Angie's Hair Salon marks 30 years of styling generations

Angie's Hair and Tanning Salon in Unicoi recently celebrated 30 years of serving generations of loyal clients.For three decades, Angie Stout has transformed haircuts into personal connections, welcoming children and adults alike into a salon that she says feels like home."This August marked 30 years I've been open," Stout said. "I've also been in this current building for 26 years. The children used to come home from school off the school bus and come visit me in the salon. I used to love that. I had two boys and one girl who have graduated from the high school now."Stout said her passion for hairstyling started at a young age."I knew I wanted to do hair since I was five," she said. "I did cosmetology all throughout high school, and then I attended Artiste Beauty College near North Roan Street in Johnson City."Before opening her own salon, she said she traveled the East Coast doing glamour shots."I was on the road from Maine to Florida doing glamour shots," she said. "My mother wanted me off the road after about eight or nine months, and I was getting tired of it as well. So I found work doing glamour shots at the mall for a time."Stout said that during that time a friend introduced her to her husband, and her career began to settle into place at a salon in Erwin."We started at the building behind the Erwin Town Hall," she recalled. "At that point, I had my oldest son in a playpen as I took clients."When the town converted that property into offices, Stout relocated again, eventually moving into the log cabin her husband built, which remains the salon's home."The tire plant next door was just getting started then, but when it was finished, clients poured in," Stout said.Stout said that throughout it all her clients followed her to the new location. She said customers are the heart of the business and her connections with clients span generations."I've had great clients," Stout said. "I used to cut this little girl's hair, and I had her in my chair until she was an adult and she had her own children. It's been amazing."She said she treasures the relationships she forms with not only customers but entire families."Getting to know everyone's family — that's what keeps me going," she said. "Even the kids come in here, and they're down on the couch. They treat it like their own little house."Reflecting on three decades, Stout admitted the milestone crept up on her."It's like I looked up and 30 years have passed," she said. "Thank you for making my dream come true for 30 years, and here's to many more."Angie's Hair and Tanning Salon is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with extended hours on Thursdays. The salon is located at 3224 Unicoi Drive, Unicoi.For more information, please call (423) 743-5611 or visit https://www.facebook.com/p/Angies-Hair-Tanning-100050961085046/.