She said the addition they put on has worked very well, and they often wonder how they worked with the original 900-foot space. REKK offers all hair services, esthetic services as well as a tanning bed and spray tan. Sisson and Kenzie Crowe are there as stylists. Stef Smith does gel and shellac nails, pedicures and spray tanning. They have also added Sydney Ransom as esthetician. Sisson said she has been a great part of the team offering facials, shellac nails, body/face waxing and other services.

Sisson said she has seen a nice growth in business over her time in town, including from other communities. The closing of the other shops might have had an impact on this.

“We’ve seen a bit of an increase in traffic since the two businesses have closed their doors, but both Kenzie and I had a strong clientele beforehand so adding more to our days has been difficult. I guess you could say it’s a good problem to have.”

She added no more physical expansion is in the near future, but they could add more services and perhaps another stylist to keep up with traffic.

Jody Van Daele of Vixen Hair Salon has been operating in the community for the last five years. Well known for its attention-grabbing sign, Vixen is established in its South Railway Street spot. Van Daele said it is a great place to do business.

“The location has been great,” Van Daele stated. “I couldn’t ask for a better location for myself or my guests. Lots of foot traffic and easy to spot from the street.”

She is currently running a walk-in special for men’s haircuts, important in getting some business from the defunct barbershop. But Van Daele said she always had a fair male customer base. She does hairstyling for men, women and kids, and also colour, pedicures and other services.

“The future for Vixen Hair Salon has a lot in store, so stay tuned.”

The longest serving hair stylist in Boissevain is Debbie Heidinger, who runs Hotlocks Hair Designs. She has been running her Mill Road location for almost 17 years. She is on her own there, and does facial waxing, colouring, perms, hairstyling and conditioning. Like others, she has always done men’s barbering, but has seen six or eight more clients since the barbershop closed. She likes her highway location, especially now it is more stable.

“I like it better now that the construction is done,” Heidinger said, referring to the two years of upheaval on #10. “I lost a bit of business while they were working on the highway, because it was hard for people to get in here. But my customers were loyal enough to work through the construction.”

She also runs a small gift shop out of the store. Heidinger said it is tough to work in a small town with as many hairdressers as there are here. In the business for more than 30 years, she once worked out of Selkirk, and was able to pick up clientele from towns 20 minutes away. Smaller populations can be a challenge, although she said she is having people come back since the highway was finished, and is able to grow a little bit. Most hairdressers have their own clientele that move with them, she added, saying a lot of her business is by word of mouth. In the future, Heidinger said she might do some more work in the front of the shop and gift store.

Recently, Susan McKnight opened Susie’s Shears right next to the Laundromat. There are also hairstylists Amanda Racine and Audrey Pashke who operate out of their homes. An interesting piece of trivia is that REKK, Hotlocks and Vixen are all located on former barbershop/hairdressing spots.

REKK itself has made some special waves. Sisson said in her second year open, she decided she wanted to reach Gold level as a sales person with one of her suppliers, which is done by reaching sales and revenue targets. They just missed it a year ago, but reached it last December. She said she and husband Russell are going to Las Vegas in February to receive the award as well as to take some training.

“We are recognized as a top salon in Southwest Manitoba,” Sisson explained. “This is a huge deal to me personally because we are the only salon in Manitoba besides Winnipeg who qualified.”

She also just came back from national training in Nashville for a product line and found out REKK was 52 out of 100 for top salons across the US and Canada. She said in the industry, that kind of recognition is huge and she is very proud of everyone involved for their hard work.

Sisson said making goals and reaching them is important, and the recognition from that is “icing on the cake.” She feels the future will be successful for the business, and she gives a lot of credit to her staff. In a conversation with a local businessman, who asked her what was next, she said she is never content and is always looking for more. He advised her to keep doing that, so that is what will happen.

“I’m just going to always remember that, to make new goals for 2019 and there’s no doubt we’ll reach that too.”

by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff