From vegan ice cream to salons catering to naturally curly hair, women have been behind a number of successful businesses in the Providence area. The Herald spoke with two women who are small business owners in and near Providence about their ventures, passions and the challenges of running a business.
Sweet treats with a purpose: Like No Udder
When Karen Krinsky, owner of ice cream store Like No Udder, started eating vegan in 1993 she couldn’t find any vegan dessert shops in Rhode Island. “So I thought, ‘Okay, here's something I'm passionate about. I can fill a void in the community. Hopefully, I'll make money from it,’” she said.
“I’ve always felt a connection to animals,” Krinsky said. Now, both her personal choices and her business allow her to “live (her) values.”
Like No Udder’s menu features a variety of primarily ice-cream-based vegan treats, including shakes, floats and Unicorns — “soft serve blended with your choice of mix-ins, creating a thick ‘blizzard’ like concoction” — according to their website.
Before moving into its current location, Like No Udder operated out of an ice cream truck. Krinsky often parked near Brown and worked at events or festivals, serving a smaller selection of vegan soft serve out of the vehicle.
In the early 2000s, before founding Like No Udder, Krinsky also owned and operated a vegan bakery. She worked overnight in order to open the store each morning with freshly baked items, and after a few years the work exhausted her. “When you do something for a long period of time and it's not making you happy, you start to resent it,” Krinsky said.
Krinsky knew her burnout was a result of exhaustion rather than a lack of passion. She still wanted to work in the vegan goods industry, and she still wanted to be her own boss. Like No Udder was the perfect way to meet both of these goals.
Recently, Krinsky has reintroduced baking into her business, and she now offers a selection of cookies, brownies and waffles.
As a vegan business owner, Krinsky’s “number one goal is to make something delicious.” People often think they won’t enjoy plant-based products — and Krinsky hopes to change their minds.
“If people come in here and they learn something new about what they like to eat or about why their choices of what they eat make a difference, then that's a win,” Krinsky said.
Krinsky has “definitely worked really, really, really hard” to get where she is, she said. She is grateful for the support of her husband, family and friends. “You can have the best product ever, but if you don’t have the resources,” it’s hard to make it work, she said.
“One person does not make a business successful.”
The LOFT Hair Studio
The LOFT Hair Studio, owned by Sharita Payton, is a salon devoted exclusively to naturally curly hair. Since its opening in Massachusetts eight years ago, the studio has expanded to include a location in East Providence.
“There definitely are not too many salons out there that just focus on curly hair,” Payton said. “We focus on a range when it comes to curly hair, but mostly tighter textures, which I feel is definitely an area that we need more salons to specialize in.”
When Payton first opened LOFT in 2014, the salon offered all types of hair care, including extensions and relaxers. But as business picked up, Payton realized there was high demand and low support for those who specifically wanted to keep their curly hair natural, she said. She removed non-natural practices from the list of offerings and rebranded the salon.
Payton has always worn her tight curly hair in its natural state, and she encourages her two daughters to do the same. “My daughters grew up in a mostly Caucasian neighborhood, and so I tell them when they walk out the door, they're not going to see many young girls who look like them,” Payton said. “So they definitely need that support and encouragement when it comes to their hair coming from home.”
Teaching her daughters how to care for their hair was a major driver of Payton’s decision to rebrand. Now, Payton provides her clients with that same assistance, which they are unlikely to find anywhere else. “I just want clients to know that we're here to support them on this journey (of) embracing their natural hair.”
When LOFT still only had one location in Medford, Payton noticed that several clients drove from Rhode Island for their appointments. Payton decided to look for a space in Providence and quickly found one. Now, there are two stylists working out of the salon’s Taunton Avenue location.
Despite the value she places in her work, Payton has found it challenging to manage more than one location. “I’m very passionate about my brand, but I’m only one person and so just trying to make sure that I’m available and investing equally in both places is hard.”
Liliana Greyf is a senior staff writer covering College Hill, Fox Point and the Jewelry District, and Brown's relationship with Providence. She is a sophomore studying Literary Arts and a proponent of most pickled vegetables.
