By Gabrielle Locke

In past CHS “Checking in” posts, we’ve talked with longtime neighborhood favorites about how they’re surviving, thriving, and struggling through the COVID-19 crisis.

But this “Checking in” is a different kind of story.

Paint Salon opened last year at 13th and Pike in the middle of the pandemic but its first-time salon owners say they’ve never been busier as stylists.

“People love to get their hair done because it makes them feel good about themselves. And people want to feel good more than ever during these hard times.” Paint co-owner Erin Caldwell tells CHS.

Caldwell and business partner Paige Morgan set out to shape Paint for with a setup meant to create a safe environment for stylists and customers with considerations about the long-term effects of things like hair coloring and blow drying. But Paint is also shaped for the times it has been born into.

The Paint partners invested in a HVAC system that filters and maintains the temperature of the salon and focused on only stocking all-natural products.

The result, they say, is a thriving salon.

The new Solis building it calls home, meanwhile, will soon add two new neighbors to the mix. Q Cafe, an entertainment and cafe concept from a Seattle area escape room events company, and Flight Wine + Chocolate, a wine tasting room and fine chocolate shop, have been making plans to join the development.

At Paint, the two former co-workers have also been pleased about another thing that has come out of the salon’s opening. They make a good ownership team — though it wasn’t always a dream for both of them. “I wouldn’t have opened a salon had I not met Paige,” Caldwell said.

Paint Salon is open daily from 11 AM to 7 PM at 1300 E Pike. You can learn more and schedule services at paintsalonseattle.com.

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