Open House festivities began on Friday afternoon, February 9, 2018, filling the interior of Hair Headquarters–or HHQ, as wall signage proclaimed–prior to the Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Several of the attending children spilled outside into the snow. There certainly were causes for celebration:
- former employee Myra Huizenga and husband Chad have become business owners
- she hired the former owner and two women who had worked with Charla Olson for years
- the building has been remodeled and redecorated inside
- it includes a fourth styling station for a possible future cosmetologist
- the salon will continue as a local business
- its popular staff remain available to customers.
The shop at 200 N. Madison Street, Morrison, IL, was built in 1980 by Michael and Charla Olson, to house her cosmetology enterprise. Carol Wolf became an immediate employee, offering services in hair and nails. Heather Bush has had a massage studio on the upper floor for 17 years. Olson sold the business in 2017 and now works part-time for Huizenga, cutting and coloring hair in the same spot.
Their enduring collaboration had a prophetic beginning. Huizenga told attendees her “family moved here when I was 12 years old. Charla cut my hair throughout the years. I always looked into that [northwest] corner and thought, ‘I’m going to work here someday.’ I did it 14 years later.” She thanked her parents, Daniel and Junee Cortes, and husband Chad, stating “your love and support mean everything to me.” There was high praise for her husband’s remodeling efforts, long hours, and willingness to accomplish her vision. He fabricated the black, metal shears and HHQ letters on the lobby wall. “He’s a heck of a handyman!”
On the porch, family members gathered. Left-to-right, front row, are sister Kristina Cortes with her son Jace, owner Myra Huizenga, son Blake, daughter Madelynn; back row, parents Daniel and Junee Cortes, husband Chad holding daughter Leah Huizenga, inlaws Denny and Janet Huizenga.
Wine and punch cups were raised in celebration of the continuity of Hair Headquarters and the four women who serve the public. The new owner honored the former, offering “a toast to Hair Headquarters for many more years to come!”
HHQ hours are Monday-through-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 to noon. Call 815-772-2333 for appointments for a hair cut, perm, or coloring and for manicures/pedicures. Call Heather Bush for massage appointments at 815-631-0880.
Circling left-to right around Huizenga in the new, sleek pedicure chair are Wolf, Bush, and Olson.
Six raffle baskets were presented to lucky winners. There were gifts to the new owner, too: a Hobby Lobby gift card, a photo album, flowers, and an embroidered apron.
Various savory and sweet refreshments were enjoyed, with special-request cookies baked by Becky Coons. Large, salon-themed, sugar cookies were iced and dotted with Coons’s own frosting. Bottles of shampoo, combs, scissors, and the letters HhQ adorned them. This dough recipe is a time saver, as “it does not need to be chilled before rolling,” she said. However, “the prepared cookies are put into the freezer for five minutes before baking, so they don’t spread.”
