Sat, Dec 2nd 2023 07:00 am
By Alice Gerard
Senior Contributing Writer
As a small child, Abigail Chambers was sitting on the floor in a hair salon, watching her mother style her clients’ hair.
Chambers said she knew at an early age that this work was her calling.
“I was raised in it,” she said. “My mom, Debi Ruppel, bringing me to the salon on Saturday mornings. She didn’t have a babysitter. Dad would be at work, Mom would be in the salon. I was 5 years old.”
By the time Chambers was a high school student, attending the BOCES cosmetology program, she was taking care of her classmates’ hair.
“Maybe not cutting. I was a little afraid for that. That’s a big commitment,” she explained.
At 26, Chambers is the owner of the Island Hair Studio and Barber Shop, 2038 Grand Island Blvd. She said she had no idea that she would own a hair studio at her age. Kim Banko had owned the salon for 10 years prior to selling the shop.
Abigail Chambers (Submitted photo)
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Chambers said she worked for Banko for five years, beginning in 2018, when she graduated from barber school. Previously, Chambers attended the BOCES cosmetology program.
She said, “We didn’t do men’s cuts (at BOCES). We only did women’s hair. I didn’t want to come here and work for Kim until I figured out how to do men’s cuts. So, I went, and I got my barbering license. Mom pushed me for that. I called Mom on the first day of barbering school, crying because there were just men walking in. I said, ‘I can’t do this, Mom!’ She said, ‘Oh, brother! Go in there! You can do this! Go there!’
“When I got my license, I came here, and I talked to Kim” about transforming an unused nails room into a barber room. “So, I started here five years ago in April, right after my 21st birthday.”
At that time, the business was called the Island Hair Studio.
Chambers was very familiar with the building, as it had been part of her life since she was a small child. “
This used to be Grand Island Sales and Services,” she said. “Years and years ago, John Simon owned this building and the gas station. My grandmother worked here. My two aunts worked back in this room. I remember I used to watch all the little kids come and play in the rocks. That’s what my cousin and I used to do. We would come here, visit Grandma, and go play in the rocks. I’ve been here my whole life. It’s a whole full circle.
“Last November, Kim had to have a neck surgery. She had some disks that were all messed up, and they had to go in and fix it. When they did that, she tried to come back. It wasn’t the same. When she put her head down to do a cut, she would feel like she was choking. The cage and everything in there, where it was sitting, hit at that right spot where she couldn’t look down. I feel bad for her because she had to give up her career. She’s not doing hair anymore. It’s so sad.
“In January, I came home from my cruise that I go on with my boyfriend, and I was told, ‘Somebody has to buy the salon,’ because Kim came to them while I was on the cruise and said, ‘Hey, I don’t know what to do. With not doing hair anymore, I don’t think I can own the salon anymore.’ If she can’t do it, what’s the point of owning it? It’s going to be sad for you to sit here and watch us do what you used to love to do every day.”
The process of changing ownership began in January, Chambers explained.
“By March 1 of this year, I took over, and we switched to Island Hair Studio and Barber Shop. I went from a DBA to an LLC, so we switched the name just that little bit with the barber shop in there. Since then, it’s been awesome,” she said. “When I took over, I was scared. But I feel that I’ve blossomed so much more since I’ve taken over. Being the business owner has just opened me up, and it’s great.
“I feel like this is my calling. My parents told me that I was going to be either a hairdresser or a welder. I have two creative parents. One that does hair and one that bends metal. I was meant to do something creative. I was not meant to sit at a desk, 9-5, in a cubicle and do an office job. I would rip my hair out. I couldn’t do it. I need that interaction with people. That human interaction is so great.
“I love my little old men, my clipper cuts, my basic little shaved heads, the stories I hear, the interactions. I have people from all over and people who have moved from Europe over here. One man who moved over from England. He has black and white pictures from when he was in England. He showed me what he lived. Just hearing all these experiences. Getting to know all my customers. Having that personal interaction and knowing them. It’s the greatest feeling.”
Chambers said she especially likes coloring people’s hair and giving them highlights.
“I love what I do,” she said. “I go home, and I feel that I have such a connection with all our regulars. You know half the time before they’re divorced. You know half the time before they tell other people they’re pregnant. You know everything before anyone else. You know more secrets than anyone else does. You come here and it’s like the therapist. You sit down and let loose. It’s so great. They could be having such a bad day, and you can flip their mood. You make them feel better. You do their hair, get rid of those colors up there, fluff them up. They’re like, ‘Wow, I feel like a whole new person.’ ”
Chambers said the people who work at the Island Hair Studio and Barbershop work as a team that helps and supports each other. The team consists of Chambers’ mother, Olivia Crowley; as well as Brittany Rogers, Janine Racsumberger and Danielle Burson. Five are hairdressers, and one is a massage therapist.
“If I don’t feel comfortable doing a haircut, my mother will jump in. And she will help,” Chambers explained. “It’s teamwork here. We don’t want you to get a really bad haircut, walking out of here and saying holy crap. Whereas if I do a great job coloring and mom does a better job cutting a bob, where you get all those layers or an ’80s haircut. I didn’t grow up in the ’80s. We like more flat hair now, and they like that big poof. Mom’s looking at me and she’s saying, ‘I’ve got it.’ If I need to help her, I’ll jump in for her.
“You don’t have to go to me all the time. You can go to my mother. We build that relationship with our clients. We’re a family here. I love all my employees. They’re all great. I can trust them. I don’t feel that I have to watch over them. It’s a great environment here.”
“I had a little kid come in once. He was probably 12. He was this awkward little boy. You could tell when he came in. He said, ‘I want this haircut.’ I gave him a haircut. He looked at his dad and said, ‘Can you take a picture of this haircut? This is the best haircut I’ve ever gotten. I feel so good. I don’t want anything but this.’ You could see the light in his face after. It’s what you can do for somebody, just by doing their hair. Making them feel better at the end of the day. It’s so great.”
Chambers said she was encouraged by both her mother and by Banko, both of whom she considers to be mentors.
The Island Hair Studio and Barbershop is open Mondays through Saturdays.
