Keo was born in Thailand and was in a refugee camp near the Cambodian border when at age six months her family moved to Arlington, Virginia. Shortly thereafter, both of her parents found jobs in Danbury.

She said she enjoys living in the Hat City, but likes having “some separation” from working in neighboring suburban town.

“I have never worked in the city where I lived,” Keo related.

She recalls years ago when she traveled to Brookfield that she hopped on Ironworks Hill Road to avert the traffic congestion from the estimated 30,000-a-day vehicle trips through the Four Corners intersection of Federal Road.

That changed in 2009 with the opening of the Route 7 bypass, which made it possible for the development of the emerging 198-acre Brookfield Town Center central business district, where Bella’s Artistry Salon is located.

It is within walking distance of Brookfield Village, one of the anchors in Brookfield Town Center, and Emporium Plaza, which should open next summer with a supermarket and five small retail spaces.

“I like the fact that Brookfield is ever-expanding,” Keo remarked about the commercial development along the northern corridor of Federal Road.

She added, “It also is very accessible” as a result of Super Route 7 and the Route 7 bypass.

Said Keo, “However, it still has a small-town feel.”

Bella’s Artistry Salon is open: Tuesday, 10-4, Wednesday 12-8; Thursday 1-6; Friday, 10-4; and Saturday, 9:30 to 3. The salon accepts walk-ins and appointments on other days and at other hours can be made.

Resources:

Interview with Sara Keo, Patch.com, Monday, July 31, 2023.

Phone interview with Greg Dembowski, Patch.com, Wednesday, August 2, 2023.

Phone interview with Lynita Reid, Patch.com, Thursday, August 3, 2023.

Phone interview with Debi Mansolf, Thursday, August 3, 2023.

https://www.newstimes.com/business/article/Paul-Mitchell-the-School-leaving-Danbury-13277626.php