Tiny town in a hairy situation
N.W.T. community has salon, but no hairdresser in sight
Wanted: one hairdresser. Must be willing to relocate.
The town of Norman Wells, N.W.T., could be on the fringes of a new “do” after going two years without a professional hairstylist.
After years of exclusively getting out-of-town hair cuts, Nicky Richards is spreading the word about the lack of hair care in Norman Wells, a place she has called home for 35 years.
As an economic development officer, Richards assists local entrepreneurs to start businesses, but as a denizen of the stylist-less town, she is seeking a professional hairstylist to fill in a space ready for haircuts.
“It’s a ready-made salon in a local hotel, complete with two stylists’ chairs, mirrors and sinks,” she says.
Richard recalls the last time Norman Wells had a hair stylist was two years ago, when “somebody’s wife had come up for two weeks.” Following that, the town had a five-year hair stylist-free stint.
Even town Councillor Lise Dolen can admit that Norman Wells is a “pretty shaggy place.”
“It is a great opportunity for someone if they are interested because there’s a place set up,” Dolen said. “Other than the issue of finding housing, they’d make killing up here, because there are a lot of shaggy people.”
So how have the people of Norman Wells dealt without a stylist? Rich- ards says that what people get used to doing is waiting, or doing it themselves.
“Everyone goes out for a holiday at some point, so we wait for the holiday,” she says. “When we go out of town we go grocery shopping, get our hair done, see the doctor and see our dentist.”
But now that there’s a chair to fill, people are starting to come forward with their scissors. Stylists from as far as South Africa have responded to Norman Wells, and an award-winning stylist came up from Edmonton for a week at the end of February.
For the stylists heading up to Norman Wells, Richards says there will already be a place to call home. “All you have to do is come with your scissors and your product and start your own business there, just by paying rent.”