After 14 years running Short Cuts salon, Rachel Higgins has moved to Salon Capella at 31G Townsend Avenue.

“This is a really positive change for me, and now that we have a two-year-old girl, Megan, to take care of, it just makes more sense,” Higgins said. “This way my work life is at work, and my home life is at home.

“Besides, I can learn more working here. I think I've learned more in the last two months here than in the past five years!”

Higgins and the owner of Salon Capella, Heather Savage, have been friends for a long time.

“We have great chemistry,” Higgins said. “Heather is a wonderful person to work with. In some salons you are independent, but they want you to do things a certain way. Here I'm truly independent and self-employed.”

Savage and Higgins had actually looked into doing this four years ago, but at the time, their styles didn't mesh.

“I only did walk-ins then, and (Savage) only did appointments,” Higgins said. “It didn't work. But six months before I got pregnant, I switched to appointments.” Higgins will still take walk-ins when time allows.

Higgins has done hair for 21 years, ever since she graduated high school. She does cuts, coloring and perms. She is currently taking new clients and is available for appointments.

“I'm very happy with her,” said one of Higgins' longtime clients, Ursula Smith. “I'd follow her wherever she went.”