Sagamore barbershop and hair salon has new home

by Chris Collins

After seven years in operation on Olde 8 Road, Aprile’s Barber Shop and Salon has moved to a new, larger facility that provides the opportunity for growth. Co-owners Kristin Clines and Lindsey Hutton said they also wanted to have a more visible location.

“We wanted to expand and be in a storefront on 82 [West Aurora Road],” said Clines.

She said the former location only had two chairs and limited space, but the new shop at 419 West Aurora Rd. has room for 10 chairs and separate rooms for hair coloring and a nail technician.

“It’s a much larger space and Lindsey and I built for this next step,” said Clines.

Hutton added that the larger shop allows them to have eight other hair stylists and barbers that are “booth renters,” meaning they rent chair space and have their own clients. “It’s just brighter,” Hutton said. “We just love having their people with us.”

Aprile’s opened at its former location in 2015 and the opportunity to move came rather suddenly. Hutton said they learned that the space on West Aurora Road was available when the owner of the previous business—a custom hair design shop—decided to close at the end of April.

Because they had been at the old location past the original five-year lease, they were on a month-to-month rental, so they were able to move on short notice. Hutton said the whole process only took a couple of weeks after they contacted the owner of the new space. Then it was time to plan the move.

“Once we got approved [for the new lease] and knew that we were moving, we only had about a week and a half to figure that out,” Hutton said. The actual move took place on a weekend. “We only had one day to get everything in and out,” she said.

Both Hutton and Clines said there has been an increase in clients at the new location, but Hutton added that she thinks pricing is a factor, too. “I believe the increase is due to pricing, we haven’t budged on that.”

Aprile’s offers hair styling and coloring for women, but also offers haircuts for men. The shop also has a nail technician. Clines said they have a mix of male and female customers.

The two women met at another job more that 15 years ago and quickly became best friends. “One day we told each other we’re going to do this [establish a hair salon] and do what we want to do and be successful,” Clines said.

Clines and Hutton both said they enjoy what they do. “I love making people happy, meeting people and the conversations,” Clines said.

Hutton added: “I listen to people all day long who say they hate their jobs, and I love mine.” ∞