Clarksville, TN – Pigtails & Crewcuts: Haircuts for Kids was just named Veteran Business of the Month by the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Navy Reservist Alda Bryant, an Indiana native, was on active duty for five years, 2009 – 2014. She was living in Arizona when she enlisted. ” Thankfully, I don’t get seasick; of course, I didn’t know that until after I joined,” Bryant laughed.
Bryant moved here in 2014 with her husband who was born and raised in Clarksville. “He brought me here to meet his family, and I really liked it,” Bryant said. “We love it here, and now we have two kids – 6 and 8 years old.”
Bryant, a supply officer, was reactivated in 2021. She spent all of 2022 in Djibouti, East Africa, and finally returned home in March 2023.
“I wanted to make changes,” Bryant said. “I still work full-time for the Dept. of Energy, but I wanted to do something that would give me some work/life balance. I stumbled across this while researching opportunities. I had been sacrificing a lot, and I didn’t want to keep missing things with my kids. I love the military, but this is a different chapter of my life. I was looking at business ownership and I found this amazing franchise.”
Having not heard of Pigtails & Crewcuts before, Bryant called for information. Soon she met with the company’s VP in Atlanta. “I saw some salons. They currently have about 70 or 80,” Bryant said. “I always had difficulties finding a place to get my son’s hair cut. Like a lot of kids, he likes it long and doesn’t like people messing with it. It was a struggle, and that’s a common thing for parents.”
It turns out, according to Bryant, that it’s hard to find a place to take your kids for haircuts. “My daughter wanted an adult haircut,” Bryant said. “But, we had a hard time finding the right place. We struggled for years.”
When Bryant opened the business bank account, the lady at the bank said, ‘please tell me when you open. We’ve been looking for a place’.
Bryant now has nine people working at the salon. “We’re Closed on Tuesdays, open Saturday 9:00am – 4:00pm, Sunday 11:00am – 4:00pm, and 10:00am – 6:00pm the rest of the week. We do adult haircuts but specialize in kids cuts. Dads are more likely than moms to get their hair cut here. We don’t offer a full line of services, but we do offer ear piercing.”
Bryant opened Pigtails & Crewcuts in Clarksville on October 16th, 2024. “The response has been great,” Bryant said. “People love it. We have a train station for the kids and Disney + streaming on all the TV’s. Our waiting area has toys and a paper-covered table where kids can create with crayons. Kids can also play video games. It’s all meant for kids.”
There is also a chair at each station that allows the parents to face their child while they get their haircut.
“We’ve had some so tiny that the parent has to hold the child while they get their hair cut,” Bryant said. “We’ve done cuts while the kids were playing with trains. We deal with sensory issues, and plan to have our entire staff trained for that. Of course it all depends on the child. We have fidget toys, stuffed animals, and little cars for them to play with. We also have snacks, like animal crackers at each station. Everyone gets a lollipop, and when they’re done they get to pick out a treasure from the treasure chest.”
Bryant opened the salon in the Sango area, near where she and her family live, but says she would be interested in opening more stores.
“This is more than just a business, our kid even help out by providing input on toys and decor,” Bryant said. “We want to give back to the community. We’ve hosted toy drives, and a coats for kids event.
The salon offers quieter clippers an other thing to make the kids feel more comfortable. The also offer a First Haircut package, that includes a picture and a lock of hair.
“We offer discounts for military and first responders,” Bryant said. “We’re trying to make an enjoyable experience for everyone. We want people to come back. Sometimes, the kids don’t want to leave after they are done.”
For information, go to www.pigtailsandcrewcuts.com/clarksvilletn, Pigtails Clarksville on Instagram and Pigtails & Crewcuts: Haircuts for Kids – Clarksville, Tennessee.
