May 10, 2008
Another Heibeck reaches a milestone
Bobbi Heibeck celebrates 25 years of cutting hair on Route 7
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by Rachel Kirkpatrick
rkirkpatrick@thereddingpilot.com
Twenty-five years ago Barbara “Bobbi” Heibeck of Georgetown jumped head first into her hair salon business and never looked back.
As the owner of StudioB Hair Design, a salon on Route 7, formerly named Head First Hair, she’s become another part of the Heibeck family’s legacy in Georgetown. Her father, George S., and four brothers, Mike, Marty, George W. and Tom, operate Heibeck Motors on Route 7, a business that is in its 77th year.
Her business began down the street in Wilton, but about a year ago she moved into her new location, across from the Nissan dealership, next door to Heibeck Motors, and in the same spot where ironically her father started his Volkswagen business decades ago.
It is also next door to where her grandmother and aunt founded an ice cream shop, and attached to where her husband currently operates Armoires Etc. Woodcrafters Furniture Store.
As a little girl, Ms. Heibeck said she remembers watching her father take the engines out of Volkswagens, hoisting them over the beams in the shop. She said both of her grandfathers worked at the Gilbert & Bennett wire mill.
“For me to have a business in town all of those years makes it pretty special,” she said.
Ms. Heibeck, the youngest of the five, grew up in Georgetown and attended Wilton schools.
“As a kid, we used to ride our bikes down Route 7,” Ms. Heibeck recalled. “I remember when they used to have the parade and closed Route 7 down; a lot has changed.”
Why hair? Well, Ms. Heibeck said it has always been her passion.
“I used to do all of my girlfriends’ hair when I was in high school,” she said. “I always played with hair, and actually my mom wanted to be a hairdresser, but decided not to; she had five kids instead.”
Ms. Heibeck said her mother, Barbara, who passed away 12 years ago, would have been amazed to see the salon today.
“She was the one who, when I first started, said, ‘Oh, gosh, you’re going off on your own,’” Ms. Heibeck recalled. “My husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, said ‘Go for it, you can do it.’ So, I just sort of jumped into it head first without looking back.”
She started cutting hair professionally at age 20, and established her business at age 25. What began as two or three employees has grown to six, one of whom she knows from hair design school. “She just came back on with me two and-half years ago. We reunited,” Ms. Heibeck said.
The salon offers the works, from color to cuts for children, women and men. Two of the hair designers specialize in prom hair styles.
Many clients have followed her for the whole 25 years, Ms. Heibeck said.
“Some have left, moved away, some have moved back, and come back to me,” she said. “We’ve cut kids’ hair from when they were little, and now they’re all going off to college.”
And, it was on the suggestion of a client of hers that Bobbie rename her salon StudioB, a reference to her name, and a new name to capture the fresh, spacious feel of the new location.
“This location has been amazing, we get new clients all of the time,” she said. “It’s just a great, comfortable atmosphere. We like to have fun.”
As to what her family thinks of the anniversary, her brother George W. said, “It just blends right in.”
“That’s kind of an unusual question,” he said. “It’s just been a part of our life.
“It’s great; we’re working as a family, staying together as a family. It’s just been that way,” he added. “She does a great job cutting hair; she trims our hair every now and again. We work on her car, and she cuts our hair.”
Ms. Heibeck said her goal for now is to keep the business going, and perhaps add some male hair designers.
“After all these years, you fall in love with your clients,” she said. “My father has that philosophy: ‘You work hard, you treat your clients well, and they’ll treat you well back.’”
“I think that’s just the secret to life: To just love what you do,” she said. StudioB Hair Design is at 951 Danbury Road.
For more information, call 544-9422.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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