Hip Clips thriving again following fire

After months of renovations, Red Oak’s Hip Clips & Nails at 617 N. 3rd St. is back at its location near Red Oak’s downtown square - and thriving.
It was a different story last year. Owner Carmen Archer said that on July 24, she got the call that no business or homeowner ever wants to hear: that a fire had broken out at the Hip Clips & Nails location. Archer’s initial reaction to the news was that the fire would be something small and easily dealt with, but that wasn’t the case.
“I knew the fire was in one of the apartments upstairs. I got there, and I went into the salon to get a fire extinguisher and go upstairs, and my sister told me not to go up there, and it wasn’t safe. She lived upstairs in the apartment where the fire started, and she had stepped out for about 10 minutes when she was told that the apartment was on fire,” Archer said. “She went upstairs to try and rescue her two cats and when she opened up the doors, she described it as the most horrific thing she’d ever seen. There was black smoke, and the fire had come up the wall, around the ceiling, and down the other wall.”
In order to get the fire out, Archer said fire crews had to break out all of the windows, and all of the water used to put out the fire traveled down into the salon area. Even though the fire damage itself was concentrated upstairs, Archer said the salon ended up in worse shape than she expected.
“The salon had old tin ceilings on the main floor, so water seeped through the ceiling tiles and also ran down the walls and on the floor. When everything was done, I thought the salon would be okay. There was water damage and a little bit of smoke damage, but I felt we’d be able to work around it,” commented Archer. “However, the next day, the adjuster came, looked at everything and told us we had to move out. The tin ceiling had to all be ripped out because it was holding water and it could get mold. I was devastated. This is my livelihood and the livelihood of the girls who chair rent from me, so I had to figure out what I was going to do.”
Archer said she started calling friends, as well as realtor Audie Rainey, about a temporary location to set up shop. Also, Archer said the outpouring of community support was tremendous.
“I had other salons here in town reach out to me and offer space. Revive Salon offered me storage space in their garage, and that’s what I love. I don’t look at the other salons as competition. There’s enough people in this town to support us all. To have other salons reach out and offer help like that was very touching, and I’m grateful I had that kind of rapport with the other salons that made them feel like they could do that for me.”
In order to keep the Hip Clips & Nails family of stylists together, Archer set up a temporary shop at the former “Salontique” location at 1403 N. 3rd St., with many volunteers helping move equipment into the new building. After that, all she could do was wait. though that was also longer than expected.
“It took almost nine months to get the Hip Clips & Nails location renovated. I initially thought it would take six weeks, and rented the former Salontique for that time. That six weeks grew and grew. I thought we’d be able to move by the end of the year, but that didn’t happen, and we didn’t get to move out until the end of March,” stated Archer.
She added that while the temporary location was functional, there were some tough times they had to deal with.
“We were sharing one sink, one bathroom, and we had one retail shelf. And we got creative with the arrangement to make it work. It was great in the beginning, but it became hard, and the business was quite a bit slower since we were off the beaten path. We didn’t have the same walk-in business, and we had less to offer for retail products. It was hard. But now we’re back, and we’re thriving, business is booming, we love coming into work every day, and we’re happy to be back,” Archer said.
While not under the greatest of circumstances, Archer said they’ve been able to build back better.
“The tin was replaced with drywall and we have a new drop ceiling with modern ceiling tiles, and we also installed LED lighting, which is great. The lights are adjustable as well, and they might be my favorite feature. We’ve also got new floors, new walls, pretty much everything is new. On the tanning side, we’re going to be adding some more retail items for ladies and guys,” explained Archer. “We’re not quite done with the upstairs apartment renovations but we’re getting there. While I like it all, I don’t know if I’d go through all of it again just to have it. I loved the salon before, and it’s a situation where you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. When you get it back and it’s better than before, it’s a bonus.”
Archer reiterated her appreciation for all the support she received from people she asked, or in many cases, didn’t have to ask, and to everyone who helped.
“We are forever grateful, and it goes into the positive energy we feel back in the new space. It’s not just about looking in the mirror and feeling good, it’s about your surroundings as well, and that helps us with the feeling good,” Archer stated.
Hip Clips & Nails celebrated a grand re-opening March 30. Numerous members of the community sent flowers to mark the occasion. To schedule an appointment, call 623-2572, or visit the Facebook page, facebook.com/hipclipsandnails.

The Red Oak Express

2012 Commerce Drive
P.O. Box 377
Red Oak, IA 51566
Phone: 712-623-2566 Fax: 712-623-2568

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