Riverstone salon marks 20 years of community care
A RIVERSTONE hair salon that started with just three chairs in a tiny Riverstone shop has celebrated 20 years in business and two decades of giving back to the North West community.
The Cutting Room was established by Penny Whitmore in Riverstone Market Town in August 2006, operating from an 18-square-metre salon with three chairs and two basins.
As the business grew, it outgrew its original home and in 2018 relocated to Grantham Farm. Today, The Cutting Room operates from a 100-square-metre salon featuring 14 chairs and four basins.
The milestone was recently recognised by Federal Member for Greenway and Attorney-General Michelle Rowland, who visited the salon and presented a certificate marking its 20th anniversary.
The business has also previously been recognised in NSW Parliament through a Community Recognition Statement from State Member for Riverstone Warren Kirby.
But The Cutting Room's story extends well beyond hairdressing.
Its Community Clause Christmas present drive has provided 4,963 gifts to local families over six years, while the salon has offered 72 work experience placements to girls from local schools and sponsors the Riverstone Razorbacks girls' rugby league teams.
Supporting women experiencing domestic and family violence has also become an important part of the salon's community role. It provides free hair services and products to women supported by Flourish Australia who are rebuilding their lives.
The salon was also invited to contribute a hairdressing industry perspective to consultation for the NSW Common Risk Assessment and Management Framework for domestic and family violence.
The consultation explored the unique position hairdressers can find themselves in when clients disclose domestic violence and what resources could assist salons in responding appropriately.
Two years ago, The Cutting Room became a women-only salon, providing greater privacy and comfort for women from different cultural and faith backgrounds, including clients who wear hijab.
Environmental sustainability is another priority, with the salon recycling about 95 per cent of its waste. It is also participating as a Pharmacycle blister-pack recycling drop-off point.
The Cutting Room has won the Blacktown City Local Business Award for Best Hairdresser four times and has been a finalist every year it has not won since 2009.
It has also received a Sustainability Award and been a finalist in the Australian Women's Small Business Champion Awards.
20 years after opening its doors in Riverstone, the business remains firmly connected to the community that helped it grow.
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