Business Profile: Sheri Sutton's Classic Looks

"You treat people the way you want to be treated," says Sheri Sutton, owner of Classic Looks salon in Cottonwood Square for the past 33 years. "I love the small town feel here in Niwot, and this business is my safe area. I'm comfortable here."

Taking an hour break from her work cutting and styling hair and running her business, Sutton offered tea seated in the middle of the small salon, where she employs a smiling Vietnamese–born manicurist appropriately named Sunshine, her son Chris Sutton, who is a hairdresser, barber and also a musician about to go on tour in the midwest this spring, another hairdresser and her long-time friend, the receptionist, Anne Goncalves.

Cozy and warm is a way to describe the atmosphere at Classic Looks, which has a hometown feel about it. "Basically I want people to feel comfortable coming in, make it easy to drop in, even if all they need is a cup of coffee or tea or a brief chat," Sutton added.

Married for 43 years to her husband, Mike Sutton, Sheri Sutton came to Niwot in the third grade. Her parents, Vern and Patricia Bauer, worked in the printed circuit board manufacturing industry and owned a business in Boulder. "I worked for my dad in his business," she said, "and I learned a lot from them. They were good business people."

In her early 30s, already married and a mother, Sutton left Zotos, a hair products company where she had been employed for six years, to start her own business. "I needed to get back to work and I didn't want to work for anybody. My Mom told me about this then-vacant spot in Cottonwood Square and the rest is history."

"We re-modeled the place and became busy and just started focusing on what is happening here."

Sutton said that there have surely been some bumps along the way but probably the most challenging times in running her small, vibrant business have been recently, during the Covid epidemic, "when we were forced to close and had no way to generate income."

"We've gone through recessions and had some challenges within the world economic order, but Covid was the hardest one we went through," she said, taking a sip of tea.

"We were closed and had no income but we still had to pay the bills," Sutton said with a wince. Then a smile broke out on her face. "But you know, we had great friends and family and two years later, here we are," she said, looking out over the buzz of activity in the salon.

She turned back and added after a pause, "Before Covid, I was always working so hard. The thing I learned during Covid is, I learned how to relax. I learned how to smell the roses and watch a beautiful sunset and I found peace in other things than just always working hard."

In her free time, Sutton said sometimes, "I like being home. Or driving up to Crested Butte. Sometimes we go fishing or walking around enjoying nature. I like driving in the mountains, going on adventures, taking a road and seeing where it ends up."

"We try to create a nice atmosphere for our clients," she said. "We are all seeing so much hatred out in the world and on the road and here, it's kind of like a big family – an extended family."

Some of her clients have been coming for decades. "Owning a small business has its ups and downs, its challenges. But in time, everything works out. We walk through it step by step and do the best we can with what's been given."

She added that she has learned a lot from her clients, from how to potty train children, to how to deal with the challenges of taking care of one's elderly parents. She said, "Some of these elderly ladies who are clients have a lot of wisdom."

"My goal is to make it comfortable here," she added, rising to greet her next client.

"We want people to feel welcome."