Alice & Company Salon and Spa
Alice & Company Celebrates 30 Years | April 2019
By Maria Landry
Veronica Wright has a folder full of memories.
“My mother saved all these articles,” she says fondly, sifting through newspaper clippings and photos about Alice & Company, the salon and spa business Wright and her mother, Alice Saucier, started in Skowhegan 30 years ago.
Before Alice & Company, Wright grew up in the salon business, with her mother running Alice’s Beauty Shoppe out of their home in East Madison.
In 1989 Saucier sold her home and was not quite ready to retire, so she asked her daughter to join her in establishing a salon in downtown Skowhegan, where Kennebec Stitchery is now.
Alice & Company thrived in that location on Madison Avenue for 13 years, and Wright’s sister, Linda Ouellette, joined the business in 2000.
“It made my mom happy to have both of her daughters working with her, and along the way we have had many great employees adding to our team of professional stylists,” Wright said.
When Alice & Company outgrew their downtown space, they found the opportunity to move to their current location at the corner of Madison Avenue and Leavitt Street.
“This provided a much larger location where more services can be provided like massage, facials, pedicures, and now eyelash extensions,” Wright said.
Wright’s mom retired a few years after the move to Leavitt Street. Although she passed away in 2014, her beauty school diploma from 1945 still hangs in the salon.
That diploma is just one of many mementos of two generations of hair stylists. Wright brims with nostalgia over newspaper articles from years gone by.
“Over the course of 30 years I didn’t realize how many different fundraisers we’ve done,” she said, sharing memories about dog washes for the Somerset Humane Society, a Locks of Love fundraiser, a cut-a-thon for disaster aid after 9/11, and a fundraiser called Kiss Out Domestic Violence, when customers donned lipstick and kissed paper hearts.
“Even my male clients were happy to help,” Wright said. “They literally put on lipstick and kissed the hearts.”
This year, in honor of her 30th anniversary, Wright had another idea.
“I decided that it was time to do something for the teachers because they’re the forefront of our education. I came up with this great idea to ask my teachers to choose a day in April that they can encourage their kids to do something kind.”
In return, every teacher who participates will receive a donation of classroom supplies at the end of April.
“I’ve asked my customers, or anybody, to bring in school supplies. We’re coming to the end of the school year, and teachers still need supplies such as markers and tissues and hand sanitizer. They’re digging out of pocket constantly for that.”
One teacher chose April Fools’ Day as a day of kindness—instead of playing jokes, her students made cupcakes for all the teachers in the school. Another teacher and her classroom raised more than $1,000 in one day for a student battling cancer.
“We are extremely overwhelmed by the participation the teachers and students have shared with us,” Wright said. “We still have until the end of April to fulfill the challenges, and we are looking forward to hearing all about them.”
Wright is also raffling off gift items for her customers. “At the end of the month we’ll do a drawing. Any money from the raffle will go toward purchasing more school supplies. On Saturday, April 27, we’re going to have an open house and customer appreciation day. I really want to thank the community for all that they’ve done for me over these 30 years.”
Wright and her colleagues have a wide range of customers, from babies to Wright’s most senior client, who is 101.
“You know you have earned the trust of your clients when you give someone their first haircut and they return for all of their special occasions—dance recitals, proms, graduation, and wedding, to mention a few. But when they bring in their child for their first haircut, you realize you’ve been in business for a very long time.”
“How do you measure success?” Wright mused. “For me, if you leave my business with a smile on your face, that’s success.”
Learn more at aliceandcompany.com.
