Kit salon in Fort Thomas is named after Molly Hardin’s great grandmother, and her old styling tools are proudly displayed on the wall inside the shop.
Hardin said owning a salon was a dream come true—though a dream she didn’t really know she had as a full-time interior designer and part-time hairstylist. Hardin is a Fort Thomas native who worked at the building’s former tenant, Salon on Highland. She has been licensed for 15 years, but this new venture is her first time owning a salon.
Monica Ebert, the previous owner of Salon on Highland, encouraged Hardin to take over and make the place hers.
Ebert has worked in the industry for roughly 28 years. When she moved to Fort Thomas, Ebert said she didn’t intend to be a salon owner but saw a sign that said the business was for sale. Ebert said it happened out of nowhere, just like Hardin taking the leap to buy the salon from her.
“I opened a business, but I didn’t open it with this big vision of growing this huge business,” Ebert said. “I originally opened it just to have a studio suite for myself, but then people kept coming and wanted to work here.”
Even with the success of opening her own salon, Ebert said she never really invested the time and energy into the business side of it.
“After a couple of conversations with Molly, I thought, wow, she’s the one,” Ebert said. “She has tons of amazing ideas and seems driven and passionate about the industry. All of a sudden, I was like, why don’t you do it and I’ll work for you.”
Kit is a boutique salon in an intimate atmosphere. The stylists who work there have at least 15 years of experience.
“I think you can expect a higher level of service and experience at a boutique salon than you could at a beauty shop or even a big salon/spa type of situation,” Hardin said.
She said the Kit experience includes little luxuries. They serve a signature tea with marshmallows on top, the shampoo bowls use filtered water and the products are handpicked for their clean and vegan ingredients.
Kit offers standard hair services and extensions.
One unique aspect of the business is that Hardin will host community classes on topics ranging from picking your product routine to how to blow dry and curl your hair like a professional.
“We’re not here to gatekeep great hair,” Hardin said. “We want to be a part of the community and when someone has a question, we’re going to shoot it to you straight and give you the tools and the knowledge that people need to take really good care of their hair and scalp.”
Everything at Kit is brand new and was designed by Hardin around a piece of art hanging in the salon.
Kit is also a registered salon with Foster Friendly, an organization that connects foster families to businesses through an app that offers free or discounted services to them. Kit offers free haircuts to foster kids and discounts for foster families and caseworkers.
Hardin said she wants to do community outreach through Kit to continue that work day in and day out.
“When you bring all these good people together in a good space that they feel comfortable with, just bigger stuff than hair happens,” Ebert said. “Even when you’re not trying, it just does. People meet people, and it’s like this huge web of networking that always seems to gain something from each other. That is more than hair.”
Kit is located at 660 Highland Ave, in Fort Thomas.
