Hair Mantra in Fort Saskatchewan has been selected as a finalist for the 2022 Alberta Business Awards of Distinction in the Diversity category.
The downtown hair salon was nominated to the provincial level after winning the Inclusion and Diversity award at the 2021 Fort Saskatchewan & District Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.
“We are a salon that has always believed in sustainability, so we have always had very heartfelt green initiatives as well as green products, and we also have really become involved in pride and inclusivity and diversity in the last couple of years,” said Colinne Stroud, owner of Hair Mantra.
One of the ways Hair Mantra incorporates inclusivity into its business model is by offering gender-neutral pricing on all of its services. Staff also regularly take non-bias training, and the salon is deeply involved with celebrating the LGBTQ2S+ community.
“I think that being part of the community is super important in general, and then as we have touched people’s lives, they’ve touched ours. The more we meet people that are struggling with inclusion and diversity, we want to make them feel like they have a safe place where they could come have their hair done.”
This is the second time Hair Mantra will be attending the Alberta Business Awards; in 2015, they received the Marketing Award of Excellence Category.
Stroud will be attending the event with Vanessa, the owner of Pear Beauty in Fort Saskatchewan, who was also chosen as a finalist in the Young Entrepreneur category. Stroud will wear a dress created by local fashion designer and city councillor Jibs Abitoye. The Alberta Business Awards of Distinction ceremony will be held on June 24 at the Renaissance Edmonton Airport Hotel.
“It’s really nice to just have that recognition from our local community to say hey, there’s a business in our community that’s doing great things for Alberta as well.”