Eight Years on Spaulding Ave: What I Got Wrong Opening a Salon in October 2018.
The Gilded Lily is a women-owned luxury Logan Square hair salon at 2741 N Spaulding Ave in Chicago, opened in October 2018 by Mallory Seisser. Eight years in, her biggest lesson is that a happy salon team needs more than good vibes. It needs consultation standards, training and steady support, so every guest gets a stylist who listens.
On October 18th, 2018, my contractor called and said, "We passed the final inspection, we're ready to open." After more than seven months of build-out, it was a dream come true. The first person I called was my mom. It was her birthday, and she told me it was the greatest birthday present she could have asked for. She's always been in my corner, and she'd watched every one of those seven-plus months, so she knew exactly what that phone call meant.
A salon making it eight years isn't a given. Only about half of new business establishments are still open five years after they start, and roughly a third make it to ten (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). We made it, and I got plenty wrong along the way. Those mistakes shaped what it feels like to walk into our salon today.
How long does it take to build out a new hair salon in Chicago?
Our build-out on Spaulding Ave took more than seven months, and I'd planned on four or five. It was my first build-out ever, and I was learning building codes, working with contractors and waiting on city inspections all at once. I had no idea what I was doing, and I say that with a lot of love for 2018 Mallory.
Every extra month mattered, because the first year is the hardest one for a new business. About 1 in 5 establishments that opened in March 2013 were gone a year later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). We opened late, and we opened anyway.
Is a friendly salon team enough to give guests great hair?
I wanted a friendly team to be enough, and for most of our first year at The Gilded Lily, I acted like it was. I came from a salon with, let's say, a very interesting culture, and I was determined not to bring it with me. We opened small and mighty, with stylists who wanted to prove we were different from anything else in the city.
That heart has been here since day one. Back then, though, I focused almost entirely on keeping everyone happy at work.
Accountability conversations with my stylists are where I finally saw what was missing. You can't run a business on good vibes and friendly faces only. My stylists needed more support so they could take care of their guests behind the chair and keep growing as professionals.
You can get along well and be stagnant. Ask me how I know, because I've been there.
So we built the structure they needed. We set consultation standards, so every guest gets a real conversation before anything happens to their hair. We train our team, and each team member has standards that make sure their work adds to the guest's experience. The vibes are still front and center. We just build each other up professionally now too.
This is the part that makes me proudest. Many of our stylists have reached six figures in service sales in a calendar year and joined our six-figure club, most in their first or second year here, some multiple years in a row. They don't get there without listening to guests, offering solutions and earning the trust of wonderful guests who keep coming back. Our stylists become part of the story of your hair.
If you'd like a stylist who listens like that, our front desk team can match you with the right one.
What do guests want from a hair salon experience?
Guests want a salon where they're comfortable, listened to and never left guessing, or at least that's what the people I asked in 2018 told me. Before we opened, I asked my family, my friends and the guests I'd worked with what they loved and hated about salons.
Some loved their stylist but hated the uncomfortable chairs. Some said the shampoo bowls hurt their neck. Some loved fancy coffee or hot tea and a great massage at the shampoo bowl. The answer that surprised me most was how many people wondered why color takes so long to mix their color, and what happens in the mystery “back room.”
So I built what they told me. I chose our chairs and shampoo bowls for comfort. We've added a lot of relaxing extras over the years, like a hot towel, lavender eye pillow and a massage at the shampoo bowl, and we keep improving. What I wanted was laid back luxury, the kind that isn't so stuffy and fancy that you're afraid to sit on the furniture and ask for a coffee.
Why does The Gilded Lily have an open color bar?
I built our open color bar for everyone who ever wondered what was happening in that back room. At The Gilded Lily, you can watch your color being mixed, a little like sitting at the chef's table at a fancy restaurant.
Guests are often surprised by how much goes into a root color for grays, or a bowl of lightener for a few highlights. It's science and careful measuring. Your stylist is looking at the color wheel, our swatch books and our whole inventory, and every formula for our luxury color sessions gets mixed in front of you. Nobody's throwing things in a bowl and praying.
How does our Logan Square hair salon set its prices?
Pricing is a touchy subject. Our prices at The Gilded Lily come from what it costs to run this salon, not whatever the salon down the street charges.
That covers products, rent, insurance and all the unsexy stuff you never see, like every glove, every foil and every ounce of color we mix. Yes, those costs have gone up. So has everything.
We're a small business, and we know your name. We remember where you part your hair and whether you like a blow dry or a curling iron to finish. Your stylist works for The Gilded Lily, on a team that believes in what we're building, and I'm in the salon several times a week supporting her and saying hello to you.
That isn't how every salon works. Close to half of hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists in the U.S. are self-employed, and some rent booth space from a salon owner (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Chicago's paid leave law, in effect since July 2024, covers employees like ours and leaves out independent contractors (Cooley).
What never shows up on the menu is what your service helps pay for: training for our stylists, paid time off, paid sick leave and a retirement plan with a match. In my 17 years in the beauty industry, I've seen that most stylists don't have a plan like that, and federal numbers point the same way. In March 2026, 47 percent of private-industry workers in service occupations had access to retirement benefits, compared with 72 percent of private-industry workers overall (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
We can provide all of it because of what our guests pay. When your stylist is taken care of, she stays, and you get to keep her. So the next time you're at the color bar watching her weigh out your formula to the gram, that's part of what you're paying for too.
Is The Gilded Lily the right Logan Square hair salon for you?
You'll feel at home with us if you want a stylist who listens first and will tell you, kindly, when something isn't realistic for your hair. A few ways to know:
You want a long-term stylist. Our stylists stay.
Hair health matters more to you than the lowest price. Your hair's health comes first here.
You need hair services. We focus on custom color, signature haircuts, conditioning treatments and keratin smoothing and extensions. We don't offer braiding, makeup, nails, massage or skincare.
When I chat with guests, I hear time and time again how much they love their stylist, how easy she is to talk to and how we remember the details. That means the world to me.
How do I book a first appointment at The Gilded Lily?
When you're ready, send us an appointment request and our front desk team will match you with the stylist who fits your hair. If you'd like to see the work first, the team shares it on Instagram at @gildedlilychi.
In those first days after we opened, I'd stand in the salon by myself, look around and think, we're here, we're ready. Eight years later, that quiet room is full of stylists and guests we know by name, and I'd love for you to be one of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did The Gilded Lily open in Logan Square?
The Gilded Lily opened in October 2018 at 2741 N Spaulding Ave in Logan Square, Chicago, after passing its final inspection on October 18, 2018.
Do stylists at The Gilded Lily rent their chairs?
Stylists at The Gilded Lily do not rent their chairs. They work for the salon as one team, with ongoing training, career path, paid time off, paid sick leave and a retirement plan with a match.
What is the color bar at The Gilded Lily?
The color bar at The Gilded Lily is an open area where stylists mix each guest's color in view, using the color wheel, swatch books and precise measurements.
How does The Gilded Lily set its prices?
The Gilded Lily sets its prices from the cost of running the salon, including products, rent, insurance, stylist training and benefits. Prices also vary by stylist level.
What services does The Gilded Lily offer?
The Gilded Lily is a hair salon offering custom color, haircuts, conditioning treatments, keratin smoothing and extensions. The salon does not offer braiding, makeup, nails, massage or skincare.
How do I book a first appointment at The Gilded Lily?
New guests book a first appointment at The Gilded Lily by sending an appointment request through the salon's website, and the front desk matches them with the right stylist.
About the author. Mallory Seisser is the owner and founder of The Gilded Lily, a women-owned luxury hair salon in Logan Square, Chicago, and a two-time Salon Today Top 200 honoree. She has 17 years in the beauty industry as a stylist, platform artist, and international educator, and today she leads the team's education and the guest experience on Spaulding Ave. Meet the team.