THE BEST OF DURHAM
Fuss & Bother Salon
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Four impressive new businesses by Holly West | photography by Briana Brough
opened in Old East Durham in late September last year. Before starting the business, owner Christina Pelech worked as a stylist in area salons including Rock Paper Scissors
Salon & Gallery and DB Sutton & Company.
Career ’Do-Over
F
uss & Bother almost never happened. After searching Durham for a location, Christina’s dreams of opening her own salon were fading. Then, on her way home one day, she came across a building for lease on the corner of Driver and Ashe streets. “It was just absolute luck,” she says. “It’s a half-mile from my house. I can walk here.” She and four stylist friends set up shop. They provide haircuts, color services, beard trimming and shaping, blowouts and updos. Located in a mostly residential area, the salon has attracted lots of new customers in its first nine months. “We all came with a lot of clientele already, but I have been surprised with how many new clients we’ve had 42
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coming in,” Christina says. “It’s partly word of mouth; sometimes it’s people in the neighborhood who were like, ‘Oh, I saw your sign.’” Hairstyling is a second career for Christina. She worked in the publishing industry for 20 years. Unhappy sitting in an office, she decided to enroll in cosmetology school at age 40 and hasn’t looked back. Now, she spends her days doing something different almost every hour and working with people she knows and loves. Her favorite part, of course, is seeing her clients. “I get someone new to talk to every hour or two or three hours,” she says. “I have an amazing clientele, who I love. Every day I just get to come and hang out with these people. I feel pretty lucky.”