Natalia Morlacchetti was not thinking about business as she headed to the grocery store in Bracebridge in 1998.

The St. Catharines resident was going to do some shopping while she and her family were staying at their nearby cottage. Enjoying her time away from working at her salon back home, she walked past a small store for rent, located adjacent to the supermarket.

She was immediately struck by an idea.

“I walked by, I peeked in, and I said, ‘Wow, this would make great salon’. I still had my original salon furniture from when I opened up my St Catharines salon, and it was in storage, and I went ‘I could do this. I really could do this’.”

“This” was opening up her second salon, bearing the same name as her St. Catharines operation, Hairquarters, which had been open 16 years prior to the fateful peek into the Bracebridge store.

“I was at crossroads,” she said explaining what led up to her opening a second salon. “I'd had some health issues. I needed to take some time off of work, and when I came up here, it's like, I can do this. So I told my husband (Joe) I was going to be opening up another salon,” she said.

His reaction?

“He thought I was insane,” she said with a slight laugh.

Nevertheless the family pulled together and began work on the new Hairquarters.

To get the business to the place she wanted it to be, Morlacchetti decided to give it her all, moving to Muskoka for the first two years of its operation while staying at their four-season cottage. She brought her two youngest children, Laura and Melissa, with her and enrolled them in school while Joe remained and ran their southern salon along with their eldest daughter Elaina.

“I didn't know what I was doing. I just did it. I came up every weekend and I found that I enjoyed Bracebridge more than St. Catherines. So I said, ‘you know what? I think I'm going to move my kids to Bracebridge’,” she said.

Morlacchetti added she felt moving her youngest to Muskoka would be beneficial to their maturation.

“I just said it was in the best interest for the children to experience a different type of school environment, because I could see the clientele here (was) more down to earth, more people persons. I mean, St Catharines isn't a big town, but it's definitely a different mentality. You know, kids are getting into a lot of trouble then, and I figured, you know what? I can control everything and give them a better life,” she explained.

Finally after months of hard work getting the space ready to open for business, the opening day came in mid-November, 1998 … the doors were unlocked, but the customers didn’t come.

The reason why for no clients for the grand opening?

“I didn't even realize it was Remembrance Day,” Morlacchetti said laughing. “I was so sad because there was nobody coming in … so I'll always remember my anniversary. Plus, I love November because my other salon, we opened it on Nov. 24.”

Eventually the clients did come and are still coming, as salon manager Jessisca Manuge said some of them are still faithful patrons.

“We have clients that are still coming here after 25 years. You still do clients that have been with you for 20 years," she said, speaking directly to Morlacchetti.

Manuge, who was friends with Morlacchetti’s daughter Laura while going to high school, has been with the salon one year as of Nov. 1., said her boss is “amazing.”

“She offers me continuous growth … she fully supports any kind of growth with me, and she is never more than a phone call away.”
 

The salon grew to the point a spa was added to the business profile seven years ago, found two doors down from Hairquarters, changing the business name to Hairquarters and Harmony Spa.

Today, Morlacchetti still holds the Bracebridge salon near to her heart. She continues to come up twice a month to see her staff and work with some of her special clients.

Manuge said there are many special events planned for the anniversary celebration on Nov. 14.

“We are going to be sending out emails to our clients and offering them to come in for something to drink, something to eat. We're going to have tons of prizes, raffle items, and we're going to have a lot of pictures showcasing Natalia and her staff over the last 25 years,” she said.

Even after all these years of serving customers, travelling the highways between southern Ontario and Muskoka, Morlacchetti gives no indication she is ready to slow down from working at her two businesses.

“I like to stay busy. I had a really good relationship with each stylist that ever came through the doors. It is just a great salon family vibe … I love what I do.”