After 16 Years Solo, Stylist Sarajane Maples Joins Ulta Beauty in New York

Sixteen years of self-employment ended when Florida stylist Sarajane Maples relocated to New York and started as a Service District Educator for Ulta Beauty, supporting stylists across Nassau County locations.

Two months into the role at the time of the interview, Maples is learning the corporate side of a large retailer while leaning on what she already knows: hair, education, and how to help another stylist — whether that's working through a color challenge or explaining a new lightener (a lightening product used in blonde services).

Why trade booth-rental independence for corporate employment?

The practical drivers were concrete: health insurance and retirement savings, benefits that solo stylists fund themselves. But Maples frames the move as consolidation, not departure — a setting where education, chair time, creative opportunities, and security coexist.

"To have an opportunity to move to a city that I've always been drawn to, to still have the chance to educate, to still get the chance to do hair behind the chair, and to possibly make a difference in a company, that all really excites me," she says.

New York also puts her closer to the editorial and creative session work she wants to pursue. "I'm in the city in an hour," she notes. "I take a train to Penn Station and I'm in New York. The train is a mile from my house."

What does a district educator actually do?

Maples positions herself as a bridge between corporate expectations and salon-floor reality. Having spent years behind the chair, she understands the independence and creativity stylists bring — and the adjustment required inside a larger organization.

"I think having someone like me in this role gives them a nice soft landing between corporate and the stylist," she says.

Her method starts with approachability: listening, meeting a stylist where they are, and helping them move forward while also clarifying what the company expects. "I'm a stylist, too. I get it," she says of her support approach. "I want to be someone they can talk to, while also helping them understand what is expected of them."

On what she brings to the new environment: "I might not know the ins and outs of Ulta Beauty, but what I do know is hair. I can help by being present and sharing what I know while I learn the business."

What's next on the creative side?

Her goals include working more closely with Ulta Beauty's artistic teams, event work at major trade shows, and bringing her skills to other locations. Building a creative community in her new surroundings is, by her own account, still on the to-do list.

As for the transition itself: "It's so hard sometimes, but even with the challenges of the transition, I just know it's going to be worth it," she says — a stance she pairs with showing up fully herself, willing to learn, and open with everyone she meets.