Woman returns to the Upper Peninsula to open business

EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press.
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EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press.

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ESCANABA — A brand-new business on Ludington Street that first opened its doors to the public last week is run by a woman who grew up in Gladstone and recently returned to the area after studying and operating a business out west. Nevaeh, the Aveda salon founded by Nicole Wyckoff (nee Duplechien), is rooted in practices and ingredients that are meant to be kind to the earth as well as on hair.

Wyckoff, who has worked in other salons and owned one previously, said that she enjoys seeing a client’s vision carried out from start to finish in an experience tailored to them. In line with the Aveda model, hair color, rather than being premixed, is custom-made for each guest at Nevaeh. Every product used and sold is held to a high standard, Wyckoff said.

After graduating from Gladstone High School, Nicole went to Bay College and then transferred to Northern Michigan University. While in Marquette studying Liberal Arts, she decided that she wanted to pursue cosmetology.

“I was kind of being a little bit picky about where I got my training. I really wanted to go to an Aveda school, because I really like the mission that Aveda stands behind, and their mindfulness as a company and a brand,” Wyckoff said. “They really want to minimize the amount of artificial chemicals and carbon footprint on our world.”

She named a few of the brand’s green practices: their packaging is all recycled and recyclable; ingredients of each product are 95% naturally-derived, at minimum; Aveda uses pea protein instead of keratin; fragrances come from flower and other plant essences. The company is a B-Corp — “a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials,” according to B Lab, the international network that issues the certification. Vegan since its founding in 1978, Aveda is also Leaping Bunny Approved. They do charitable outreach around the globe, including providing clean water to communities near areas where they source ingredients.

Upon finding the Gary Manuel Aveda Institute in Seattle, Wash., Wyckoff explained, she had a phone interview first, then toured the campus and had a follow-up in-person interview. She was accepted into the program and relocated to Seattle, where she completed her education and became a licensed cosmetologist certified in the Aveda line.

She worked at a salon in Lake Tahoe, Nev. before moving to Colorado and gaining more experience at a couple salons in Frisco and then operating her own. For the last eight years in Colorado, while raising a family, she owned and managed a salon called “Haven” in Frisco.

Though she carried and used other responsible brands at Haven, that business was not a designated Aveda salon like Nevaeh is. Wyckoff said that representatives for Aveda approached her at Haven multiple times about becoming one because of the salon’s commitment to sustainability and its Aveda-certified owner, but “it didn’t quite pan out” because not all of the stylists were ready to switch from methods and products they knew.

Regardless, “I have always tried to find product lines that were as clean and mindful as possible,” Wyckoff said, adding that she’d long wanted an Aveda salon.

In August of 2023, the Wyckoffs moved to Escanaba to be closer to family. Soon after, they found a commercial building for sale at 604-606 Ludington Street.

Dating to 1902, the property is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1906, the register states, the east half — which has now become Nevaeh Salon — was an insurance office, while the west side — wherein her husband, Josh, is opening Nomadic Skate and Snow — was a billiards hall.

A lot of renovations have taken place over the last year. Following the close of the sale in November 2023, family did most of the work and was pleased with the elements they discovered. Original tile floor, brick walls, and patterned tin ceiling have been uncovered and now lend a lovely, comfortable, somewhat-industrial vibe to the high-end salon. Wyckoff said that Don’s HVAC replaced the duct work for them in a way that allowed for a more contemporary and exposed look.

While work was underway to open Nevaeh, Wyckoff worked part-time at the Other Place Salon, where she rented a chair two days a week.

The name for the new business, she explained, took some time to come up with. She wanted something that hearkened to her previous salon, Haven — and “Heaven” seemed like the next step. Spelled backwards, that became “Nevaeh,” which felt right.

Wyckoff signed a contract with Aveda, brought in two other stylists, and brought an Aveda rep up from downstate to train all three. She said it was great for the new people and a great refresher for her. As an Aveda salon, Nevaeh professionals will also have access to resources and trainings online. They use — and sell for retail — exclusively Aveda products, which cannot be purchased in stores.

Though new to Escanaba, the business owner is an experienced cosmetologist, and says that her favorite part of the job is meeting people, “hearing what their vision is and creating it for them.”

In the future, Nevaeh could potentially welcome specialists in other areas and expand into aesthetics and massage therapy, but for now, it’s a salon for hair services – they cut, color and style.

“We’ve got a good team of stylists here,” Wyckoff said. “The stylists that I have are very talented, and we are really excited to just get involved with the community (and) pamper people with products that we feel passionate about and stand behind their quality.”

She said that she aims to be mindful about the environment and hopes for the salon to become part of Green Circle, a program for salons to collect and recycle excess hair color.

“Even though our products are very naturally derived, I still want to make sure that we’re minimizing our impact,” Wyckoff said.