Brentwood resident Angie Hulshoff has worked in salons for more than 20 years, and now she’s preparing to open her own shop: Firelight Spalon. It’s at 2312 Brentwood Boulevard in the front of the building. It’s just around the corner from where she lives on Rosalie.
Hulshoff was a receptionist at Philip Johnson Salon in the Central West End when she was in school, went to Preston Salon right out of school, then Dominic Michael Salon for about three years—where she said she got fantastic training—then Metro Design, in the Loop, then rented a station from a friend with a salon on Watson Road.
It was at Dominic Michael that she started to think about having her own business. She said when you work in a commission salon they get more than 50 percent.
Walking home from Starbucks one day, she saw the available space in the front of the building just about six houses from her house.
She had already talked with her sister about the possibility, who has since died from cancer. “She was giving me some business ideas, she’s always been business oriented. So it’s almost like she had a hand in it all,” Hulshoff said.
A brother-in-law who used to do construction work with her dad, who also died from cancer, has been helping with the buildout.
“So we’ve been doing this together, and it’s been fun, because I feel can feel Dad around, and I know Sandy, my sister, was a part of it,” Hulshoff said. “I can’t fail because there’s too much good karma around all that.”
Hulshoff said she gutted the space and did all the wiring. She ripped out the dropped ceiling, and is using a big stone from from Brentwood Supply for a table. She said she’s told people possible opening dates but she and her brother-in-law keep getting more ideas.
She plans to rent three stations and have a facial room, and is staying flexible about the direction of the shop. “I love to do skin care, and all hair, I specialize in color. I’m going to see what direction it flows into,” she said.
Hulshoff said it’s kind of funny that she does hair. “I’m a huge tomboy—like a farmer in a way. My hair can be completely in shambles, I can be barefoot, but I can rock some hair. At least people trust me, because I don’t look the part all the time, but I know what I’m doing.”
