Ashley Elliott
Owner & Stylist
I didn’t always know that hair would become my career. I actually started out in art school, but I had a lightbulb moment—I realized I had been doing hair for friends and family for as long as I could remember. Why not turn something I loved into my profession? In the spring of 2007, I enrolled at a Paul Mitchell school in the southwest suburbs, determined to succeed.
After graduation, I gained experience working at several unisex salons near my home but found myself craving more growth. In mid-2009, I joined Halo for Men and discovered a passion for men’s haircutting. Over the next six years, I steadily built a loyal clientele and deepened my expertise by participating in hands-on workshops and demo classes. Eventually, I took on the role of educator, training and mentoring new hires.
In January 2015, I transitioned to a salon in the downtown Loop to better serve my clients’ needs. My clientele grew quickly, and by February 2016, I was ready to take the leap and co-founded Bespoke with my business partner, Cassie. After nine incredible years, we decided to pursue separate paths, and in September 2024, I became the sole owner of Bespoke.
Now, I’m thrilled to lead this thriving business into its next chapter. I’m excited for what’s ahead and look forward to continuing to serve my clients while growing and evolving as a professional.
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Corri Loren
General Manager
I started my beauty industry journey as a Junior in high school with my very first job as a shampoo assistant for my salon God Fathers Tim and Todd. That summer I made sure to learn all I could about cuts and color and began to wonder if my future college plans to study music was the correct path for me. Senior year I continued on with my involvement in the theater and drama department and became the unofficial head of hair and makeup for the entire cast. Whether we needed a period piece updo or old age makeup, everyone knew to come to me and I was loving it!
I later realized I wasn't quite ready to go out of state to continue on with music education and decided beauty school would be a good plan. I started two months after graduation.
I went back and forth between loving and hating school. During my last few months, I was able to intern at a salon in Wicker Park where I learned more about running the front of the salon. My passion for hair behind the chair quickly diminished but there was a little spark in my heart for everything behind the scenes.
After many years trying to reignite my hair passion, I found a salon in Lincoln Park that helped me realize what I was really looking for was a leadership role. I spent two years managing an incredible staff and creating relationships with our beautiful clients, but again something was missing... Nothing beats a work day surrounded with laid back yet professional energy and that's what I found at Bespoke Men's Grooming! The vibes of a female based salon vs a male based; two different worlds- in the best way!
When I'm not running around the shop, booking appointments, and slingin' Whiskey cocktails, I'm spending a lot of time in my monster shop doing SFX makeup and laughing at terribly made horror movies. Next time you're in for a cut, let's debate the best horror film killer... My pick will always be Leatherface!
Geno Vicario
Front Desk Coordinator // Social Media Manager
Anisha Criss
Stylist & Salon Floor Manager
All my life I have always been fascinated by hair. Whether it was watching my aunt work in her home salon, giving Barbie a fresh new style or doing my friends’ hair for school dances, I always leaned into it as a passion. During my senior year at Sterling High School, I enrolled in the vocational school offering a six month cosmetology program through the local beauty school, “Educators Of Beauty.” This program helped me realize that I wanted to make my passion, my profession so after high school I moved to Madison, Wisconsin to attend “Madison Cosmetology.”
Upon graduating in June 2002, I was back in my rural hometown doing hair. For all the experience I was gaining there, I knew I wanted to be working in the “big city,” so in 2005 I moved to Chicago. I got my first job at a brand new, all men’s salon where I remained for 10 years. While working, I also attended classes, workshops and watched training videos all in an effort to better myself and my craft.
I joined the training team in 2011 and began teaching American Crew hair cutting methods. I’ve been in this profession for 22 years and still find everyday to be new and exciting. Especially when it comes to curly hair. I love a challenge!
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Becca Schmidt
Stylist
I look at going to beauty school as one of the best decisions I have ever made, and working on hair has been a hobby of mine since I was a teenager. I started by styling my family and friend’s hair for free as a way to practice, and was often told I had a knack for hair. With the encouragement of my family, I attended Pivot Point Academy, a cosmetology school located in Evanston, Illinois. Under the watchful eye of my caring and talented teachers, I learned techniques and skills that I continue to use today. Pivot Point is where my passion for cutting and styling hair really began to flourish.
I got a position at a top Chicago salon right after beauty school. I worked with a renowned director to hone my skills and better my abilities. While I consider my time at this salon invaluable, I knew I needed to push myself even further if I wanted to become the stylist I knew I could be. I stayed with the salon for four years before making the switch to work in men’s only salons.
Working in the hair industry has allowed me to express myself creatively while working with people. My love for my career is reflected in the work I get to do on my clients and I am always pushing myself to be a better stylist. One of my favorite aspects of the industry is its ability to be ever changing. I am never bored with what I do and I look forward to coming to work every day. I am excited to be working with the talented ladies at Bespoke and look forward to working with new clients.
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Kimberlee Adriano
Stylist
The world of hair has always been the place I envisioned myself to be in. From an early age I watched my mother work in the cosmetic industry selling beauty products and I knew I wanted to be exactly like her! She was my hair stylist! We experimented with colors and different hairstyles from a very young age. I was that girl in the 90’s with chunky “blonde” hi lites. This is why every time you see me I will be rocking a new hair color! Her dream was to become a beautician but it just never worked out for her. I made it my goal to do exactly that! I was chopping up barbies hair left and right doing blow outs and coloring with markers. This is my passion, where I really feel my best self! Straight from high school graduation in 2006 I went to beauty school and I have literally not stopped since then! My career has taken me far. Between high end full service shops to mom/pop shops and of course the barbershops. The barbershop is really where I felt like I had found my calling! I have gone from managing and learning the behind scenes of this Industry to building a clientele behind the chair. I love connecting with everyone who sits in my chair. It isn’t just about a haircut it’s about the experience with me genuinely getting to know you and your hair! I love a good transformation and to make people feel their best on the inside and outside! Being apart of this team already has me feeling like a better stylist working beside such talented co-workers in an amazing city. The energy is contagious here … beware of the awesomeness!
When I’m not behind the chair you can most likely find me at a Starbucks or living the mom life with my mini me, my pups, & my partner exploring the city or eating pizza on the couch !
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Elisa Vizcarra
Barber
My story begins at the age of 4 and I decided to style my hair on my own for the first time...with scissors! Fast forward to my teenage years where I would cut and style many of my friends hair. During that time, my junior year of high school, I was given the opportunity to participate in a vocational cosmetology program. I’m very proud to say that by the time I graduated high school in 2009, I had my cosmetology license in hand. I was off to begin my career in our industry. Within a couple of years, I realized I enjoyed the art of cutting and styling men’s hair more than anything else. This, and my fascination with “clipper cuts”, fueled my decision to return to school and become a fully licensed barber. Being a stylist, and now a barber, is something I’ve chosen to share with the ones I love. Over the years, I have become my family’s dedicated Barber. Being a Barber has created moments and memories that keeps my family close to me. I bring my work home, so to speak, not because it’s a job but because it’s a passion. I look forward to sharing that same passion and dedication with my clients!
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Dee Boozer
Barber, Educator
Deana Boozer’s career began in 2006 at Moler Hairstyling College in Gary, Indiana. After completing her required 1500 to be a barber, Dee started immediately on her 1000 hours required to be a barber instructor. While still in school, Dee worked at The House of Natural Hair (Gary, IN) and The Hair Experts (Chicago, IL) before joining Floyd’s 99 Barbershops in the summer of 2009. With Floyd’s, Dee’s career sprouted.
As an employee, Deana was an outstanding performer and earned an all-expense-paid trip to The Gathering in Las Vegas (June 2011). In Sept 2011, she was ranked one of the Top 49 Hairstylists by Chicago Magazine, and went on to manage her own Floyd’s location (West Loop) in the summer of 2012. Dee was invited to join the Team of National Educators (2013), and spent much time at the Floyd’s corporate office in Denver, CO planning the Floyd’s Academy and testing their soon-to-come product line. As a manager, Dee excelled, maintaining a 89% retention rate after 1 year, and leading the company with a retail percentage of 13%.
Soon, though, the time to leave Floyd’s came. Dee joined with a coworker to open The Suite Spot Beauty & Barber, a boutique salon space located right in the heart of Downtown Chicago. The Suite Spot’s 5 star Yelp rating helped make it a huge success. In February of 2014, Dee help found Mane Mob, (the premier independent education group in the Midwest) and hosted several fade, graphics, and ethnic hair classes in Illinois and Michigan. In 2015, Dee participated in her first barber battle and secured 2nd place in the Lady Barber category. As Dee’s love for education grew, she decided that the right step for her career would be to close The Suite Spot Beauty & Barber and take an opportunity to become an instructor for the prestigious Tricoci University of Beauty Culture.
As an instructor with TUBC, Dee proudly helped mold the barber program into a well-oiled machine with an impeccable local reputation. In 2016, Dee Boozer was voted Barber Educator of the Year by TUBC, and won 3rd place in the Full Blooded Barber Battle. Dee also was a Keynote Educator at the BGroomed Expo in Chicago and launched a YouTube channel dedicated to help improve, encourage and educate young barbers.
In 2017 Dee joined the team at Bespoke Men’s Grooming and has had a vital role as a service provider, manager, and educator.
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Larysa Gierut
Stylist
I finished beauty school as a women's hairstylist in 1997 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. In early 2000, salons in Ukraine were separated into men’s and women’s. After working as a women’s hairstylist for a few years, I felt something was missing. In the early 2000s, everything changed when salons became unisex. That made me happy because I felt like I’d found the missing piece. I returned to school and became a unisex hairstylist. My first high-end unisex salon was Yves Rocher, and I was absolutely happy there, attending beauty shows, classes, and seminars.
Then, in 2007, I immigrated to the USA. My first step was getting my Illinois Cosmetology License because I knew hairstyling was something I’d always carry with me, no matter the country. It felt as natural as being born with scissors. At that time, I lived in Niles, and my first job was at Hair Clue Salon in Arlington Heights, where I continued as a unisex stylist. After moving to downtown Chicago, my career gradually shifted toward men’s styling, and I built a strong male clientele.
I’m now exactly where I’ve always wanted to be, and I couldn’t be happier.