In order to start Rabe & Co., we had to jump a pretty big ship. It was scary, but we went for it. Which is why there’s nothing we love more than helping others go rogue. Melyssa Hurley is a super-talented, scissor-wielding outlaw stylist who left a big Aveda chain and worked her hands raw to open her own salon on NYC’s Upper East Side. Naming it for her grandfather Thomas Taft, who owned his own hardware store, Melyssa follows in his footsteps by focusing on careful, personal craftsmanship instead of by-the-book services and product pushing. And she wanted a mark that paid homage to the shingle that hung outside the original Thomas Taft shop, but with an updated, modern simplicity that reflects her personal style as well. Old meets new? We wouldn’t have it any other way.