Get to Know Thomas Taft Salon UWS

Owner and Master Hair Artist Melyssa Graham opened the doors of Thomas Taft Salon on 2nd Avenue in 2013. During Melyssa’s decade-long experience working in Manhattan salons, she bore witness to an odd reality. Although her industry appeared to be female dominated, most hair salons were owned by men. While she couldn’t be sure, this duplicity seemed to fuel another nagging thought; some of these NYC salons lacked authenticity. Melyssa decided to fill this gap. Incidentally, Thomas Taft Salons is named after Melyssa’s grandfather who owned and operated a hardware store in the Hudson Valley. Clearly, working with her hands is in the genes.

Melyssa has created a salon culture that embraces individuality and expression, creates genuine relationships with her team, clients and other small businesses. “Education is paramount to our culture and success. It’s very humbling and rewarding to be able to foster talented people and watch them grow. It makes everything worth it.” says Melyssa.

While teaming up with Operations & Marketing Manager, Stephanie Del Russo, Thomas Taft Salon has been cited numerous times in national publications, has starred in the CNBC Five Day Biz Fix and grown to three locations. Thomas Taft SoHo opened its doors in 2018, and their newest, UWS location opened last year on 80th and Amsterdam. Their UWS location is particularly unique as they are located inside a collaborative niche work space offering dog grooming and (human) nail services. “The UWS location is an evolution of our brand and a representation of our tenacity. We opened this location during a pandemic so thinking outside the box and embarking on a partnership to share space made sense.” says Stephanie.

Outside the box thinking is the norm for this business . To embrace mental health awareness, Thomas Taft Salon has been nationally recognized for their innovative silent appointment offering, in which clients can request to receive their service without the typical “small talk”. They also promote mental health care from within to their team to help destigmatize mental health problems.

The Upper West Side location has a new program, “After Hours Hair” when the salon is open until 11 pm, catering to night owls or those with non-traditional work hours.

The salon specializes in blonding, balayage, precision haircuts, and keratin treatments. Whether you’re new to discovering the salon or have been a client for years, you’re invited to the Thomas Taft End of Summer Block Party on September 15th from 4-8 pm at their salon location on 185 W. 80th St. The event will have a live DJ, complimentary dry styling and offerings from small businesses from the area.