Salon passes to new ownership

After years as a little girl watching her aunt do hair, Lucy Hemmelgarn knew what she wanted to do when she grew up.

“My aunt did hair and that really inspired me,” Hemmelgarn said. “She always looked like she was enjoying herself and I just loved watching her get to create something new.”

Now after going through cosmetology school and having practiced styling for three years, the 20-year-old is the owner of her own hair salon in Portland.

Shine Hair Salon, formerly known as A Cut Above, 110 W. Rogers St., has been under Hemmelgarn’s ownership since Feb. 1. When previous owner Sheila Snyder retired and was planning to close the salon after more than 30 years, Hemmelgarn knew she had to take advantage of the opportunity.

“I had formerly applied to work at the salon and the owner said she would rather just sell the building instead of hire,” Hemmelgarn said. “After lots of talks with my parents, I decided to purchase the salon. We signed the papers in January and got to work on the remodel. I knew I wanted to open Feb. 1, which left us with a month to do the transformation. With lots of help from family and friends I was able to open this beautiful shop.”

Under Hemmelgarn’s ownership, the inside of the salon has been completely altered.

“I wanted to give the place a little update,” she said. “It still had old carpet from when the building belonged to an eye doctor that we replaced. We also took out some walls in several little rooms to make more space to be able to do the work we need. It is very modern now and something that I’m pretty proud of.”

While owning a business at a young age seemed intimidating at first, Hemmelgarn said she hasn’t faced any significant challenges so far in her journey with the salon. The important thing for her is the goal of being able to offer great services to the Jay County community.  

“My goal for this shop it to provide a place where men and women, boys and girls can come to receive quality service,” Hemmelgarn said. “I want each individual who walks through my door to feel welcome and taken care of throughout their whole visitation. When my clients leave I want them to feel refreshed and confident.”

The salon, which carries all-natural hair products, offers a wide variety of services including haircuts, coloring, waxing, perms, updos and Malibu treatments. 

Having previously worked at a salon in Coldwater, Ohio, and now being the only hair stylist currently at Shine Hair Salon, Hemmelgarn said she is just getting started and wants to get clientele and “all the little things” figured out before she begins to hire more staff

The salon is open from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Appointments can be scheduled by calling (260) 726-8600.