By Mary Sisk
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A new hair studio with stylist suites and a spa is coming to downtown, but not in the space where coming soon signs have hung for more than a month.
Signs for Galaxy Hair Studio have hung at 333 E. State St. since the lead-up to Stroll on State in late November, and the studio had announced on social media it would be moving there. However, owner Michelle Waller said the deal for that space fell through, and she has a new location nearby in downtown that she will announce soon.
The East High School graduate has been doing hair for 12 years and opened Galaxy Hair Studio with her husband, Demetri, in May 2019 at 5061 Edgemere Court in Roscoe.
But she decided about a year ago she wanted to move to downtown.
“I just really have a pulling to downtown Rockford,” Waller, 48, said. “I feel like downtown is really on an upswing.”
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The downtown studio will offer a significant boost in space, growing from roughly 1,300 square feet in Roscoe to about 5,000 square feet in Rockford. That will allow her to offer more for her customers, from hair styling to nails and spa services.
“I don’t have the space to grow it in the direction I want to grow it where I’m at in Roscoe currently,” Waller said. “I’m very excited.”
The downtown space will include a spa and stylist suites, which give hairdressers the opportunity to have their own business area without actually owning their own salon.
She won’t close the Roscoe location until she opens the downtown spot, which she hopes to do in early February.
This article is by Mary Sisk. Email her at msisk@rockrivercurrent.com or follow her on Instagram at @maryrrcurrent