Today marks our fire anniversary, in other words, today is the anniversary of the day a really mean and scary fire threw a tantrum and destroyed our salon. But, today, we are proof that the mystical bird called the Phoenix does exist in some way or another. For us, it exists in spirit, as we too, rose from the ashes in more ways than one.


On October 28th/2008 at 5:00am, a suspicious fire was started in the recycle bin at the back of the building, and then continued to rage its way in to our salon, scorching and burning everything inside, and making the roof collapse in to the back of the salon.

Despite all of the smoke and really bad smells, there were some laughs though! We had mannequin heads stored up in in the back of the salon which, due to the ceiling being on fire, decided to fall down and land in the sinks, and some were hanging from the remnants of the ceiling here and there. The poor Fireman had to walk in to a very dim and smokey building after the flames were gone, and see these eerie heads strewn about. They were not warned of the heads of course, because having plastic heads around is quite normal for us *wink*

One of the Firemen kept one of the heads as a souvenir and drove around with it in his truck until he was asked to return it. Further proof that positive attitudes and helping hands can make the best of any situation.

Despite finding humor in things, this fire definitely did take it's toll on the business, especially the few months directly following the fire. It was a huge stress on everyone trying to find somewhere to continue being available for our clients. Nobody wanted to be put out, as it would put our clients out, and that's just not something we are ok with!

Thanks to the HUGE support shown to us from fellow Comox Valleyites such as Leanne Boyd from Level 10 Eurospa, Dianne McPherson from Cockeye'd Optical, Karen McKinnon (to name a few) we were offered space to cut hair, places to hold meetings and so forth. However our epic rise from the ashes had a lot to do with Aimee Harrison of Salon Pure in Comox, who so heroicly offered to share her space with us until we could get back on our feet!

Months of squishing together and surviving the crisis past for the stylists. Some of our stylists had to become athletes just to get to and from work every morning. Anthony, for example, had to ride his bike from his place all the way to comox and back every day. However, he looks fabulous doesn't he?! See, something good always, ALWAYS, comes from something bad.

It has been two years since it happened, and to walk in here you would never ever know. What Ida-marie and Michael have done to rebuild this place is awe inspiring. It's bloody brilliant actually, and from what I hear, we are busier than ever. I'm personally stoked about the reception desk having deep red stone like surfaces with shiny parts. It's sexy, and I get to stare at it all day!


But seriously, it's amazing, and I did not work here then, but I remember what it used to look like, and I remember how many staff we had back then, and I've heard so many comparison stories... let me tell you, we are, well, let me allow Daft Punk to say it best; 'Harder, better, faster, stronger'

To top it all off, we even had a few very brave people stay behind and remain in Comox to push through and make our Roots mark there. Thanks to them, our Comox location is starting to really take off, so we're so grateful they flexed their muscles and braved that storm for us!


So I suppose in sum it would seem that we should thank the fire, but that would be very misplaced thanks. All thanks, all claps and highfives, should go to every single person that helped this fabulous business survive, and to those that nurtured it to be a bigger and better place overall.

Here is to another billion years! (I'm serious, one billion. Don't argue with me!)

PS: Fire sale at Roots tomorrow! All Roots brand products are on sale for 50% off! Come in and get 'yers'!

Thank you for calling,
♥Sadie