MEET OUR TEAM
GILDA SANTIAGO AND CHRISTINE DIBENEDETTO, TWO GIRLS WITH CURLS and a passion for teaching, MET OVER TWO DECADES AGO AND DECIDED THEY HAD AN IDEA FOR A SALON WHOSE TIME HAD COME. A PLACE WHERE THE EDUCATED STYLIST WANTS TO CONTINUE LEARNING AND THE EDUCATED CLIENT WANTS TO BE SERVED, INCLUDED, AND HEARD. WINK IS THE RESULT. We are proud of all the talented hair stylists who have been a part of our work family for the past two decades.
SINCE OPENING ITS DOORS IN 2005, WINK HAS BEEN AWARDED ‘BEST OF’ IN MOUNTAIN XPRESS' READERS POLLS FROM 2005 TO 2021. EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.
MEET THE ONES WHO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT OUR ENTIRE TEAM
ASSOCIATES
CAROLINE
BECCA
SASHA
CINDY
LEVEL 2
MEGAN
biltmore village location
olaplex certified, barbicide certified, aveda graduate
Kind and helpful, she is a great listener and loves to make her clients’ hair dreams come true! A graduate of Aveda, Megan enjoys working with all hair types.
WARNER
doctor’s park location
Makeup artist, paul mitchell graduate, K18 CERTIFIED, olaplex certified, barbicide certified
Warner loves working on curly hair, short hair, doing technical precision haircuts, and razor cutting. LOVES curly cuts.
In the color world, she enjoys Balayage, vivid (fashion) color, reds, & brunettes.
I am the perfect stylist for you if… you are looking for someone who truly listens and makes you feel validated.
CASSI
doctor’s park location
olaplex certified, K18 CERTIFIED
Cassi loves working with curly hair and doing all color services, especially dimensional color!
LEVEL 3
CARLY RENEE
biltmore village location
OLAPLEX CERTIFIED, BARBICIDE CERTIFIED
Fashion-forward and dedicated to her hair craft, Carly has been an integral part of the Wink family and is ready to rock behind the chair!
Personality: Cool, Chill, Personable
Style: Cool, Trendy, Boho Chic
I am the perfect stylist for you if… you enjoy good conversation, long-lasting color, and precision cuts.
MILLIE
doctor’s park location
keune academy graduate, barbicide certified
Quirky, Bubbly, Honest, a hiking enthusiast, Asheville was a perfect fit for Millie! She loves helping people achieve confidence and the creativity involved in doing hair. Loves Funky, Lived in color, natural looks .
I am the perfect stylist for you if… you love to talk about animals, nature and want to achieve healthy hair.
DANIELA
biltmore village location
olaplex certified
Daniela’s passion is creating naturally beautiful lived-in color that is effortlessly gorgeous.
MYA
biltmore village location
Olaplex Certified
A native of Asheville, Mya graduated from cosmetology school in December of 21.
Mya is living her best life when she is working with curly hair or giving her clients beautiful blended highlights.
LEVEL 4
EMILY COLEMAN
biltmore village location
olaplex certified, barbicide certified, aveda graduate
10 years in the business and a graduate of The Aveda Institute; Emily is a lover of blonding, balayage, and fashion colors. She is also certified in Bellami Extensions (tape-in extensions).
CASSIDY PAUL
biltmore village location
OLAPLEX CERTIFIED, BARBICIDE CERTIFIED, aveda graduate
A graduate of The Aveda Institute and trained by a Vidal Sassoon educator, she loves precision cutting, curly cutting, and the details of hair. She’s funny, cool, friendly and easy to talk to
Specialties: Curly Cuts
I am the perfect stylist for you if… you enjoy natural curls, bright blondes, and like to laugh
KRISTEN
biltmore village location
Paul mitchell graduate
A recent transplant from Charleston, SC, Kristen is the definition of a people person - her favorite part about doing hair is the connection she feels to her clients. Kristen loves creating lived-in color, especially blondes and reds!
Specialties: Blonding
Personality: Friendly, Cheerful, Bubbly, Funny
Style: Cool, Trendy, Boho Chic
I am the perfect stylist for you if… you want to make a new friend, like shades of red, lived-in blondes, and long-layer cuts.
VALERIE
ORIBE AMBASSADOR
Workdays: Wednesday through Saturday
Taking New Clients: Yes
Personality: Cheerful hair nerd
Style: Casual with a fun shoe
I m the perfect stylist for you if…
You want dimensional low maintenance bobs or long hair, effortless glamorous
LEVEL 5
ANNA McPHERSON
biltmore village location
AMERICAN BOARD CERTIFIED HAIR Colorist, OLAPLEX CERTIFIED, BARBICIDE CERTIFIED
Anna does not work with curly hair / Anna is currently not taking new clients
Anna is an America Board Certified Colorist with almost a decade in the business. She is fast, friendly and passionate about her career. Well versed in all aspects of hair, she also is the only stylist at WINK offering Brazillian Blowouts. Her specialty is highlights and color, she makes challenges look easy.
RYANE PEPITONE
doctor’s park location
GOLDWELL MASTER COLORIST/blonding specialist. BALAYAGE QUEEN, K18 CERTIFIED, OLAPLEX CERTIFIED, BARBICIDE CERTIFIED
Licensed in 2015, Ryane has been staying sharp with continued education as a Master Colorist Stylist with Goldwell. She is also Devacurl certified, along with training in Peter Coppola, Pulp Riot, Redken, KMS, and Olaplex.
Ryane is committed to performing her craft exceptionally well and continually strives to improve herself in the areas of education, both within the salon setting and in the external professional beauty community.
Personality: confident, creative, ambitious, cheerful
Style: casual yet classy (idc about getting bleach on me while working type of gal)
I am the perfect stylist for you if…
You want your cake and to eat it too, low maintenance, high impact
LEVEL 6
JENNIFER GRISAFI
biltmore village location
lead educator wink u,Goldwell master colorist level 3, Olaplex certified, Barbicide Certified
“I take pride in hair craft and I promise my clients that I’ll always be honest about what I think would look best on them. I’m a great listener and will always steer them in the best possible direction based on their lifestyle and overall maintenance levels.”
Specialties: Edgy, pixies, bobs, highlights, grey blending, coppers, reds
Jennifer is extremely keen on authenticity, both as a stylist and with her clients’ hair. She wants each one to get exactly what they wanted, but better - and with an eye on healthy hair. According to her, “the health of my clients’ hair is always number one.” “I have in-depth knowledge of color. I love it, live it and breathe it.” She also loves trendy and edgy haircuts with great texture and full of soft movement.
JORDAN CARLSON
biltmore village location
LEAD EDUCATOR WINK U, GOLDWELL MASTER COLORIST LEVEL 3, Barbicide Certified, HUMBLE HAIRDRESSER
Jordan on Instagram
Humble Hairdressers on Instagram
“I love balance, short cuts, and the geometry of creating those - - - when geometry meets art.”
Jordan is about creativity, warmth, tact and unbridled energy. Part of his POV has been developed by traveling nationally with KMS to train other stylists and being part of a positive environment.
He’s been in the business for almost 20 years and at WINK for 10
He is an asset to WINK and the community and is the founder of Humble Hairdressers, a non-profit with the goal of taking care of those in the community who need a little help in the form of a haircut, shave and helping hand.
CONCIERGE
MARY BETH
salon manager
Welcome to Wink…If you're new, she's your angel. If you've been coming here for a minute, you know her smile and sense of service.
Mary Beth is providing an important piece of WINK: service with attention. "Honestly - showing and seeing random acts of kindness and always seeing our people leave with a smile/feeling good about themselves warms my heart."
Part-time yoga teacher, full-time bad-ass.
CARLINE
fRONT OF HOUSE CONCIERGE
WAYLAN
FRONT OF HOUSE CONCIERGE
LISA
OWNERS
CHRISTINE DI BENEDETTO
CO-OWNER & EXECUTIVE OF WINK
Business Coach & Consultant
Christine has retired from being behind the chair.
Christine is a prism. Depending on where you're standing, you'll get a former designer and stylist, a business owner with a sharp mind and drive, a mentor, and motivator focused on the care and feeding of her clients and fellow stylists.
Currently, Christine is not taking clients she is running the business and is the lead trainer for Curly Hair and Thin Hair in our salon. Christine is a course creator, having written an e-course to help stylists work with clients with Thin Hair. Christine coaches businesses and salon owners and teaches Business Foundation Planning/ Alpine through Mountain Biz-Works and LOVES it . She has written curriculums for working with thinning hair clients, 2- day Curly Hair workshops, Hiring: Talent, Train and Retain, and Creating Specialties in your Salon, In her past life as a successful stylist Christine was awarded Best Hairdresser by the Mountain Express Readers Poll 5 x, a platform artist for Rusk International, Advanced Deva Curl Stylist, Certified Rene Furterer Scalp Therapist, Member of Rene Furterer Pro- Team.
Finally, Christine is a mom to her two athletic kids. She loves cooking, cookbooks, cooking shows, pilates, CBS Sunday Morning, being outside, smart comedies, business books, documentaries, and being on the lake.
Interested in business coaching ? email coachchristine72@gmail.com
GILDA SANTIAGO
CO-OWNER & EXECUTIVE OF WINK, lead educator wink u, ORIBE AMBASSADOR, RUSK MASTER STYLIST, K18 & OLAPLEX CERTIFIED, BARBICIDE CERTIFIED,& INSPIRATION,
Gilda brings the juice. Not only did she co-found WINK with Christine DiBenedetto, she has been a stylist for 36 years. Her coworkers talk about her with reverence and deep affection.
Gilda (pronounced Jill-duh, in case you were wondering or haven’t met her yet) is from Los Angeles, was an educator for Rusk International - a product line she introduced to the community of Asheville stylists - and has trained stylists all over the US for over 30 years.
Beyond training, she has personally styled clients from LA to WNC and many points in between and inspired former clients and friends to start their own successful styling businesses.
While Gilda’s got curls in a shop that specializes in them, she LOVES to cut straight hair, bobs and to create inventive, short and detailed styles. She is a grounding force at WINK, trains the apprentices at the salon, and easily accommodates clients with her philosophy that customer service means seeing happy faces, making sure that clients are met with smiles, being inclusive and meeting every client need - no matter what that means.
Finally, Gilda is a family gal. She loves spending time with her husband and two wonderful sons. Gilda loves exercise, gardening, decorating and good wine and good food.
JAY MELANCON
wink team leader, MASTER BARBER, Board Member of Carolina College of Hair Design & AB TECH, Goldwell Master colorist level 3, K18 & Olaplex certified, Barbicide Certified
Jay on Instagram
Humble Hairdressers on Instagram
Jay is not currently accepting new clients
WINK’s Team Leader, Jay apprenticed with Candy Shaw/ Jamison Shaw Hairdressers in Atlanta. He quickly became an educator there, as well as for Sunlights Balayage highlighting for 3 years, Jamison Shaw French Haircutting System for 4 years, and a leader in men’s cutting techniques.
He loves creating natural highlights, bobs, long layers, short trendy and textured styles, and ALL men’s styles. He is really both a barber and a stylist.
Jay is a Board Member of Carolina College of Hair Design and is very passionate about education and training for the future of the Hair Industry. He’s also a constant contributor and asset to Humble Hairdressers, the non-profit outreach organization that he, Jordan Carlson, and other WINK members keep alive and active.