An Entriguing Salon Preparing to Open
Oct. 29—SUNBURY — Persistence has paid off for Ashia Harrington, a 38-year-old Sunbury resident who is preparing to open her own salon, Entrigued Beauty, at 8 North 5th St., in Sunbury.
"I did my first braid on my grandmother, when I was about 12, 13-years old," she recalled. "She had nice, long, Indian-style hair. She was bedridden, so when I visited that's when I'd do her hair."
A friend at the church she attended had a salon, and gave her a chance, at age 15, to work there. "That was my first salon interaction," Harrington said.
She began doing hair styling for her friends and family and realized it was something she wanted to do. In Sunbury, word of moth about her ability to do hair "grew and grew."
Harrington plans to open her salon in early December, she said. Originally from Patterson, N.J., she moved to Sunbury in 2004, "and I've been here ever since.
"It was a little rough down there," she recalled, explaining why she first moved to the Valley.
Harrington then enrolled in Barone Beauty Academy, in Sunbury. "But that was a time I was kind of hard-headed. Thought I knew it all," she said with a smile.
The idea of owning her own shop is not new, Harrington said. "I'm a people person. And I knew I could do this. So I always kept the dream going, and didn't stop. I was driven."
She went through some tough times, but she remained determined about hair styling as a occupation. She retuned to Barone Academy and said, "I wasn to do this. They were very supportive, they have kind spirits there."
Now settled in Sunbury, it's her, her husband, and four children.
Harrington found the 5th Street location end of September and ever since has been preparing for what she hopes will be an early December opening.
Her idea for the space is for it to be a hair salon, with hair supplies and accessories. In the future she might have a beauty bar and do nails. She will offer braiding, wigs, weave installation, cutting, some simple hair coloring, and eyebrow waxing,
Asked how she came up with the name "Entrigued," she said, "I'm an intriguing person. That describes me in a nutshell. The beauty, it's a beauty business. And I'm beautiful."
She tentatively plans to be open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on days yet to be determined.
