Five years ago when Rachael Houde was planning on opening her own salon, Village Hair, she knew she wanted it to be located in Padanaram. But she had some concerns with the state of the village.

“When I was a child, there was always something going on. There was a bookshop, multiple coffee shops, a candy shop. Over time, things disappeared. It kinda fizzled out. Things were bought up and nothing was built up,” said Houde.

However, opening a shop in her hometown had always been her dream. When she saw a ‘For Rent’ sign on Elm Street, she called immediately and signed a lease the same day. Five years later, she’s moving her business to a bigger location — right next to her old shop.

“The village is coming back to life,” she said, noting how she’s seen an increase in cars parked along the streets. “I’m glad to still be here, and it’s fun to watch everything happen.”

Houde has been in the business for 20 years, the first 15 of which were spent at Stephen & Company, which she described as a wonderful place to work.

“I learned the fundamentals. You learn how to be a professional, you learn design and how to work with other people. I think it instilled a lot of those values where you want to strive to be better every day,” she said.

After gaining experience, she felt compelled to branch out on her own and try her hand at the managerial side of the business. She’s found that being her own boss is challenging, but gratifying. All that hard worked payed off because about a month ago, she expanded her salon.

The problem with the old location was its size. To ensure that the shop never felt crowded, only two stylists worked at the same time. Without space for a washer-dryer unit, Houde would have to bring towels home every night.

One of Houde’s clients, Jeannie Paradise, remembers the old location.

“It was tight, but it was super stylish,” said Paradise. “They did the very best with the space they had.”

Paradise spoke highly of the service at the salon, recalling a time when Houde came to her rescue. Back in February, her husband presented her with a romantic gesture. He was going to to dye her hair. Touched by his offer, Paradise agreed despite her suspicions that it may be a questionable plan.

“It was a kit — like a dye and a highlight in one. It was a hot mess, so I had to go get something to fix it. So we did another one, and now I look awful,” said Paradise.

“I had a meeting the next morning,” she continued. “I was freaking out.”

To combat the two botched dye jobs, she concealed everything beneath dark brown dye. Fortunately, one of her kids happened to have an appointment with Village Hair the next day.

“I came in near tears. Rachael made it much, much better,” said Paradise. “Lesson learned — I will never used a boxed product ever again. But I had a friend who came to my rescue.”

Houde plans to grow her business. She’s gone from four chairs to nine and hopes to add two more stylists to her roster. During the upcoming Padanaram Festival on July 25, her shop will hold an open house for visitors to come tour the newly remodeled shop on 294 Elm.

“Now we have all the space and the flexibility of coming in and out when we want,” said Houde. “It’s a different energy.”