MONTE VISTA — A grand opening was held at The Salon on Saturday, Oct. 14. The Salon owner Corina Settle was all smiles as she cut the ribbon in front of her new shop at 258 Adams St. with her partner AJ Ryker Longseth.

The Monte Vista Chamber and the OptiMystics Citizen’s Action Network organized the event.

Settle and Longseth both received a plaque from Monte Vista Chamber Board Member Gary Wilkinson and chamber manager Heather Hillin, with the name of their business on it.

Settle was excited for the opportunity to have a storefront.

“I haven’t been in business for two years because I was teaching cosmetology at the college. I came back and I can’t believe the people, I mean the welcome from them has been so good. I am excited,” she said.

Settle said she was in business in Del Norte 23 years ago. She said she started her business with $500 and did not know anyone in Del Norte. She remembers hearing from many people that she would never make it but that the words were never discouraging to her.

She also owned a shop in South Fork, stating her current shop was her fifth.

“I have just moved forward. I have been in business for 21 years, and then went on to teach for 2 years, and now I have come back to the salon. Each business has been a salon just moving forward, and now we are here,” she said.

Settle said her partner was one of her students.

“AJ and I met there, and we talked about things,” she said. “I got to know her, and we decided to do it together. I trusted her. I saw how she did everything at the school. She did her homework, always did everything I told her to do. I saw that she did well and worked hard. Also, my daughter-in-law Angela Vanderpool was one of my students, she is the nail tech here. So, it was wonderful to get both of them to start this. This is quite a journey.”

Settle said she loves working with people and being behind the chair. She is hoping to put in a couple more stations at the salon and bring in more people to work.

“We are a full-service salon,” Settle said. “We do haircuts for men, women, and children. We do color. I also do skin care. AJ does eyelashes, and she does haircuts and a lot of color. We have pedicures, waxing, facials, and acrylic nails. Angela Vanderpool does nails. I am also thinking of doing like a Tuesday night after work haircut time. There’s a lot of people who need that after work. On Saturdays, we will be here for half a day, or possibly longer, depending on how the day turns out.”

Settle said she has a good crew to work with.

“We all respect each other and get along with each other. The other day we were a little slow and we were line dancing together. It was just a lot of fun,” she said.

Settle said people have welcomed her back and she is happy about that.

“I was gone for two years, and now people hear my name,” Settle said. “I have found out, that I am kind of loved in this community, and it feels good. There will be great things coming. I have a lot of clientele from before. I have clients from Creede to Monte.”

Settle said opening the business felt right.

“Being back here, boy I just appreciate being back behind the chair. Being here is my ministry. I care so much about people. Connecting again is so amazing,” Settle said. “I have done this for years. I have a good crew. I have a great partner. I couldn’t ask for anything better. We are ready to serve our community here.”