When I first walked into Leila Halbert’s Salon Festa, I was immediately struck by a visual contrast. Her salon is situated in a gray, ordinary-looking building, but the inside is anything but. There are sparkly disco balls of all sizes hanging from the ceiling (and her ears), and lots of bright and colorful prints with quotes such as “This must be the place,” and “Love yourself first.” In a corner straight ahead, a tan cart is full to the brim with snacks, and a burnt orange couch sits under a window to the right, accompanied by an assortment of pillows in the shapes of a lemon slice, a flower, and a “chill pill,” all perched atop a black-and-white checkered blanket.
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
Halbert’s eclectic, artsy safe space is a representation of her abundant amount of creativity, her fierce joy for color, and her love for self-expression. These all translate into how Halbert runs her salon and how she’s approached her beloved craft for the last 14 years. Halbert first knew she wanted to get into the hair business when she was in sixth grade, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“That was when I had it made up in my brain…As I got a little bit older, into high school, I was like ‘Yeah, I’m going to do hair.’ Nobody could tell me otherwise,” says Halbert.
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
Now, Halbert’s the owner and sole stylist at Salon Festa, which she opened about four years ago. Some of her clients have been with her for over a decade. Halbert loves connecting with people, and loves her long-term clients that fit her vibe.
“A lot of my clients have been with me from my first job…you really move through life with people and get to be involved in some capacity in their biggest and hardest moments,” says Halbert, with tears in her eyes. “Sometimes I get to be the first person that they tell they’re pregnant or that they’re going through a divorce or that they have cancer or that they have a job promotion…it’s a very unique experience to get to have that with so many people.”
Photograph by Leila Halbert
Salon Festa provides many services, from precision haircuts and blonding to extensions and barbering. Halbert has done many different styles on many different people, and has found that she doesn’t want to specialize in anything, as she loves getting the opportunity to constantly grow and learn. She loves detailed work and vivid color transformations. Her favorite clients are the ones who have realistic expectations, give her a balance of direction and freedom, and have a respect for her craft.
Photograph by Leila Halbert
Halbert is always taking new clients! You can message her for an appointment through her Instagram @salonfesta, or through her website. Halbert also has over 45,000 followers on her TikTok (@lalaleilani) and posts often about her salon, food reviews, outfit videos, and much more.
“I really have been taking the content creation side of things more seriously lately,” says Halbert. “The content that I’m posting isn’t always salon-related, but any video someone sees of me brings them to my page…Even just doing that has brought in a ton of new business into the salon, which has been really great.” 194 E. Bakerview Rd., Ste. 110, Bellingham, 360.820.5164, salonfesta.com
