“What was once old can be made anew with much care and creativity,” Maria Rotondo Mark feels.
The owner of MakeOver Place in Clarkston will assist to you reach your full potential by achieving your best look.
Maria feels “when you look good, you feel good and when you feel good, you are good.”
But she’s not in the business of simply cutting hair, doing makeup or giving a manicure. She’s in the business of bringing out the best in you and having fun in the process.
Maria connects with you and gets to know you. So don’t expect to just be another number, another customer at MakeOver Place. She won’t have that.
In her salon, where “the sign on the door says welcome,” anyone can come in and feel comfortable. The atmosphere is warm, with soothing music playing quietly in the background, refreshments available and friendly conversation always on tap.
“It’s a place to collect yourself and rebuild yourself,” the 20-year Clarkston resident said.
Maria truly cares about everyone who walks in her door and she will give you the personal service you deserve. “My passion is people,” she smiles.
In fact, she lives by an old adage, which she’s tweaked a little, that says, “Do unto others as we do unto self. Do unto self as we do unto others.” This is key in her relationship with her clients. But just as the ending of that saying goes, Maria’s work at MakeOver Place hasn’t been a service only to her customers, but to herself as well.
After 28 years of marriage, raising two children as well as coaching her husband to achieve his status as a CEO, Maria and her husband divorced. What seemed like a “mid-life crisis” turned into a “mid-life opportunity.” She chose to rise up from this “devastating” experience and pick up the pieces, opening MakeOver Place 11 years ago. Since then, Maria has used her business as a place to evolve as a person.
Using this and other life experiences as a guide along with her extensive education, Maria, who grew up in Italy until coming to the U.S. at the age of 12, hopes this is what MakeOver Place can be for others; a place to grow.
Simply said, MakeOver Place is about “inside and outside expressions,” or mind, body and soul.
To accomplish this, Maria has added little personal touches to her store such as the “Hope in a Box.” At the front counter, a client can jot down a positive message anonymously for another client to take with them as they leave. The idea is to give hope when you have hope to give, or take hope if you need it. Maria calls them “spiritual nutrients in a day when hope is difficult to find or like when one is having a bad hair day.”
She also offers self-affirmation training twice a year. The essence here is to learn how to better know you in order to learn how to know others. The next class is scheduled to begin in April.
Maria’s drive to change how we perceive ourselves, and others, has spread to her community as well. For the past 10 years, she has facilitated WeUnite, an organization that brings youth and elders together to bridge the age gap and embrace the diversity. When asked about her own age, she said, “I’m old enough to be responsible and young enough to have fun.”
Maria still has more changes and goals in store for her community and salon, though she’s not exposing details as of yet on what her plans are.
Maria plans to bring fellow cosmetologist, Liz Hunter, full time to the salon at the end of spring.
Both Maria and Liz are excited about the perspective Liz will bring to the salon. The ageless, 17-year-old, who will graduate from the Michigan College of Beauty and Clarkston High School in spring, said she chose to work at MakeOver Place because she feels free to be herself.
Together, Maria and Liz offer specialized, individualized techniques for bringing out your best hair expression.
MakeOver Place is for men, women and children and offers perming, coloring, bleaching, highlighting, eyelash/eyebrow tinting, formal up-do’s, special design cutting, razoring, facial/eyebrow waxing, make-up, color consultations, European facials, conditioning treatments, manicures, and shoulder and back massage.
MakeOver Place is located at 5888 Dixie Hwy. in Clarkston. Hours are Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday ’til 4 p.m. and evenings by appointment. Walk-ins are always welcome. Call (248) 623-9348.