Recovery Spotlight: Signatures Salon

This year we start a new monthly feature called “Recovery Spotlight.” We will highlight a different business each month and celebrate their post-hurricanes journey.

Signatures Salon co-owners Wendy White McCown and Cortney Blalock and their team share the resiliency exhibited throughout Southwest Louisiana this past year. As with Hurricane Rita in 2005, the shop sustained roof damage during Hurricane Laura that caused extensive interior water damage. The building needed to be re-roofed and the interior rebuilt. The first step was to gut the interior. Multiple dumpster-loads of wet debris were thrown away and the shop contents stored in two ship containers kept in their parking lot. Next came new insulation, electrical wires, sheetrock, trim, paint, and floors. Cortney and her husband, Kevin, managed the repairs – they’d had experience restoring Signatures after two cars damaged the building when they ran into it on two separate occasions over the past five years! They were fortunate to sustain little damage from Hurricane Delta, and the remodel process after Hurricane Laura took about 10 weeks.

Wendy and Cortney were naturally concerned about both their team and clients after the storm, so while the shop was being repaired, they reopened and set up a temporary salon location outdoors in the garden next to Signatures. “It was perfect!” Wendy says. “The weather cooperated most days. Our clients were so grateful we were able to accommodate them.” The team also stayed connected with their clients and the community via social media.

Wendy and Cortney are proud of their team and how they pulled together after the storms. “Many had their houses damaged as well,” Cortney says. “After making sure their homes were secure, they came back with smiles, ready to tackle the salon and reopening. We appreciate the patience the community has shown us through the reopening after Hurricane Laura. The salon is beautiful, and the team is ready to serve!”