BUSINESS

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Traf�ic analyst makes waves with new HQ

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

When the traf�ic engineering �irm Lokahi Group was nearing the end of its two-year lease at a space in the Cotton Gin area off 48th Street and Broadway Road, it began looking for a new home that would give the brand a grand presence. As a �irm dedicated to evaluating the impact that new developments will have on traf�ic and �inding solutions to minimize traf�ic in a way that bene�its neighborhoods, municipalities and developers can all get excited about, the Lokahi Group wanted to �ind a space where it could make a splash. Then a former medical of�ice located off of Shea Boulevard and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard came on the market and the Lokahi Group saw it as the perfect place for its employees to work and to invite the public in to host events. “We purchased this and I knew that I wanted to not just have an of�ice but have an exciting space,” said Lokahi Group owner and principal traf�ic engineer Jamie Blakeman. “We really want to activate this space.” She was also excited about the promise of being closer to the bulk of developers she works with. “Scottsdale is home to many other professionals we collaborate with, including architects, engineers, and developers,” Blakeman said. “It is also an amazing city with great restaurants to host client meetings and employee gatherings.” Blakeman closed on the space in October and almost immediately began gutting the space to make way for a place where people would feel at home from the moment they walked through the door. “Since this was a medical space, the lounge area was all cubicles and it was all blue,” Blakeman said. “We started demoing, painting and re-imagining the space with new �looring.” By January, the space was ready for employees to move in and begin working but there were still lots of decisions to be made about the interior design of the space. “The employees enjoy the space since it’s so much bigger, it’s homier and they were all a part of creating it,” Blakeman said. After all, her company is named after the Hawaiian phrase for teamwork. “As I thought about what to name our �irm, I knew that I wanted something that embraced a group of us,” she said. “We collaborate with architects, attorneys and other engineers. Paying tribute to Oahu, Hawaii, which is where I’m from, the word ‘lokahi’ means teamwork, collaboration and together we do more.” However, Blakeman did make it a point to have the walls pay homage to her hometown on the island of Oahu, Hawaii by �illing them with photos taken by her good friend and surf magazine photographer Mike Ito. She also made it a point to create a grand lounge area as well as two game rooms, one containing a ping pong table and the other with two screens for video game consoles to be hooked up to so that companies and groups could host events in the space. “I hope that this can be a community space and that we can start to open our doors to welcome others into a comfortable space,” Blakeman said. So far, the Urban Land Institute has committed to hosting events in her space but Blakeman is hopeful to �ill a calendar with as many events as possible that don’t interfere with the day-to-day operations of her company. Blakeman is also excited to have the three branches of her company represented under the same roof as well as the Lokahi Group has a nonpro�it organization called Lokahi Teams which Blakeman’s husband runs and her kids are displaying clothes from their clothing company called Lokahi clothing in a display room inside the space. Overall, Blakeman is not only excited to share her space with the community but she is stoked for the future that Arizona has to offer. “Arizona is amazing because it’s a ground for innovation, opportunity and growth,” Blakeman said. “There’s so many ideas and talented people that already live here and are continuing to move into this space that you get people who can collaborate since people are coming from everywhere.”

Information: Lokahigroup.com

Jamie Blakeman, owner and chief engineer of Lokahi Group, stands in the lobby of the company’s new headquarters in Scottsdale. (David Minton/Progress Staff Photographer)

A conference room in the offi ces of Lokahi Group has a stunning mural of a scene from Oahu, Hawaii. (David Minton/Progress Staff Photographer)

SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | MAY 15, 2022

Stylists prove mothers can do anything

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Progress Staff Writer

Amy Phillips was helping her mother move when she came across one of her class assignments. “It was a paper I wrote when I was 9 about what I wanted to be when I grew up,” Phillips said. “I said a hairdresser or a babysitter.” Phillips is living her dream with True Salon in the Scottsdale Airpark. She and fellow stylist Holly Canton founded the space earlier this spring. “We wanted people to feel comfortable and safe,” said Canton, a California native. “We wanted just a comfortable place for clients to get their hair done. It’s like you’re home, but you’re not. We knew it would be stressful, but if we did it together, it would be fun.” Located in Salon Plaza, True Salon offers haircuts and trims for children, preteen/ teen and adults; highlights; glaze; blow dry; men’s cuts; color correction and waxing. True Salon sells Virtue products that rebuild and restore hair. They have been touted by a myriad magazines as well as Oprah Winfrey. “We both wanted something that had a clean, fresh smell and was better for the environment,” Canton adds. “We tried it personally, because we try everything on us, and it’s incredible. “It’s an up-and-coming line. It’s all over Instagram and Sephora has it. It’s perfect.” Before Canton entered the industry 15 years ago, she wavered between playing professional soccer and doing hair. When she and her husband relocated to the Valley, she was hired by Cast Salon & Spa at High Street. There, she and Phillips, who also worked there, became acquainted with each other’s work. “I always dreamed of having my own really intimate place,” said Phillips, a Chicago native. “It took 26 years, but we did it.” “We wanted a place for our customers to feel comfortable, somewhere they can share their super exciting or sad news. We wanted something very cozy and intimate and where people felt safe.” The spot has stylists’ chairs, a shampoo bowl and a hutch that holds Virtue’s colorful bottles. Serene and cozy, like Phillips said, True Salon is perfect for individualized attention and it’s less intimidating than larger spaces. “Everybody is treated equally — if they’re famous or not,” Canton said. “That’s what we would want. I sometimes walk into stores looking like I just rolled out of bed, and they treat me weird. I’m still in there ready to buy something, though. It doesn’t matter who it is. We want everyone to feel equally welcome.” The salon’s moniker aligns with their beliefs as well. “We named it ‘True’ because we were being true to ourselves,” Phillips said. “We believe in each other. There are some technological issues that we struggle with, but we just �igure it out because we’re worth it. It would be a disservice to our families and daughters if we didn’t pursue our dreams. We’re showing our kids that mom can do everything.”

Holly Canton, left, and Amy Phillips, right, founded True Salon, located in Salon Plaza, earlier this spring.

(Dennis Murphy/Submitted Photo)

Information: 7077 E. Bell Road, Suite 200, Scottsdale truesalon.glossgenius.com