About Us
Apply NowA Brief History
In December 1988, Anita Coppedge and her daughter, Kim Matthews, formed a partnership and opened their first salon, Reflections of You. Their business took off rapidly, and within two years, they outgrew their space. While Anita and Kim were contemplating leasing more space, one of their competitors approached them about acquiring her business. An interesting part of her operation was the “Florida School of Nail Technology,” the only private nail technology school in North Florida.
In April 1990, they agreed to buy the business. Anita and Kim took care of their expanding clientele during the day and held classes at night, starting with a group of ten students. But, within two years, they were cramped for space and faced another expansion. But this time, it resulted in a steady increase of new students. One of the reasons for the increase can be attributed to its reputation as a quality nail school.
In February 1992, they moved into a location on Capital Circle NE and rented an 1800 sq. ft. space. This new location began nail classes immediately, with 25 students enrolled. With the nail industry booming in the 1990’s Anita and Kim expanded on the nail classes. It didn’t take long to realize that the skin care industry was just beginning to take off.
They held their first skin care class in April of 1994, thus changing the name to Florida school of Esthetics and Nail Technology Inc. With the popularity of nail and skin care classes, they decided to take the next major step in January 1998. After renovating the space next door, they started the cosmetology course with 9 students and big dreams. This growth and expansion gave birth to what is now known as North Florida Cosmetology Institute Inc. If you lived in Tallahassee in 1998, then you lived the nightmare of the expansion of Capital Circle NE. With a lot of hard work, dedication and plenty of prayers, they survived the business growth and road expansion.
The Cosmetology program grew rapidly in 2000 and in April of 2001, they expanded again. This made a total of 3 rental spaces of 5400 sq. ft. to accommodate their growing business. This was around the same time that North Florida Cosmetology Institute became accredited by NACCAS (National Accrediting Commission of Careers Arts & Sciences). The business growth exceeded expectations with NACCAS certification. Enrollment in the cosmetology program has practically doubled each year since it began in 1998.
In early 2004, Anita and Kim knew they had outgrown their current location. After searching for quite some time, they found a building on Allen Road, just north of the Tallahassee Mall. It was a perfect 9400 sq. ft. building with adequate parking. They completed the purchase in late August 2004. After countless hours of renovation and hard work, which could not have happened without their family and friends, they opened their new location at 2424 Allen Road on November 9, 2004.
In August 2007, they expanded their curriculum to include Barber classes. This program has taken off with a boom. They have made countless improvements to their building over the years and are sure there is more to come.
The mother and daughter team are extremely proud of their accomplishments and the North Florida Cosmetology Institute’s campus. Most of all, they are proud of the past, present, and future students who have made their business a success and created some of the finest hairdressers, nail technicians, skin care specialists, and barbers throughout Florida and Georgia!
The school has a great staff and offers full-time classes with flexible hours and services for the public in hair, skin, and nails. All service work is done under the supervision of qualified instructors.
Anita and Kim had an open house and a 15th year anniversary on January 21, 2005, with great success and over 250 guests attending. In addition, the students and staff took part in an Avant Guard Hair Show. The show’s success has created a desire by the students and staff to have other shows in the future.
In October 2006 and October 2007, they had a beauty show at the Elks Club to benefit the Leukemia Foundation. Unfortunately, one of their beloved students passed away from this dreadful illness. They and their fantastic staff raised seven thousand dollars for the student’s family and foundation. They also had two different blood drives and bone marrow drives, collecting over 140 pints of usable blood.
In 2020 Anita and Kim celebrated 30 years in Business in Tallahassee. We had a fabulous party scheduled, but COVID had other plans for the year.
School Hours are Tuesday thru Thursday, 9 AM-9 PM, and Friday and Saturday, 9 AM – 5 PM.
Please call to schedule an appointment at 850-878-5269.
Ready for a Great Learning Experience?
We are happy to answer any questions you may have about the Cosmetology or Barber profession, our services, the school or any related matter.
Call us at 850.878.5269, or email us directly by filling out the form.