Small Town Salon Restores Beauty and Community
Jenny Kay Collins | JK & Co
Opening a salon in a town once ranked as the 7th poorest in America seems unideal to most, but Jenny Kay Collins saw it as an opportunity to bring something beautiful to the small, impoverished town of Wrens, Georgia. Although she initially set out to open a salon in her hometown of Augusta, Jenny felt a calling to restore downtown Wrens and create a space that would bring the community together.
“I believe two of the most divided places are our churches and our hair salons,” explained Jenny. “This inspired me to open a nice salon space where people of all races and cultures could come to the same place and have their hair done together.”
With the goal in mind to restore and unite the community of Wrens, Jenny began setting her plans into action. However, she quickly learned restoring an old building is not for the impatient or faint of heart. Each stage of renovation presented a new set of problems, but throughout the long process, Jenny found the silver lining. During the demolition stage, she uncovered a little bit of history about the old Wrens building that brought the heart of the project full circle.
“While my husband and I were tearing down the old pressed wood paneling, we uncovered hand-printed tie-dye and graffiti walls covered in song lyrics, drawings, and several signatures,” explained Jenny. “After some research, we found out this little place used to be a record sales shop and a juke joint on the weekends!”
Jenny learned, even in decades past, this building was a place that brought the people of Wrens together, and she couldn’t wait for her salon to do the same. Although the tie-dye and graffiti walls eventually had to go, Jenny felt inspired by the building’s history and wanted a way to honor it in her salon. While touring the historic homes in downtown Augusta with her husband, she stumbled upon the perfect idea.
“One of the homeowners had an overhead image of his favorite place, Piccadilly Square in London, made into wallpaper and hung in their foyer,” said Jenny. “I loved the idea and thought, what better way to honor my city than having it displayed in my salon for all to see?”
Avant Shampoo System in Black
After 9 long months of remodeling, the wall showcasing an overhead image of downtown Wrens was the perfect finishing touch on the future home of JK & Company Salon. With the renovations complete, Jenny set out to find equipment to complement her soon-to-be salon. Luckily, a few years prior to her salon ownership journey, Jenny had visited Minerva Beauty and toured the showroom with a friend who was rebuilding a salon space.
“I didn’t know of other salon equipment companies that had a showroom, so after seeing Minerva’s years ago, I knew they were the company I wanted to work with,” expressed Jenny.
“I love how you could sit in chairs, test drawers out, feel the quality, and see how it’s going to function for you and your day to day use in the salon.”
While visiting Minerva, Jenny wanted to find the perfect furnishings that portrayed the inspiration behind her salon and incorporated a French Industrial aesthetic. After hours of touring the showroom, Jenny chose antique black Sovereign Styling Chairs and Avant Shampoo Systems in black with black bowls.
“I fell in love with the Sovereign Styling Chairs,” said Jenny. “The quality is amazing, and their old school look really brings out the small town inspiration behind JK & Company.”
Sovereign Styling Chairs in Antique Black
In April 2018, JK & Company Salon opened its doors for business, and it’s been a complete success ever since. People of different races and cultures come together and enjoy hair services, while children from the community try and locate their house on the large mural of downtown Wrens. Jenny was able to not only restore a place where the community could come together but also bring beauty to the city, both inside and out.