HALO Style Shop

Halo Salon

Cyndi Brown, owner. After a 36-year career as a Registered Nurse and three years of retirement I was ready to take on a project. And boy oh boy did I ever. My daughter wanted her own hair salon, so I set out to find a building. At first, I looked into renting, but then realized how much of an investment it would be to renovate and furnish so I decided to purchase a building instead. Although not listed for sale, I researched and determined that Zenna Corbin owned the building located at 689 3^RD Street. Yes, the long vacant gothic style Church of Christ building on the corner across the street from the courthouse that come to find out everyone and their mother wished to own for such as a photography studio, quilting shop, a residence and of course for religious purposes. So, I called Zenna and asked her if the building was for sale and to my surprise she said “yes,” and we closed the deal in about two weeks. I took advantage of the Chipley Redevelopment Agency grants that are available for interior and exterior renovations. No structural changes were made to the building. The salon is housed in the original part of the building built in 1950 and is of full masonry construction. There is a newer addition on the east side used for office space and storage. Major upgrades and renovations included new Andersen architectural windows, repair of plaster walls with some exposure of original brick, new HVAC units, electrical, plumbing, flooring, full interior and exterior painting, new roof, new sidewalk, front steps and ramp, and parking. We worked with the best local contractors, Tim Newsome for electrical, Davis & Sons for plumbing, Hasty Heating & Cooling, Stacy Moore for painting, Joshua Smith for concrete and Keith Armondi for roofing. All other renovations including installation of windows, doors, awnings, ceramic floor and glass and marble wall tile and wide-plank tongue and groove ceilings was done by the uber talented John Fears. Luxury vinyl tile was procured from and installed by my son’s company, Grayton Floors, in Birmingham, AL. And we are so fortunate to have in our area, The Lamp Man in Dothan, AL, for chandelier restoration and repairs. Through Facebook Marketplace, I located and made many trips with a U-Haul to pick up vintage French Provincial furniture to furnish the salon. We personally refinished all the wood pieces, including eight triple dressers used for styling stations, and had the upholstered pieces professionally reupholstered. Custom styling chairs were procured from Italy and additional chandeliers from Turkey. The entire project spanned 26 months as contractors were inundated with work due to Hurricane Michael, delays due to Covid and challenges presented by a 70-year-old building. Much thought went into the design to make this a very user-friendly salon for stylists and very relaxing and comfortable for clients. Although I may have used “I” thus far, I could not have taken on nor could I have completed this project without my husband, Tim Brown, who was involved with all aspects of the project. I must say this project was a true example of “a labor of love” to help our daughter realize her dream.

I cannot give this account of our renovation project without mentioning the Cutts family who donated the land and helped build the church 70 years ago. Early on I met Mr. Laurence Paul Cutts who was the second person baptized in the church building when he was sixteen. Mr. Cutts has since passed away, but his daughter, Rhenea and son-in-law Darrel Yontz, who is the current pastor of the Church of Christ in Chipley, still live in the Cutts homeplace across the street from the salon and who have been so approving and supportive of our project from the beginning.

Celie Brown, managing stylist. Halon Salon is a childhood dream come to life. When I was a little girl, I would crush crayons to color my doll’s hair. Now, I am fortunate enough to practice my craft, my creative outlet, daily in this beautifully renovated building. Two of my favorite features inside the salon are the mural painted by local artist, Olivia Wall, and the chandelier that use to hang over the stage of the Martin Theater in Panama City.  I have been a hairstylist for 13 years. I have made so many lasting relationships with fellow stylists as well as clients over the years which makes this industry even more special to me. Our team of stylists have a large menu of services that we offer including haircuts for men, women and children, all color services, waxing, hair extensions, perms, and formal hairstyling. We accept walk-ins as well as appointments. We just had our one-year anniversary on June 29^th, my birthday. We are overwhelmed with the support this community has given us and we are so grateful for the business received thus far and to come.