ToyKouture

Hello, I'm Toya, I go by "ToyKouture" which is the name I came up with about 4 years ago, ToyKouture says, a lot about who I am as a person and as a hair artist. For one it's different and I love being set apart. 'Toy' represents the first part of my name. After completing a masterpiece with hair, it brings my client great joy, and creates the feeling of having a new favorite toy.

"Kouture", is spelled Couture, but I choose to spell it with a K. I really like how it places a prodigious authentic to Kouture, it’s a very special name to me. It represents who I am as a designer - talented, imaginative, legendary, adventurous, courageous, perfectionist and bold.

Are you wondering how this all came about for me? I was just getting ready to tell you. My gift of beauty has been cultivated in me since a young girl. I was eight or nine-years-old when I started dreaming of creating hair styles that will change lives.

My mom kept me in the hair salon every other week to get my hair done. I loved it so much. The smell of the salon did something to my soul. My desire was to wake up to the beauty shop smell every day. The hair being pressed the hair spray scent the sounds of the hair dryers was electric. Each hairdresser had a blank canvas and created a beautiful art piece. I would just stare at every hairstylist working on their client, I was captivated, thinking wow, how do you turn that person into a fierce goddess. The satisfaction on that stylist's face said it all, it was if she was saying to herself "yes I did that next". Slaying these ladies one after the next. I knew from that moment, that's who I wanted to be. A Hair Stylist.

One Christmas when I was 11 years-old, my mom purchased my first practice mannequin head. I practiced on that thing every day after school. By age 13 I was doing my own hair in the latest styles, which I started getting so many compliments from my peers and from adults. So, I start practicing on real people. Then they started paying for my services, which was new to me and I didn't know what to charge. I just knew I love doing hair and creating styles, I didn't even think about the money. When I got better the money was so good to me by the age of 15, I would kill the mall every weekend buying the latest trendy designer clothes. My hair was always done differently every week. I was on top of the world and loving it.

I have been in the industry for 15 years starting in Detroit Mi. At 19 years, old the doors to my first salon was opened. By the age of 23, I was traveling to different states to create custom hair designs. Due to customers moving to different states, my business was forced to expand as clients still desired for me to continue my service. I now do business in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Texas. As alumni of Paul Mitchell Cosmetology School, in next 5 yrs. I see ToyKouture going mean stream celebrity stylist and having a chain of my salons around the world. I want to teach another inspiring hairstylist the art and love of the beauty industry.

I want the world to know the innovative, legendary ToyKouture is here.