Forest Park salon brings community to life
By Brittany York Camara Williams, owner of Distinct Designs Salon and Spa in Forest Park, feels like she was born to do hair.
She recalls walking around as a child with a head full of ponytails because that’s the only style her mother had mastered. “I just say that God pretty much gave me the gift of doing hair so I wouldn’t look a mess when I was walking around,” Williams says.
Williams started doing her own hair at the age of 7; and now, at 26, she runs her own salon. Located in the Promenade Shopping Center of Forest Park, Distinct Designs Salon and Spa functions as more than just a hot spot for hair. It’s a place where community members go for advice, to relax and to come together as neighbors.
“I always say I’m a bartender with a pair of scissors,” says Williams. “What I love most is the atmosphere.”
Williams’ fondness for the ambiance is evident. People feel comfortable from the moment they enter the salon. Unique and colorful designs fill the room. A painted tree on the wall comes to life as foliage and hand-painted apples emerge to hang overhead. It creates a nook for customers to sit back and relax as they wait to be pampered.
Customers expect to spend at least a couple hours in Williams’ salon and love every minute of it. Nothing feels rushed. Her clients talk as though they’ve known each other for years. “There’s no tension, no one criticizing you or judging you,” Williams says. “People feel really at home.”
Williams employs two other stylists, Lynise Watkins and Miranda Phipps. They all have the same mission -- to make customers look and feel beautiful.
Negativity is not an option at Distinct Designs Salon and Spa. Williams loves being able to walk into work and feel free. She says her clients will often comment on her carefree and bubbly nature. “When they do, I just tell them I must have breathed in too many hair chemicals.”
Williams exudes an aura of optimism. “I don’t like being negative,” she says. “I’ve always felt like things are never a challenge or an obstacle unless you make them one.”
At 17, Williams faced what many would call a challenge. She became pregnant with twins during her senior year of high school. Williams says people often assume that having children at a young age keeps one from going to college and being successful. They say that it is impossible for one to “do it all.”
Williams’ response: “Why not?”
“Kids at a young age was a motivation for me. Everyone else wants to use it as an excuse, but I wasn’t gonna let it stop me from what I was going to do,” Williams says.
At 18, she purchased a home in Forest Park. She wanted something for her kids to “call their own.” She put herself through college and cosmetology school while working at SmartStyle in Walmart. Here, she met the clients that followed her to Distinct Designs Salon and Spa; and they stayed with her, even through an economic downturn that she sees has affected her community.
The hair styling business is “recession proof,” she says. “People will not pay their bills, but they’ll get their hair done.” Times are tough, and there’s no question that people are struggling. Sometimes people can’t afford the big things, but it’s the little things that keep them going. Williams wants her clients to know that the key is to stay strong.
Williams’ positive attitude transfers to every customer who enters her salon. “If you can’t come in here and talk about (your problems), you gotta leave them at the door,” she says.
Most choose not to leave them at the door. From marital problems to frustrations at work, Williams hears it all.
“People talk because they want your feedback or opinion. No one’s gonna tell your business, and what you hear is gonna be the truth,” says Williams.
Going to the salon provides an outlet; and the feedback enables clients to walk out feeling better about themselves. They’ve had the chance to vent. “People come here to get away,” Williams says.
Last month, a client visited Williams. She was terrified and enraged. Her children were robbed and shot at while playing in the park. It’s hard for her to believe that these things are happening in her neighborhood to people she knows.
Williams, however, remains fearless. Her positivity serves as a support system for her community. Williams and her staff provide a reminder to the citizens of Forest Park that there are still plenty of good people in the community— people who are concerned and people who care.
“At the end of the day, if someone walks outta here feeling better about themselves, then I’m happy,” says Williams. “That’s when I’ve done my job.”
