Wild Heart Beauty, a family-owned business, opened its doors on Feb. 19 and aims to build strong relationships with community members and clientele as the four family members have set up shop in the heart of Yelm.
Pepsy Mcgill, her daughters Tayelyn Cutler and Brooklyn Cutler, and their cousin Presly Littlejohn have their own business ventures in the world of beauty. Mcgill and Littlejohn are both hairstylists, while Tayelyn Cutler is an esthetician, and Brooklyn Cutler is a massage therapist.
“I grew up in a salon and worked side by side with my mom and my aunt and wanted to give back to my girls and create a safe, warm, happy workspace, just like I had the last 25 years. Now it’s my turn. I’ve had great role models in the beauty industry: my mom, Patty Thompson, and aunt Bonnie Inman. They taught me great work ethic and to never give up, and I am sad to not be working next to them but excited for our new adventure,” Mcgill said. “We’re all family, it all started with Bon Jon’s down in Yelm. I decided to get this space, and we all wanted to be together. I’m not growing my clientele anymore, but I wanted to help them out.”
Hours at Wild Heart Beauty are through appointment only. Tayelyn Cutler can be emailed at TayelynCutler23@gmail.com or on Instagram @_wildheartbeauty_, and Brooklyn can be reached through Facebook messenger and Instagram at Brooklyn Cutler Massage. Littlejohn can be reached at “looksby_littlejohn” on Instagram.
“I love that I get to work and grow my small business with my family. Yelm has always had a special place in my heart because of how amazing our community is and how all of us Yelm people love to support each other,” Tayelyn Cutler said. “I’m so blessed to have had a family who grew up in Yelm and so thankful to have so many close connections with people, which is also why I have built my clientele so fast.”
Tayelyn Cutler, a 2019 Yelm High School graduate, added that she specializes in lash extensions and eyebrows and also does customized and relaxation facials.
“Since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be in the beauty industry, just like my mom, nana and all my aunts, because I have looked up to all of them and wanted to follow in my family’s footsteps,” she said.
Littlejohn has been a hairstylist for several years now and said she does a lot of “lived-in” coloring along with a lot of blonding and extensions. She graduated from YHS in 2019 and is working to build her clientele in Yelm, after previously working at a beauty salon in Centralia.
“I’m really excited to be out here where I grew up. I feel like it’s going to open up my business a lot more, just being back in my hometown and being 10 minutes from my house. You can’t beat it. Working with family, you can’t beat that either,” Littlejohn said. “I have my cards at Worthy Coffee Co. If anybody ever sees me out and about, they can ask me for a card, as well. My Instagram is usually big for booking too.”
Brooklyn Cutler, a 2020 YHS graduate, began her career as a massage therapist after graduating from Bodymechanics School of Myotherapy and Massage in August of 2023. She offers a variety of massages, including relaxation and her specialty, treatment work.
“Soon, I’m going to get certified in scalp treatment stuff, so I’ll be doing things for people’s hair and doing massage with it,” Brooklyn said. “I like working with my family because it doesn’t feel like work. It’s fun to be around my mom, my sister and my cousin – I like it a lot.”
Brooklyn added that she loves working in Yelm because she’s already familiar with a lot of people within the area.
“Yelm has been my home,” she said. “It’s nice working where I am comfortable.”
Wild Heart Beauty aims to create a family-like environment with its patrons.
“That’s what Bon Jon’s was in the past. We weren’t family, but it felt like we were family. That’s what I want to create. I don’t want to be anybody’s boss. I just wanted to create a happy space,” Mcgill said. “When COVID happened and we lost the salon downtown, we did it out of our home. I’ve been waiting for a space to become available. I think the location is going to be really great.”
Tayelyn Cutler added that soon, Wild Heart Beauty will have a small clothing boutique in the salon.
“It’s always been a dream of mine,” she said. “We want to have high fashionable clothes but also a mix of affordable and thrifted clothing.”
Wild Heart Beauty is located at 715 E. Yelm Ave.
