Heart & Soul, April McDougald

Mark your calendar and join me + so many other vendors next weekend

Thursday, July 22, 5-9pm
Friday, July 23, 1-8pm
Saturday, July 24, 9-4pm

1377 Hamilton St. Regina, Saskatchewan

This market is all about creating a fun experience and celebrating summer, community, entrepreneurs, local and food.

I will have all of my collections available + my newest items will be ready to enjoy!

I am so thankful for this opportunity to be with friends + celebrate a weekend of local entrepreneurs.

I can’t wait to see all of you! Please make sure to stop by and say hello.

self-care is great, but soul-care is better.

Our own candle must burn bright to light the candles of others. Soul-care is all about intentional actions to restore your connection to yourself. Your SOUL.

Seek solitude + a quite space to connect to your soul every day.

Dive inward. Your SOUL will catch you.

wicked by hand
poured by hand
labeled by hand

handmade for
your soul-care

Follow me to see what I’ve been creating.

MY SCENT PROFILES

soft,
modern
+ clean.

The foundation of my business and my WHY.

I aligned myself with a company that has the highest standards in the fragrance industry. My goal is to have your safety at the top of my priorities with the items you purchase from my store.

Historically, the fragrance industry has never been transparent about safety. Lack of disclosure from fragrance manufacturers regarding ingredients and the possible health risks of those ingredients was the norm. Therefor... the average home has so many toxic products in the home that we don’t even realize are harmful to our health. Especially candles and reed diffusers!

While I was daydreaming about beginning my candle line and WHY I wanted to start one, I was incredibly passionate about using the cleanest, purest and softest fragrances on the market.

My line is free from carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and other potentially hazardous chemicals often found in fragrance. Not to mention 100% phthalate FREE.

I also wanted to use fragrances that were soft and didn’t scream I’M HERE! Our days are already filled with things that overstimulate + consume you. I want my line to gently remind us to embrace the moment with a soft, gentle scent.

If you’d like to learn more, feel free to click on my website and search under scent profiles. I’ve added a bit more information that I couldn’t squeeze into an Instagram post.

Website is LIVE

https://heartandsoulcandleco.com

I’m scared but I’m doing it anyway! Things will never ever be perfect so I just decided to dive in today and make it LIVE.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them

📷 Credit to Daunine Sol•Tree Studios for the photos on my website

And thanks to Tia Getzlaf (Lady Getz) for helping me take this huge LEAP to get started.

Heart + Soul Candle Co Heart + Soul Candle Co

Yesterday, we celebrated my final days at the studio. The walls might look bare and the space is looking empty but our hearts are full.

I was in good company.

Time is non-refundable. Use it with intention and spend it with the ones you love.

Spring: A lovely reminder of how beautiful change can truly be.

I feel so privileged to have created the space of my dreams. It has been a space to foster long lasting friendships, a safe space for meaningful and deeper conversations and a space to truly be myself and welcome clients into a glimpse of my world, both physically and emotionally.

I began my journey in the hair industry at the age of 16. I worked as an assistant at a small town salon, shampooing clients and applying the odd toner. I would stock retail shelves, answer the phone and book appointments. Soon I realized I was born to be in the hair world.

Fast forward 22 years where I’ve worked at 7 different salons and transitioned through owning 2 of the 7 I’ve worked at, one being a salon in my hometown at the age of 21, and the other being my current studio HEART + SOUL in the heart of downtown Regina.

As my passion for hair grew, so did my love of teaching. I aligned myself with a color company that shared the same values as me and it ignited the lifelong learner inside of me. Getting to inspire others to create and try something new was so exciting. I travelled Canada from coast to coast sharing my gifts, toured New York and LA quite a few times, shadowed and learnt from the best of the best in the salon industry and worked backstage at large events and hair shows in Mexico, Miami and two Caribbean Cruises.

I’ve been featured in Salon Magazine, was a finalist in the Contessa Awards as one of the top 5 Canadian Colourists in the country, and was awarded Color Intensity Brand Ambassador that lead to my position being a Platform/Stage Artist for JOICO.

It really is incredible to see how our passions and gifts, however small or large, can help inspire those near and far. This is something I didn’t expect when I first opened my life to the salon industry so many years ago.

Around the start of 2019, change started creeping its way into my life and blew apart my old priorities. My creative passions within my business started weening and my interests started changing. I was spiralling out of control and I wasn’t enjoying my days at the studio like I once had. I knew something was off. Juggling so many roles at once became paralyzing and sent me into a deep state of depression. I decided to take a step back within my business in June of 2019 to really explore what I wanted for my life and my families needs. I spent countless hours reprioritizing my months, weeks, days, hours and minutes. I spent day after day learning to let go of things that no longer served me and my mental and physical health.

Naturally, my love of learning transformed into a love for learning about myself. All sorts of books, podcasts, teachers, councillors and courses began to then flow into my home and my spiritual life. A deeper sense of purpose poured into my heart and I started to make myself a priority.

Initially, I felt so much guilt stepping away from the time in my salon, my clients and their needs and the business I built over the years. I felt as if I was inadequate for not living up to the roles I thought I should be doing, to the best of my ability, all the time. I was trying to be a small business owner, a creative, a therapist/hairstylist, an educator for the country, a hands on mother, not to mention the wife to a husband that was also owning, building and growing a Plumbing Company.

Eventually, after sitting with myself and doing the inner work, I realized that it’s ok to transition, to change and to live out a different life.

Change can be hard, especially if you’re like me and are used to certain habits, patterns and daily routines. I’ve learnt that what we are passionate about one moment, and even really good at, can change in an instant, and that’s ok!

Change brings about growth. Change within the relationships around you, your mentality and certainly your spirituality.

These are the moments of change that will mark your own journey if you can embrace the process and growth.

While I’m deeply proud of the work I’ve poured into learning about myself the past two years, it is still difficult to write that as of April 30th, 2021 , HEART + SOUL Hair Studio will be closing its door and I will be retiring from the salon industry.

Over the past half a year, my hands, wrists and fingers have been really hurting me and they aren’t getting any better. I’ve been living on pain meds and been seeing DRs to try and figure out what is happening to them. Basically my job is wearing down my joints and tendons. Working in this industry for longer isn’t going to relieve any of that pain. I know it’s time to take a leap of faith and make some big changes. I just can’t keep pumping myself with pain meds just to cling to a career that I’m ready to let go of.

It has been an honour to have crossed paths with so many incredible people over the course of my career. I cannot even begin to thank each and every client that has trusted my work. I am honoured for your friendship and your loyalty.

It will be difficult to change and transform my studio space that I’ve loved and grown so much in. Hopefully a stylist will be able to come in and take the vision of my studio to the next level, and give new life to my space. If you know of anyone needing a private studio, please let me know. It would be my pleasure to show them my suite.

The initial purpose of my studio will never be forgotten, nor taken for granted. It has been one of my greatest worklife experiences and led me to break free from the hustle and grind and create balance within my heart + home.

As for my next chapter, I plan to nurture and grow HEART + SOUL studio into my candle line and home fragrances. My fire and passion for creating has been relit in this direction and I have to follow the path. If you feel drawn to, please follow me to watch the seeds of my intentions flourish.

For the time being, I will be working alongside my husband with his Plumbing and Heating company. I hope to support him with customer service and all the front desk duties. I am exited to be apart of his daily life a little more and lend him the support and creative flair I can offer.

When things get settled, we plan to set up a brick and mortar location at the front of the shop for my candle line. It will be a perfect location to set up my products. That way clients can come in and experience my candles and stop in for a visit!

As scary as this entire process is, I look forward to fostering my relationships in a different light and open myself up to endless possibilities. Balance is not something you find, It’s something you create.

I am so excited for what the future holds. I am so grateful for each and every opportunity I’ve had and to each client that I’ve connected with past and present.
Many blessings to you all.
It’s been one hell of a ride!

April McDougald,
HEART + SOUL

“If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello” -Paulo Coelho

22yrs in this industry and I still LOVE to work with blonde hair. It fills my cup!

• BEACH BABE • one of my customized blondes for a wonderful lady @ Heart & Soul, April McDougald

NEW salon hours

Hello everyone and welcome to SUMMER! Let’s have a peak at my new studio hours together and I’ll do my best to get you caught up on a few other exciting details.

I returned behind my chair on June 8th and have been busy keeping up with previous bookings that were already scheduled in June as well as trying my best to accommodate the 150+ appointments I had to cancel due to Covid-19. It has been a constant moving puzzle trying to figure this all out and trying to accommodate everyone has been tough, but Thankfully I have the best clients in the world that are so understanding. I want to personally thank each and every single one of you for your patience. I know that there are still many names and numbers I have to connect with to get you booked in, believe me, I haven’t forgot about you. I’m just allowing a little grace period between bookings and appointments to allow for a healthy work life.

I have decided to roll out new hours for the next little while to manage a simplified work/life balance.

This allows more opportunity to truly be giving YOU, my clients, 100% of my creativity and really focus on my vision of Quality over Quantity.

I wish to continue to provide exceptional services to each and every client that I see and make it about YOU and your hair needs. I am continually improving the quality of my services and want to produce the best possible work I can, in order for my clients to look and feel their best for MONTHS. In order to remain competitive while still retaining my quality of work, I will be raising my service prices, effective immediately. Rate increases are an unavoidable part of doing business, and I hope to continue to serve you long into the future. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or need clarification to discuss your beauty budget.

Now let’s chat about my NEW studio hours. I will be alternating 3 days a week to maintain the highest quality of service.

One week I will be at the studio
Monday 10-5
Wednesday 12-8
Friday 10-5

The following week will be
Tuesday 10-5
Wednesday 12-8
Thursday 10-5

My online booking is still currently closed at the moment till I can get the rest of my clients rebooked, I plan to have it opened back up here in July so you can book your future appointments online!!! I’ll keep you updated on when I plan to open that up. It will be soon!

Wishing each and everyone a glorious day and a relaxing summer filled with sunshine.

Warmest wishes from my couch on this slightly rainy afternoon. I greatly appreciate your patience and flexibility during this time, I know it’s been a long time since I’ve been in contact with a lot of you. I’ve been trying to figure out my next steps moving forward with my salon and business hours. Recently, I’ve decided to keep my salon closed till Phase 3 to be at home with my young kids.

When I return, I will be working 3 days a week for a little while to maintain a healthy work life balance with this new normal! As soon as I get a confirmation on phase 3 rollout dates I will reconnect with clients that were cancelled as well as clients that are booked in future dates and start the re-booking process. I really appreciate your understanding at this time. This has been an interesting journey so far and a wonderful learning tool for me to set up a new way of supporting my business as well as my family. Please know that if you need to see someone else during this time to freshen yourself up, I 100% understand. I would encourage you to do so in the mean time to make sure you are looking and feeling your best! If you have future appointments with me, I will be reaching out to you so we can make other arrangements to your appointment dates and times.

I know this is all still so new to everyone and your willingness to grow through this together would mean the world to me. My salon books will be closed for the year until I can regain momentum and try to get ahead of this curve, as well as at this moment I will not be opening my books to any new clients. I will reopen my schedule again to online bookings as soon as I have my footing underneath me to do so.

I still offer curb side or doorstep drop offs for retail if you are interested in placing an order to keep you feeling tip top, please feel free to connect with me to arrange your care packages.

All my best to us all in discovering the next chapters of

Heart & Soul,
April McDougald