Local Salon Moves to New Location

Karen Wisner, owner of A Kut Above hair salon, has moved locations and continues to style hair and provide mani-pedis after 38 years in the industry.

“I started at my new location the first week of October,” said Wisner. “I needed a change, less stress in my life. A Kut Above is my name, so I took that with me and left everything else for the other girls.”

Wisner stated that the salon, Bare Beauty, took over her previous location. “I didn’t necessarily sell the business. Rather, I gave the business to them,” Wisner said.

A Kut Above provides services such as haircuts, manicures, and pedicures. “I’m also an esthetician, so I’m looking into getting a GLP-1 machine to tighten skin up,” Wisner said.Wisner said she spent her entire career at the old location before deciding to try something different. “I want a little less stress for myself, and I want to be able to spend more time with [my husband] Steve. Since he sold the movie theater, I’ve been wanting to spend more time with him. We just got back from a vacation with my parents to Booth Bay Harbor in Maine.”

Wisner said she is accepting new clients. “I’ve been doing this for 38 years, and I have a big, faithful client base. I will take new clients depending on if I have the time. Since Colville is a small town, I need to be versatile,” adding that she does not anticipate retiring soon. Wisner said she operates the business space with Carla Schultz, a cosmetologist, and Becky Droter, an esthetician. “I’m with them, but we’re all independent,” she said.

Wisner said she has stayed in the beauty business for so long because she loves the creativity of hair, nails, toes. But more than that, “I love making people feel beautiful. It makes me happy doing this. When my clients leave, they feel beautiful. I love what I’m doing.”

The slower pace of the A Kut Above’s new location allows Wisner more time to spend with customers. “It’s a more relaxed atmosphere, and I don’t feel like I’m running,” she said.

“I want people to know that I’m still working and would love for them to come to my new spot and hang.”

The new location of A Kut Above is 530 S. Main St. in Colville, in the same building as Farmers’ Insurance.