Owners Tracy Ulmer, left, and Natalie Sperr, photographed at My Salon Suite in Louisville on Wednesday, reopened in March after closing for nearly four months due to significant water damage in the building. (Cliff Grassmick — Staff Photographer)
Who do we trust with our self image, how we present ourselves to the world and our secrets? Our hairstylist, of course.
My Salon Suite in Louisville, 1075 East South Boulder Road, has reopened after having to close due to a pipe burst during the winter bomb cyclone in December. My Salon Suite is home to 22 suites where individual entrepreneurs can rent out a private suite, manage their own business and work independently while still in the company of like-minded beauty professionals. My Salon offers hair and makeup services.
Natalie Sperr and Tracy Ulmer, co-owners of the My Salon Suite, had known each other for less than a year when they decided to become business partners. They opened the salon suite in September 2019.
“You’re working for yourself, but you’re never working by yourself,” Sperr said.
Sperr and Ulmer take the time to uplift the entrepreneurial spirit. They want to help beauty professionals take control of their life and work, which includes helping them navigate how to run their business.
On Dec. 23, Ulmer said, a pipe burst on the third floor of the building, causing significant damage, although Ulmer and Sperr did not know the full extent of the damage at the time. Ulmer received a phone call telling her the salon had received some water damage, but she laughed it off before she showed up with her family to the salon thinking she could clean up quickly.
“It was really scary and we saw that it was really bad. Oh, and how cute of us to think we could clean it up with a Shop-Vac and a broom,” Ulmer said.
When she realized the extent of the damage, she sent the stylists home because of the unsafe work conditions. And yet, this was not the beginning of their problems.
In Colorado, an asbestos test is required if walls need to be torn down or opened to dry out from a flood. However, by the time Ulmer and Sperr submitted their asbestos test, thousands of people who also experienced some damage from the bomb cyclone in the winter were waiting in line for their test results as well.
“The suites were trashed, just completely trashed. Like a bear had come in, because every time the ceiling fell it knocked down whatever was under it,” Sperr said.
Sperr said the ceiling started to cave under the weight of the water and came down on the suites. Yet Sperr and Ulmer had hope the place could reopen quickly. However, they realized because they could not properly dry out the inside of the walls, Sperr and Ulmer made the hard decision to completely shut down and rebuild.
However, the co-owners were not going to let the stylists face the unexpected tragedy alone. Sperr and Ulmer made sure to call other local salon suites to get stylists a temporary space to work in, helped pack up suites and offered a shoulder to cry on. Sperr noted that despite the tragedy of losing the workplace and income, people came together as a community.
“It was heartbreaking, there were tears and hugs. But it also was like the day that this felt more like a community because people really came together in support of each other,” Sperr said.
My Salon Suite temporarily closed on Dec. 30 and didn’t reopen until late March. Floors were torn up, walls were torn down, and the salon was completely rebuilt.
Denai Ortiz, of Denai’s Hair Design, was one of the first to relocate back to the salon. When Ortiz started at My Salon Suites, it was the first time she was working for herself. She thanks Sperr and Ulmer for helping her with the process of navigating a business and making sure she felt safe and comfortable in her suite.
“It was nice to be back. The clients feel comfortable and safe, like they’re back home,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz said it was hard to have to relocate temporarily, as some clients had to miss their regular hair visit and hair is often tied to self expression and identity. Clients and stylists build a connection, and it is difficult to get knocked out of the regular routine. Clients also grow comfortable in Ortiz’s Harry Potter-themed private salon. It is hard for clients to see the stylist struggle and hard for stylists to see clients not fully happy with their appearance.
Not to mention, the salon is Ortiz’s job and income and dealing with insurance to help pay for damages is time-consuming, confusing and exhausting.
Rebecca Robb, of The Colour and the Shape salon, said having to close and temporarily relocate was hard and completely unexpected. She joked that “Dante forgot about moving when he wrote about the inferno.” Robb noted despite the bad situation, every stylist at the salon came together and found temporary work at different salons or suites.
“My clients wouldn’t follow me to the ends of the earth, but definitely the ends of the Denver metro area,” Robb said.
Clients and stylists build a strong relationship and become friends, and Robb’s clients were glad to be able to move back into My Salon Suites. Robb explained because she is in a private suite, clients feel more comfortable and relaxed.
More information about My Salon Suite stylists and services or how to lease a suite is available on its website at mysalonsuite.com.
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