Business of the Week: Shear Madness

If you haven’t stopped by to see one of Main Street’s newest salons, you may want to peek in. , formally called Nautical Salon, is under not only under a new name, but new ownership.

“It’s just a fresh start,” said Kim Van Note, owner.

Van Note, who has been a hair stylist for 25 years, had been working at Nautical Salon for six years under then owner Vicky Clayton. Prior to working with Clayton, she worked at other salons including Fantastic Sam’s.

“I’d actually rented a Victorian house on Solano Street and I used to drive by here every day,” said Van Note. “I thought it’d be a great place to work at by my house.”

Since becoming owner in January, Van Note has made many changes besides the name. The 25-year-old salon now has a beauty supply within it with an array of different hair products available for purchase. The interior design, too, is quite different from before. Originally the salon had a golden-burgundy scheme. Now with new flooring, shelving, and painted walls, the salons look is closer to a combination Victorian and modern theme. Van Note likes that salon also compliments the look of Old Suisun.

“It’s like a home away from home,” she said.

Mary Bastian has been working at the salon for over a year and loves that she gets along so well with her the all six of the shop’s stylists.

“We work as a team,” said Bastian. “Everybody’s included in everything… we all take care of each other and have each other’s back.”

Bastian was working for Supercuts for twenty years before she came to the salon that was, then, still called Nautical. She said she enjoyed not only the atmosphere but that the shop is very invested in continuing education. The stylists frequently attend classes and hair shows to keep up with hair trends and learn new techniques. The shop also offers many classes at its location that they invite other stylists to attend free of charge.

“We try to have ongoing education at the salon all year long,” said Van Note.

Outreach to the community is very big to the ladies of Shear Madness. Not only do they welcome locals and long time customers to come in for a visit, but the group just recently volunteered at 13^th annual “Workout for Hope,” an event that raises money for St. Jude's Chidlren's Research Hospital. They are also planning on helping Cordelia's Tri-Valley Little League with an opening celebration and will volunteer at this year’s Mother’s Day celebration at the Waterfront.

 Van Note hopes to have an opening celebration of her own for the salon. She said that people have been asking her a lot about it but she would like to wait until the weather warms up a bit.

“We’re members of the (Fairfield-Suisun) Chamber of Commerce so we want to have a ribbon cutting slash charity event that day,” said Van Note.