About Us
Founder: Linda
Linda was born in New York City to Irish immigrant parents. Linda has been interested in hair for as long as she can remember. When she would play with her dolls as a child, she was always doing their hair: braids, curls with rollers, ponytails, etc. When she was ten, her parents decided to move their family back home to Ireland. Because of this interest in hair styling, her mother, Mary, was able to arrange with a local hair salon owner, Delia Grainey, to take her on as a shampoo girl when she was ten years old on Saturdays. She worked with Delia for about seven years. She went from shampoo girl to assistant.
When Linda made the decision to pursue hairdressing professionally, she entered into a four year apprenticeship training program with Philip Yourell at his salon, Hair Lines, in Galway City, Ireland. When she finished with her training, she worked as a senior stylist at his salon until deciding to open her own shop from her home. She worked for herself until deciding to move back to America with her husband and children in 1988.
She devoted most of her time to taking care of her young family while taking on freelance hairdressing jobs when it worked with her schedule. Once her children were a little older, she decided to go back to hairdressing on a regular schedule. She enrolled in the prestigious Jingles International which was a school and full operational salon in Union Square. Jingles International had a London location as well where she had previously taken workshops during her time in Ireland.
At the Manhattan location, she entered into the advanced training program. Classes were in the morning and hands-on work was in the afternoons and evenings. After being in Jingles for a few months, she also took on days at a salon in Forest Hills, Queens called Vera Moda.
After keeping this schedule for about a year, she decided she wanted a better work-life balance. On a drive with her husband one evening, they passed a commercial property for rent. They came home and called the listed number and went to view it. She came home that night with a signed lease! It was that night in the late summer of 1997 that Celtic Hair Design was born.
Celtic Hair Design moved locations in the fall of 1999 to Grand Avenue. This has been the salon’s home ever since. A few years ago, Linda decided she needed a new challenge. When the storefront next to the salon became available, Linda decided to expand her business and open a holistic center. The Angelite Holistic Center officially opened in February 2022. The two businesses are connected by a doorway inside so clients can get their hair done and then partake in the center’s services such as acupuncture, reiki and skincare.
In September 2022, Celtic will be open 25 years. We look forward to 25 more with Linda passing the torch to her daughter, Alanna, who has been with her since the first day Linda opened. Alanna, now an adult, is her mother’s right hand woman. Celtic and now Angelite is a family business that loves its community and plans to be here for many more years.
