For the past few weeks I’ve had the absolute pleasure of working with one of my favorite clients to date. Tammy Cooper of Shear Image Salon and Boutique has been nothing but positive throughout the process of creating the new website for her company.

Background
Shear Image opened as a hair salon in 1994 and has become known for not only their great style and service, but also for the ‘welcome home’ feeling of the salon. The many talented and sweet stylists that work for Tammy have formed a close bond and the attitude of the shop closer resembles that of a neighbor’s living room than a stuffy workplace. Stylists chat with long-time clients about family members they have known for years, while sharing photos of their own children and loved ones displayed on their hair stations.

In 2005, when the shop next to Shear Image was vacated, Tammy took advantage of the space to expand their already growing collection of boutique items for sale. This second half of the shop now houses an extensive collection of jewelry, purses, home décor and other gift items. Items range from college team gear to decorative wine glasses, with plenty of pink and green polka dots in between. As Tammy has been reminding us- only 6 weeks until Christmas and Shear Image is a great spot for both gift ideas and holiday décor.

The Site
While Tammy has been a friend of the family for years, this was only part of what made working with her so effortless. We all know how it feels to receive a complement, and Tammy was not shy in expressing her happiness with my work. Her willingness to quickly get content and pictures together on her end made the goal of having the site up with plenty of time before Christmas a breeze.

When I met with Tammy she knew right away the look she was going for in the shop. With a pink and black color scheme in mind, I created a swirly and sophisticated logo for the shop to which Tammy declared “LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.” With such an enthusiastic start I was very excited to continue with the web design.

One of the functions this site needed to serve was showcasing new and seasonal products from the boutique. By customizing an open source photo gallery, I was able to integrate a way for Tammy to add and manage photos of products at any time- without having to go through myself for each update. With a brief history of the salon on the Home page and profiles of the stylists and receptionists on the Staff page, the site paints a brief and accurate portrait of Shear Image.

I will leave you with a few inspiring pictures of some of my favorite Shear Image products.