Bliss Hair Studio expands into Plainfield, commits to helping community

Plainfield — In July, Bliss Hair Studio celebrated 11 years in business at its Shorewood location. On Oct. 3, the business officially will expand to its second location in Plainfield, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Plainfield Shorewood Area Chamber of Commerce to follow Oct. 17.

Jen Arias, Bliss’ head stylist and a member of the salon’s leadership team, said the expansion was necessary to accommodate the high demand the salon is experiencing.

“We are overflowing at our current spot,” Arias said. “We decided about a year ago that Plainfield would be a good location and found available space, but the build-out took a long time. There was a lot that needed to be done – all new walls, new floors, new plumbing, a whole HVAC system. It was in pretty bad shape for a salon to come into it.”

Now that the new shop, located at 16310 S. Lincoln Highway, is ready to open, Bliss’ existing 45 employees will be split between the two locations, and the shop will be able to take on more help from the existing waitlist of interested employees.

Arias noted that the salon has a lot of interest from prospective employees because of its reputation and because owners Mary Smith and Stefanie Gruber do not require employees to sign a noncompete agreement or a contract guaranteeing they will stay with Bliss for a set number of years.

“We want our employees to be happy where they’re at,” Arias said. “If they’re happy, we’re happy.”

Employees aren’t the only people the salon is focused on keeping happy. Arias credits the business’s popularity with the quality experience it provides customers.

“We focus on giving every guest a good experience,” Arias said. “We use hot towels when you get shampooed, there’s snacks in the lobby, and we have free Wi-Fi so people can bring their computers to do work while they wait if they need to. We’re very friendly to whatever part of your life you’re in right now.”

“We’ve always given to charity but we decided to start our own foundation in 2021 to support the community.”

—  Jen Arias, Bliss Hair Studio head stylist

Commitment to community involvement

While salon staff makes sure customers are given first-class treatment, Bliss’ management also is working to treat others in the community who need help. The salon founded the Giving Bliss foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity that partners with local charities each year and is in the process of starting a scholarship fund.

“We’ve always given to charity, but we decided to start our own foundation in 2021 to support the community,” Arias said. “We host a golf outing every year in July, and we participate in St. Baldrick’s in March.”

Each year, the foundation board chooses a charity for the golf outing to benefit, usually focusing on groups that help women and children.

The foundation already has supported Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy counties, CASA of River Valley and Easterseals. It also has hosted pop-up charity events for other community organizations.

The scholarship fund, which will go to help fund cosmetology school for local students, is currently in development, with the exact method of choosing recipients still being worked out, although the fundraising already has begun.

Every Sunday in September, Bliss is partnering with On the Rocks in Joliet to raise money for the fund, with a percentage of profits from drinks sold during the events and the proceeds of a weekly 50/50 raffle going toward the foundation’s new initiative.

“We all live locally, and we think it’s important to be visible in the community,” Arias said. “We’re like a family. If we’re successful, everyone is, and we want to make a difference in people’s lives and be part of the community that way.”

While already active in the Shorewood community, Arias said the management and staff of Bliss are looking forward to getting involved in Plainfield as well.

He said the company recently joined the local chamber of commerce to participate as much as it can.

“They just rejoined the chamber, and we’re very excited to have them involved,” Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tasha Marsaglia said. “It’s always exciting to get new businesses in the community, especially in that area on Route 30, which is really redeveloping and opening up. It’s a good location for them, and we are excited to see them expand their business and to get involved with them in the community.”