“They’re just a group of hairdressers, like me, who’ve had years in the business,” says Artistic Kut N’ Kurl owner Shelley Camacho. “A lot of salons don’t want these older hairdressers. They are considered dead wood. Shame on them, because these stylists know it all. I’ve gone and collected all the so-called dead wood and they’re all awesome.”
Considering she turned around a bankrupt business with some clever marketing and a lick of colourful paint, Shelley’s pretty awesome herself. She took over the salon in 2008 after its previous owner had bankrupted it in only five years. Prior to that, it had been a fixture family business in Bowmanville since 1937. “I advertised cheap haircuts for men. They were so satisfied with the job and the price they asked us what the catch was,” says Shelley. “I told them I wanted their wives to come and try us out!”
The salon also underwent a facelift since it hadn’t been touched since the 1950s. Shelley painted it bright purple, which caught the eye of the locals. “Imagine a purple salon in Bowmanville,” she laughs. Business started to thrive as clients left happy with their expert cuts, colours, perms, blow-dries, roller sets and barbering services.
