Arthur DeVitalis, Nederland. Corey Sutton has been in the business of beautifying clients’ hair for more than 22 years. He started as a salesperson of Aveda products, which have an emphasis on health-conscious and plant-based products. Sutton was in Boulder for eight years running his salon there, when the lease expired, and a medical office sought to open business in the location.
Sutton didn’t want to stop, but he knew that he would have to move his business. He chose a location in Nederland, right as the COVID-19 crisis led to shutdowns across the state.
This wouldn’t have been possible if Sutton hadn’t built his name, business and clientele for years, earning a reputation that led customers to come back for repeated appointments. That’s when Corey Sutton, Inc. started. Fortunately, he already planned a second location in Nederland. He chose not to reopen in Boulder.
He loves working with hair color, and is a master barber by trade, evidenced by the success and time spent in the business. He continues to sell Aveda products, which have been recommended by doctors for pregnant women due to the lack of chemical ingredients.
Sutton thanked those customers profusely, noting that his current business wouldn’t have been possible if not for the immense support for a gofundmepage he organized.
The business is open by appointment only, with Sutton often working longer than expected to fit everyone on the waiting list in.
So, what’s his favorite part of the business?
“Interacting with the people. I love cutting, I love color…I’ve been doing this for 22 years,” Sutton said.
He chose to work solely with a receptionist for the time being, though his business didn’t change when the government said that hair services could happen by appointment.
“I was already doing everything like that,” he laughed.
Sutton is open for business Tuesday through Saturday. He works from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, while on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Sutton is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Customers can utilize his online booking system via www.coreysuttoninc.com, or ask questions via Facebook @coreysuttoninc.
Staff members have taken a COVID-19-specific sanitation class to ensure customer safety. Products can be easily brought to customers’ cars, though hair coloring and cuts require those interested to be in closer proximity, and served one at a time. Walk-ins are not accepted.
Sutton is booked up for two to three weeks in advance and asks customers to keep this in mind. However, if an appointment is freed up unexpectedly, the next person on the waiting list will receive a call for an earlier appointment.
Customers range equally from men to women, and Sutton is expert in beards, brows, Brazilian Blowouts and more.
Though he is booked up often, Sutton will work with customers that travel. He says that some clientele go the distance to get their hair done, even from Steamboat Springs, Trinidad and more.
“Being a small business during this time is really rough. Especially a new business,” he said, a Nederland resident for more than eight years. “The thing that saved me and allowed me to continue this journey was that I set up a GoFundMe page when [COVID-19] first happened.”
The response was overwhelming, with customers blowing Sutton’s goal out of the water.
For more information, call Sutton at 720-465-9057 and set up your appointment.
(Originally published in the June 4, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)
