Shannon Smith recently celebrated her first anniversary at The Salon of Classic AutoSmith in Marietta, Georgia. For years, she and her husband Brandon dreamed of combining their passions in life: hair and vintage cars. Recently, that dream became a reality.
September of 2012 Brandon opened up his business of storing, consignment, and servicing classic, vintage, and exotic cars. Once Shannon’s salon lease was up, she and Brandon planned to build a new one in his showroom. They took a 1500-square-foot section within the 60,000-square-foot facility and turned her vision of black and white checkered floors and red accents into a two-station reality. They fashioned Craftsman tool boxes for stations, color bar, and front desk and carried the theme through the salon with black shelving and cabinets, black and white artwork, and a cool canary yellow hairdryer chair for a quirky touch. Old-fashioned barber poles adorn the exterior while vintage gas pumps tie in the theme from one business to another.
In the salon, Shannon balances both stations herself offering a full range of services to her clientele of men, women, and kids.
“At first, I don’t think my clients quite understood when I would tell them what my husband does,” mentions Shannon. “When they first walked into the showroom they were blown away. They had no idea what they were about to see! Everybody loves the concept of what we have created. To the point, sometimes they come back and bring their husbands so that they can do a tour and see all the cool cars. Also, the kids do not mind tagging along with mom now because they get to see all the cars.”
When asked about the showroom full of sometimes once in a lifetime cars, Shannon said, "The only policy you could say is to be careful. Everyone is allowed to look, touch (to an extent), and take as many photos as they like. Especially because some of the vehicles we have are either one-of-a-kind, or you just don't see them as in good of shape as we have them.”
She continued, “My husband’s and my business have both grown since the salon was built. We strive on making it a one-stop shop. We offer my clients full details, a buff, or whatever they might need while they are getting their hair done.” 
Photos Shannon Smith and Tarik Shalha
