Business & Tech

NJ Teen’s Successful Beauty Salon Inspires Pride In East Orange

Maylani Brown, 18, says she picked East Orange to launch her business in because it's a "reflection of herself."

East Orange officials held a ribbon cutting ceremony to welcome 18-year-old Maylani Brown as its newest and youngest small storefont business owner on Monday.
East Orange officials held a ribbon cutting ceremony to welcome 18-year-old Maylani Brown as its newest and youngest small storefont business owner on Monday. (Photo courtesy of the City of East Orange, used with permission)

EAST ORANGE, NJ — Maylani Brown says she picked East Orange to launch her business in because it’s a “reflection of herself.” And that community spirit will hopefully be returned to her a hundredfold as she becomes the city’s youngest and newest small storefront business owner.

On Monday, city officials gave a hearty congratulations to Brown, 18, and her labor of love, Maylani’s Beauty Garden, located at 396 North Walnut Street.

East Orange officials wrote:

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“Truly an inspiration, Maylani opened up Maylani’s Beauty Garden at 396 North Walnut Street in the heart of lower Main Street and our Transit Village last October. A recent graduate of Passaic Valley High School in Little Falls, the Bronx-raised native has always possessed an entrepreneurial spirit and saved her money to invest in the salon with the unwavering support of her mother, Fatima Woods, an interior designer who helped bring her daughter’s vision to life. Maylani said she chose to invest in East Orange because she appreciated the diversity of our community which she said was a reflection of her.”

Maylani’s Beauty Garden is open Monday through Saturday between 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Specialties include wigs, weaves, braids, extensions and nails, and soon, makeup art.

“Buoyed by her initial success, Maylani has already also entered into a partnership to purchase the next-door property which she plans to open as a clothing and hair boutique to complement her beauty garden, which we hope won’t be a secret much longer,” East Orange officials said.

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To learn more about Maylani’s Beauty Garden or to make an appointment, call 862-252-9792/973-968-4448 or visit the Instagram page@maylanisbeautygarden.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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