ALTON - Chris Hinkle, owner of Piasa Body Art on the corner of East Broadway and Henry Street has opened another shop in his building - a hair salon.
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Managed by six-year hairdresser Kaylin Gauthier, the Salon at Piasa is a new experiment for Hinkle, which opened for its first customers Thursday morning at 11 a.m. While hairdressing and tattooing may not be immediately recognizable as similar to most, Hinkle believes the two professions have a lot of things in common.
"They're both one-on-one hands-on professions dedicated to making people look good and feel good about how they look," Hinkle said.
Originally, Hinkle wanted to use the space as an art supply shop, but realized a few months ago that idea may have to wait.
"Art supplies are expensive, and you may have to spend a lot of money and wait a while for people to come buy them," he said. "It's kind of a luxury thing, but I'm not giving up on it yet."
He said he wanted to wait at least a year before adding to the shop, so he could see how it would do. He also said he wanted to keep track of the foot traffic outside the shop. Judging by the amount of people passing by, Hinkle believed a salon would be a good fit for the shop.
He hired Gauthier as a manager and called Mallory Hauk as an additional stylist. Gauthier said two additional chairs will most likely be open to full-time stylists as the business grows as well.
When asked what makes the salon different than others across the area, Hauk said the view.
"Just look at it out there," she said, gesturing toward a panoramic view of the Clark Bridge and steamboat mural.
Gauthier said the salon will also be straight-razor certified in November, once she finishes her certification, which will add to the overall ambiance of the salon attached to the tattoo shop.
She also said walk-ins were welcomed, and people could call ahead for an appointment at (618) 462-1720, which is currently the number for Piasa Body Art as well. On Facebook, they can be found at the Salon at Piasa.
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