The Constant
Starting at Impressions front desk in 2006 when he was 19 years old, General Manager Paul Petrowsky is a seasoned professional who owner Sarah Taylor says is responsible for much of her own success.
by Stacey Soble
Get Pinned!
Get ready to pin! Karie Bennett introduces you to Pinterest, the latest and great in social media and shows you how her salon is using it.
March 16, 2012
1/5
4 min to read
If you’re a female between the ages of 25 and 44, you’re in the majority of pinners. You’re spending an average of fifteen minutes a day on this increasingly popular website, feverishly ‘repinning’ images you find on websites to your ‘pinboard’, where your ‘followers’ can see what inspires you. Think teen wall collages that grew up and are now on your computer.
Joining Pinterest is easy: just “Request an Invite”. It’s not too exclusive of a club; you’ll receive an emailed invite within a day. Set up your account with your name and/or your salon name and from there, it’s relatively easy to figure out. Then you can add or rename boards, upload images, called ‘pins’ in the Pinterest world, or add a ‘Pin This’ button to your bookmark bar and anytime you see an image that interests you, click on your ‘Pin This’ button and it’s added to whichever board you choose.
Getting your boards set up is the most time consuming part of it, but then adding a few pins a day is quick. Multiply that by the number of team members in your salon and the pins can really put you on the map. Increase your followers and you can start having your salon guests add their fabulous new hairdo photos to your boards, their boards—the possibilities are endless.
With 1.36 million users pinning everyday, it’s no wonder that retailers are pulling up to the pinboard to get their brands shared and noticed. 97% of Pinterest’s ‘likes’ on Facebook are women, most of them are also mothers, and their average household income is $100k. So retailers like Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Starbucks, and West Elm have boards. And, salons, like mine—Atelier Salonspa and Atelier Studio in San Jose, California—are jumping on board, too.
My general manager, Rob Willis, says: “We see it as an amazing way to get out in front of our current and future salon guests. We have boards with photos of the salons, images from past fashion shows and editorial work, products we love, hair we’d love to do, and photos of our team just having fun, donating time to charity—things that let people know who we are and what we’re all about. Anyone on our team who is on Pinterest is also linked to our Pinterest page, so they can promote themselves and their skills by pinning to the salon’s boards. These images are seen by their followers, and once the images are repinned, a whole new set of eyes are being inspired by our Atelier team. It is almost like that line in Toy Story: ‘To infinity, and beyond!’ Pinterest has a really huge reach.”
What’s the attraction, you may ask? It’s relaxing, some say. Like flipping through a deliciously divine magazine made up of everyone’s favorite pictures. It’s a great way to plan for a wedding, baby shower, design a new room in the house, share recipes, drool over shoes, and even shop for a new hairstyle or color. It’s like playing Go Fish, but no one ever runs out of cards. Use the word 'hair' in the search bar, and the world of hair is at your command, thousands of images of any image that has the word 'hair' in the caption will appear on the screen for your browsing enjoyment. Repin, like, or comment on any of them, and your followers, and the person who last pinned it, will see that you have done something with that pin.
There’s just one caveat: Pinterest warns users against copyright infringement. In other words, if you don’t have permission to post an image…don’t. If you do, you must credit the owner of the image, the website you got it from, the photographer, or you have to be the owner of it. And some images have been repinned so many times you'll have to go back to the original image to see who the credit goes to. Be sure to caption your pin properly with your name, or the name of the owner of the image, or the store it’s from, or your salon. CLICK HERE to read more about online copyright infringement.
There’s always a new way to reach out, and Pinterest looks like the best of them, so give it a try. Besides, Facebook is so 2004!
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
More Salon Management
The Most Wonderful Time in Salons and Spas
Planning is in full swing for the most anticipated events and promotions for the 2026 holidays. As owners share their favorite ways to celebrate, they prove that a carefully planned event can also build culture, increase client loyalty, boost sales, and set a business up for a successful 2027.
by Stacey Soble
Leading with Empathy, Humility and a Mastery of Systems
When things run amok at Mane Attraction Salon, Owners Chris and Jenny Knudsen say General Manager Sami Hernandez is their go-to resource and ultimate sounding board. Meet Sami in this installment of Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
Pagoda Brings AI-Powered Operations to Skinovatio Medical Spa Locations
Pagoda, a new AI-native operating system for scheduling, payments, patient records, marketing, and client communications, launches at Skinovatio Medical Spa in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
by Staff
How Women are Rewriting the Rules of Grey Hair
At a panel discussion hosted by L’Oréal Professionnel in Paris in early July, French Philosopher Sophie Galabru explored the cultural shift where women are increasingly choosing natural, personalized color results over traditional grey coverage. In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Galabru and L’Oréal Professionnel Colorist Pierrick Beringer discuss this shift and how salons and colorists respond.
by Stacey Soble
Warm Leadership and Analytical Precision
At Salon Blonde, Director of Operations treats the staff as the salon's most important guests, while her wonderful 'nerdy' side, loves data, systems, and numbers. Find out how she makes Salon Blonde tick.
by Stacey Soble
Trotting the Globe, Forging Connections, Fostering Artistic Creativity
In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Salon Owner Salvatore Minardi reflects on his past 18 months as Intercoiffure America Canada's World Talent Exchange Ambassador and how his experiences will help encourage cultural and artistic exchange and support greater engagement between ICA and the global organization Intercoiffure Mondial.
by Stacey Soble
Client Retention Guidebook
Everything you need to know about client retention as a salon owner.
Success Grown from Within
Owner Shelby Bills says her general manager, Sydney Osborne, reminds her of the power of leading with heart. Find out how Osborne became a great leader in our lastest installment of Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
How Salon Leaders Can Process the Pain and Lead Forward When a Team Members Leaves Unethically
In her latest blog, Kati Whitledge identifies the five stages salon owners go through when a team member leaves the salon unethically, offering advice for each stage.
How AI Is Closing Revenue Gaps for Salons and Spas
The beauty and wellness businesses pulling ahead aren’t just working harder—they’re using AI to capture demand, personalize pricing, and convert more of every guest interaction into revenue. Here’s what the benchmark data reveals about the growing gap between AI adopters and everyone else.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Premium Talent Magnet: The Modern Salon Playbook for Attracting Six-Figure Stylists
Stop chasing recruitment ghosts on generic job boards and start curating an elite team. Discover the framework that top-tier salons use to bypass phone tag, automate visual portfolio vetting, and attract high-earning, culture-first beauty professionals directly through real-time messaging. Turn your recruitment process into an exclusive brand invitation that keeps your highest-ticket chairs permanently filled.
Sponsored by Beautista
Five Revenue Leaks Hiding in Your Salon
Your calendar looks full, but is all of that demand actually converting to revenue? From phantom rebookings to underpriced peak hours, the 2026 Benchmark Report exposes five revenue leaks that most beauty and wellness businesses don’t even know they have.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Heartbeat of Zandi K's Success
After moving to Colorado and teaching at a cosmetology school, Allison Stock joined Zandi K as a stylist, eventually becoming part of the Leadership Team, Education Team and Master Bridal Team. Today, as Director of Operation, Stock is Owner Nicki Wenz's right hand, managing human resources and operations, education and career development, and coaching and culture.
by Stacey Soble
Rethinking Retail in the Era of E-Commerce
In a world dominated by e-commerce, salon owners push back with proven strategies to increase retail sales while motivating team members to educate their clientele and delighting clients with retail-themed events and clever merchandising displays.
by Stacey Soble
The Harper Ellis Hair Co. Certification Program Teaches Stylists a Smarter, Safer Way to Install Extensions
The company's Concealed Bead Method is raising the bar for what professional extension education can deliver.
by Staff
The Micro-Salon Blueprint: How Kat Scott Quadrupled Income by Maximizing Her Suite
Scott maximized her micro-salon by transitioning from stylist to strategic owner, focusing on recruiting and station-sharing. By prioritizing her ownership role over behind-the-chair work, she grew her team to six stylists within the two-chair, 150-square-foot space before eventually moving to a larger facility.
by Staff