Flagstaff Featured Business: Buzz Buzz Hair Co.
(as published in the March 4 edition of The Community Press)
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press.
Buzz Buzz Hair Co.
780-888-2693
4540 48 Ave., Hardisty
Amy de Kock didn’t always want to be a hairstylist.
She was originally intent on following in her mom’s footsteps and becoming a teacher, much like her sister did.
“But I just found that being in school for four years was not my cup of tea,” she explains. “I’m very happiness-driven and I wasn’t happy. So I decided to make a change and fell in love with the beauty industry.”
She trained fully in skin care, makeup, and aesthetics, before eventually pursuing hairdressing.
“I worked in a salon/spa and just decided I really liked the dynamic of a salon,” she adds. “The great rapport between clients and the stylists was amazing and I decided that’s what I wanted. So then I worked in salons in the city.”
Before long, de Kock yearned to own her own salon. That way she could put an extra emphasis on customer service with her own personal flair.
“That’s kind of what drove me to open up my own shop, to really be able to give the customer the best possible experience that I could,” she says.
Buzz Buzz Hair Company opened in November of 2015 in her refurbished garage in her hometown of Hardisty.
“I just love being here. I’ve had really great community support,” de Kock notes.
That sense of community is one of the biggest benefits of having a business in the Flagstaff Region, according to de Kock.
“Right when I opened my salon, I automatically had an amazing support system because of that small-town feel,” she explains. “You just can’t get that in the city. And that’s one of my favourite things about owning a business here. It’s like a big extended family.”
Along with the standard salon services of cutting and colouring hair, Buzz Buzz also specializes in a variety of hair extensions.
“It’s an amazing service that we’re happy to offer our clients,” says de Kock. “We wanted to bring the highest quality here, because even though we’re in a small town, quality still really matters to us and we wanted to make sure our clients had the best possible services imaginable with extensions.”
Buzz Buzz Hair Company carries the Kevin Murphy product line.
For de Kock, it was a no-brainer.
“The big reason that I brought it in was because it was the first thing that actually worked for myself,” she says. “I am not really a sales pusher in terms of product and Kevin Murphy was the first line that I didn’t have to push because it just worked. It supported me as a stylist and it did amazing things for the hair.”
In fact, de Kock believes in the products so much that she became an educator for Kevin Murphy.
“I’m always striving to take out-of-salon education to continuously improve my craft. I loved Kevin Murphy so much that I applied for a position for an educator for them. And in October of 2017, I found out that I was selected, one of 13 in North America to go become an educator for them,” she recalls. “So I got to fly to California and take a week-long training course with them to pursue a role as an educator.
“So now I get to do hair and teach as well. I travel to other salons to spread the Kevin Murphy love, which is amazing. And it’s such a passion for me to get to share that love of Kevin Murphy and love of hairstyling with other stylists around Alberta.”
She employs “two amazing girls” in her shop, who both believe in education as much as she does.
“We just have a family here,” de Kock adds, noting they are currently all accepting new clients. “I’m not really strict as a boss, so I needed people that were really positive, really amazing, that would be able to work with me.
“And we are like a little Buzz Buzz Salon family. It’s amazing. We just love working together. It always makes me smile anytime my girls walk in the door because I know we have an instant, awesome dynamic anytime they’re in here with me.”
Future hopes and plans for Buzz Buzz include potentially a freestanding salon, as well as the addition of a barber shop side.
The salon’s easygoing and personable owner has some sage advice for any would-be hairstylists.
“It’s not easy to make it as a hairstylist and a lot of girls will go to school and then not continue,” she says. “The biggest advice I could give them is just keep going. Find a place that you love, find a boss that loves you and invests in you, and believes in education, and you’ll really fall in love with the industry.
“Again, it’s really hard at the start, but if you persevere and go through with it and really pursue more education, that’s what’s going to inspire you and light that spark for you to want to do more as a stylist.”
As published in the March 4 edition of The Community Press – on newsstands today or purchase a digital copy below. Never miss an issue, become a SUBSCRIBER today!
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press. For more information, contact Jenalee Waring, Economic Development Coordinator, at 780-384-4152.
