By Richard Johnson—-
This is the eighth in a 10-part series looking at entertainers who have moved into business outside their industry.
FIVE years ago she was the Jamaican artist everyone thought would cross over and become a major pop star. Today, Tami Chynn has put those expectations behind her and is exploring another passion.
In 2012, she decided she wanted to open her own beauty salon. However, motherhood put that on hold as she gave birth to son Jaxen in July 2013.
But four weeks ago, Blow by Blow, Chynn’s blow-dry bar, opened its doors at the Loshusan Centre in St Andrew.
“It’s been amazing,” she told Splash when asked about the reception since she opened the facility. “I never expected it… you hope it will be well received, but when it happens like this you are just so grateful,” added Chynn, who now sports a pixie haircut with purple and electric blue highlights.
She explained that beauty parlours have long fascinated her, having grown up in her sister Terrie’s salon in England.
“I have always been around hair, when we lived in England we were always in my sister’s salon… she has had her own salon for about 20 years now. So I have been putting colour on hair and blow drying and washing since I was a teen and I love it,” Chynn said. “Plus, I’m a people person so I love what happens when people get together. It is magic the transformation when a woman comes in not feeling too good about herself and leaves with a spring in her step.”
The road was not all smooth for Chynn who had to overcome naysayers.
“It’s not the easiest thing to start up a business anywhere in the world and Jamaica is not different. Like any other young entrepreneur there are a million reasons not to get started. There will be hundreds telling you to go for it then that one person says something negative and you just stop. But in December I just decided it was time to go,” she emphasised.
Once she was ready to go, it was all about finding a niche. She had been introduced to the concept of the blow dry bar in other parts of the world and focused on developing one for the Jamaican market.
“I really designed the concept for Blow By Blow, thinking from a client’s perspective. I wanted a salon that I could get in and out of in minimum time. I hate sitting in a salon waiting,” she explained. “So we offer a wash and dry with different versions such as the big and bouncy, curl power, and straight and sleek. I also had to decide on my price point without compromising standards, the opening hours as well as the other services to be offered in addition to hair and we decided on nails, threading and lashes.”
She was also very particular about how her salon would look, smell and sound. For the decor, which is a clean-white with pops of color, Chynn credits interior designer Tammy Tavares-Finson.
Though she is not a certified cosmetologist, Chynn is hands-on when it comes to her pet project. From manning the phones to setting appointments and opening the door, she puts her signature on operations.
She downplays the notion that she has only become an entrepreneur because her music career has not taken off.
“I am always surrounded by music… always in the studio either with my husband (singjay Wayne Marshall) and my sister (singer Tessanne Chin) so it’s still there whenever I want to go back,” said Chynn, whose hits include Hyperventilating, Frozen (with Akon), Tell Me Seh and Over and Over. “But it was a personal choice to step away from the music and explore this other side of myself. It’s the first of many ventures… I have many passions. While music was my passion then, Blow by Blow is my passion now, and who to tell what’s next.”
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