Beauty shop is dream come true for hair dresser

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
WELCOME — Tammy Carver’s perennial smile welcomes visitors and clients to her Simplify*d Family Hair salon in New Limerick which she describes as warm and cozy.
By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    NEW LIMERICK — It took about a year for the work to be completed on Tammy Carver’s salon, Simplify*d Family Hair,  to be built as an addition to her ranch-style home. And, when she talks about it, she really lights up. “It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to have a salon. I’ve wanted one since I was a kid at Southern Aroostook High School,” said Carver who had been performing cosmetology services for clients at their private homes until the addition. “I have aunts and cousins who are hairdressers. I have it in my blood, I guess.”
She built it and they came
    Certified as a cosmetologist since 1989, Carver has had clients who remained loyal over the years and go to her welcoming new space. Some travel as much as 45 minutes to get a haircut, color, highlights, perms or some other service from a manicure to a pedicure or waxing. Carver said some clients drive from Patten, Houlton, Shin Pond and other parts of the county to her Campbell Rd. location. Sonya Swallow, a client from Houlton, said: “If people want their hair done, they will come. Especially, if they find someone like Tammy.”    
    Swallow had “highlights, a cut and styling” before Thanksgiving and said she’s been a loyal customer for almost five years. “As soon as I discovered Tammy I stayed right with her. She used to come to my house which was nice. She knows her stuff and she’s not afraid to give me a funky style if I ask for it.”
    Swallow said she met Carver through their membership at Military St. Baptist Church in Houlton. As for the new salon, Swallow said: “I’m so glad she has this and I love the country décor. Tammy is the most personable, happy person I’ve ever met, next to my sister who is a very positive person, too. I feel like I’ve known Tammy forever.” Swallow said her sister, Nanette Mills also gets her hair done at Simplify*d Family Hair.
    The salon with the new waiting area and its oversized arched window seems even larger at first blush than it really is. Carver’s husband, Jim, said the new spaces are just under 300 square feet.
    Both rooms are bright and airy showing off seasonal decorations in keeping with the style of the rest of the house. He worked out the design and layout for the contractor; she was at the helm of the interior decoration. “I tried to keep it simple. It’s warm, cozy, primitive and country,” Tammy said describing the décor. Near the entrance, a Christmas tree is decorated with neutral earth tones that complement the plaid window valances and sage colored walls. The salon is painted in a soft, warm mustard-yellow color. “It’s kind of a natural thing. I see it and I feel it.”
Clients are men, women, children
    Carver does not limit herself to styling women. She said she has clients who bring their children for cuts, curls and styling. “I like to style little girls and make them feel like little princesses for the day,” she said. Carver added that men get haircuts there, too, and some are very specific about military-style buzz cuts.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
GOING GLAM — Sonya Swallow, seated, gets the finishing touches on her hairstyle from Tammy Carver at Simplify*d Family Hair. Carver’s salon in New Limerick is a recent renovation that added just under 300 square feet to the ranch-style home she shares with her husband Jim, her daughter Jennah and son, Kyle.
    Anyone who remembers the advertising tag line, “Only her hairdresser knows for sure,” or “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” can relate to Carver’s credo. “What they talk about stays here. It’s important to have that bond of confidentiality with my customers.”
    Carver said she knows how busy women are today — especially mothers. “I want them to feel blessed and pampered.” She even extends that attention to her husband Jim and her children Jenna, 11, and Kyle, 9. Jim said: “Yes, she does a very good job.” Then, he added with a laugh, “She’s good; very good. She charges me a lot to get my hair done.”
    Tammy said women like to have color applied to their hair and lately mocha is very popular. But, when she performs color or cutting services, she takes a lot into account: skin and eye color as well as features to best advise her clients. Haircuts start at $10 for men and $12 for women; color starts around $40 depending on length.
Holiday specials
    Ten percent off discounts on color, cuts, highlights, perms run until Dec. 14 when Carver will hold the drawing for a lucky client who has had a service at the salon. The winner will get a free one-liter bottle each of Biolage shampoo and conditioner valued at $30 for both. She said she will post the name of the winner in her ad in the Pioneer Times.
    For more information contact: Simplify*d Family Hair, 55 Campbell Rd., New Limerick, 731-9096.