Patty Thomas, who has operated hair salon Hair & Company since 1985, just reopened her shop at a new location at 40 Main Street in South Paris Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat
PARIS — After decades as a Main Street, Norway, mainstay, Hair & Company has moved to a new home at 40 Main St. in South Paris.
When the building the hair salon was previously located at on Main Street in Norway sold to Katherine Olinkiewicz, who will move her bakery and café there in early spring, owner Patty Thomas had to come up with a new game plan, quickly. Not ready for retirement or to part with her stylist partner Tammy Durgin, the pair found and secured a new storefront, renovated it and were ready to reopen Hair & Company in a matter of weeks.
“We opened at our new location here on Jan. 5,” said Thomas. “We’re settling in great. I was definitely ready to downsize, and I’m really enjoying South Paris. I had been at 248 Main Street in Norway since 1985. I’ve been doing hair for 45 years and Tam has been doing it for 35 years.
The front windows at Hair & Company’s new home in South Paris are just the right height for Sully the greeter to welcome customers inside. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat
“I wish Katherine well at our old place. I had some great years there and I hope she will too.”
Thomas said the change of venue has been a nice refresh after so much time in one place. Hair & Company is getting new exposure, spurred by new neighbors surrounding them.
“We’ve had new clients calling, and where we’re next to H&R Block, new people have been stopping in and picking up business cards,” Thomas shared. “I expect we’ll see some new customers. I don’t know of any other [hair salons] in South Paris. I like being tucked into the business district here.”
Thomas’ shop in Norway had more space, but it was space she was no longer utilizing. For almost two years she had tried to recruit a third stylist to occupy a vacant station in the shop with no success.
“We’re very comfortable” with the cozier layout, she said. “We redid the whole salon, and bought new equipment. We upgraded a lot of the furniture, and we have many more windows and natural light now.”
Thomas and Durgin found out the day before Thanksgiving last year that 248 Main Street, Norway had sold and they would need to vacate. It was a daunting challenge but one that was almost seamlessly solved.
“I had looked at this space a while ago, but there were three of us then and there just wouldn’t have been enough room,” she said. “Tammy saw that it was available so we looked at it the week after Thanksgiving. We signed the lease and got the keys within a couple of days. By Friday we were ripping the floor up.”
Even though the move-out deadline Thomas was given to vacate was Jan. 31, she and Durgin did not stick to it. They wanted to start the new year in a new home.
Tammy Durgin (left), one of Hair & Company’s two stylists, works her craft on customer Sharon Skillings’s locks. Durgin has been doing Skilling’s hair for 27 years. Hair & Company recently moved from Main Street in Norway to 40 Main Street in South Paris. “We didn’t need as much space as we had before,” Durgin said. “I’m glad I kept my eye out. We did a lot of renovation, and it’s nice and cozy for us.” Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat
By Jan. 6, the day Olinkiewicz closed on purchasing the Norway building, Hair & Company had already reopened in South Paris.
“We wanted to be in by Jan. 4 and we missed it by one day,” Thomas said. “The first week we were here we were very tired. Before the move we were spending 40 hours a week in Norway and then coming over here at night. We did all the work and moved within six weeks.
“The list is endless of people who helped – painters, electricians, people doing the flooring. Living in a small town, it’s absolutely amazing. We called, they were here. We closed, I’ll call it Hair & Company I, on Dec. 27 and that night we took out the sinks and everything we needed to bring over here.”
Hair & Company is open Tuesday through Friday and half-day on Saturdays.
“We can take walk-ins if we have the space on our schedule,” Thomas said. “But calling for an appointment is always best.”
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