ATHOL — Sherri St. John never meant to be a business owner. She was working as a hairdresser in uptown Athol and selling real estate on the side when her boss asked Sherri to sell the salon at 9 Church St.
“I kind of always wanted to have my own shop but I really didn’t have the confidence,” said St. John, the owner and founder of Haircrafters who celebrated the salon’s 25th anniversary this year. “Looking back, I can see I could have done that and more.”
Today St. John has nearly 40 years experience as a hair stylist and a collection of rich stories from her own life and those shared by clients. Before opening Haircrafters in 1993, she traveled the country and worked at a salon in North Carolina, learning all the while. She even worked at the same Church Street location in Athol under different management decades ago.
“Sometimes people, they tell their hairdresser things they wouldn’t’ tell anybody,” St. John said. “It’s nice to be there for people.”
St. John said she wants to sell the store in a year but continue working there as a hairdresser. She wants transfer ownership to someone local and coach them, give advice and stay at the salon to work a couple days a week. Most importantly she wants someone in charge that can keep up her relationships with clientele.
“I don’t want to retire, I’m just tired of being the owner,” said 66-year-old St. John. “I really have an addiction to people and I love doing hair. I just get attached to my clients.”
St. John taught herself how to manage the business by taking courses in accounting, business and information technology when she opened Haircrafters. After several changes, renovations and expansions, Haircrafters today is evidence of Sherri’s labor of love.
“I figured things out as I went,” St. John said. “I’ve kind of invented my own system over the years.”
A good haircut starts with healthy hair, so early in her career St. John made educating her clients a priority. The waiting room is filled with magazines about hair, health and fitness, and she sells top-of-the-line shampoos and conditioners in the store. Once she even wrote an essay for a client who refused to cut their hair explaining how a fresh cut and the right products would make their life easier.
“One of my secrets of longevity is that I absolutely love what I do,” St. John said. “I always felt that if I could give a client a truly great haircut that can work for them, it’s a really powerful gift that lasts almost five weeks.”
As a volunteer for the American Cancer Society’s “Look Good Feel Better” program, St. John has given makeovers and donated cosmetic products to cancer patients going through chemotherapy while teaching them about skincare. Motivated by the loss of her aunt to breast cancer, St. John has helped raise over $10,000 for breast cancer research through a series of tag sales and other fundraisers by the salon.
For aspiring hairdressers, constantly reading and learning about current styles is essential to staying on top of the business, St. John said. She looks to her hair “guru” and renowned stylist Robert Cromeans for inspiration and prefers edgier cuts that add volume, depth and texture.
“I would not give anybody a style I would not wear personally,” St. John said. “I have to remember the head walking out that door is my advertisement.”
For some the salon has become a landmark, a gathering place and a home. Sherri might know everyone in town, and if not then she probably knows their in-laws. If you’re trying to remember the name of an old classmate or need help tracking down a long-lost relative, Haircrafters might be a good place to start.
“I hardly ever forget a face,” St. John said. “People who moved away ten years ago, they come right back.”
Sherry Prato, who goes by “CJ” to not be confused with the owner, works at the salon and said the social atmosphere makes it feel less like work.
“It’s like a family here,” Prato said.
Like any grandmother she wants to spend more time with her family, share meals and slow down, but leaving the salon will still be hard.
“It’s like I’m letting go of friends,” St. John said. “I don’t intend to stop, but just cutting back is hard.”
She plans to list the shop for sale through her grandson who works in real estate. The whole building block will soon be for sale, too, which includes a handful storefronts and apartments, St. John said.
“It could sell in a month, it could sell in four years. I don’t know,” St. John said.
Still, Sherri is an optimist and believes whatever changes are coming for Haircrafters will be for the best. In her free time she likes to write short stories, which help her reflect on her own life and process these major changes.
“Every trouble that’s come across in my life I’ve always looked at it as a blessing,” St. John said. “Most of the time I end up better for it.”
Sarah Robertson can be reached at srobertson@atholdailynews.com.