The Work We Do: Ashley Fogarty, Gabriel Loren the Salon
I’m Ashley Fogarty. I’m a stylist at Gabriel Loren the Salon in Riverhead. I graduated from Riverhead High School in 2010. When I come in, I set up my station, wait for the clients to arrive.
Depending on what they’re getting done, I’ll have them shampooed or I’ll start applying their color. I ask them if they want coffee, tea. You know, just try to make them feel at home.
I do haircuts, I do color, I do blow-dries, I do highlights, I do styles. I do balayage and blow outs for wedding guests. My favorite service I do is balayage and color.
In high school, I knew I didn’t want to go to college and that it wasn’t gonna be for me, so I decided to go to cosmetology school. I went to Aveda Institute in SoHo.
I grew up near a farm, so I hated living in the city. I came back home shortly after I graduated and then I worked at a couple of different salons.
I knew [I wanted to style hair] from a young age. I had a Barbie head that I used to cut when I was little. When I was a kid, I would always change my own hair, and as I got older in high school I would cut and color my friends hair. I loved being in a salon environment.
I like making people feel good about themselves. My favorite part is that people come in and they say they’re having the worst day and I can help make them feel better about it.
Sometimes people have bad days and they come in and they say they feel so much better when they leave.
When this salon opened in Riverhead, I decided to apply here. I’ve been here for four years since we opened.
I love working in my hometown. Being here for four years, I definitely have built up my clientele and have regular clients who come in every six to eight weeks. The word of mouth in Riverhead is amazing. Everyone is connected one way or another. I like working in a small town, where people like to support local businesses.
It’s become more like a family than a job. I wouldn’t work anywhere else.
Gabriel Loren the Salon is located at 215 Howell Ave, Riverhead.
“The Work We Do” is a News-Review multimedia project profiling workers around Riverhead Town. It is made possible by Peconic Landing in Greenport. See more photos on Instagram @riverheadnewsreview.
