NEW SCOTLAND — Two best friends worked from a new salon Monday afternoon clipping hair. Studio 85 has a posh name that goes along with both the renovations inside — textured flooring that looks and feels like rock — and the location.

Stonewell Plaza at the corner of routes 85 and 85A is now home to one of the only hair salons in town.
"Since I was a little girl, I’ve always known this is what I wanted to do," co-owner Annie Renaldo said.

Studio 85 currently has three hairstylists, all women who had previously worked with Renaldo at a salon in the Price Chopper Plaza in Slingerlands, Renaldo said.

Amanda Scalzo has been a hairstylist and waxer for four years. She and Renaldo are best friends so she jumped at the chance to work for her, Scalzo said.

At age 28, after seven years of being a licensed beautician, Renaldo opened Studio 85 with business partner, Vincenzio Federico. He owns two other barbershops in the Capital Region, Renaldo said, but this is her first.

It was a smart move, Scalzo said, because there are no other salons in this area outside of the village of Voorheesville.

Renaldo and Federico received a rare use variance from the town’s zoning board in October to permit their business. Under New Scotland’s existing zoning law, hair salons or other personal services are not listed as permitted uses in commercially-zoned property. Zoning administrator Paul Cantlin called it an oversight. But, as a result, the commercial corridor has not seen a hair salon in 12 years, and that one just happened to slip through the enforcement cracks, said Cantlin.

Scalzo said she has a lot of clients who live in Voorheesville so they have enjoyed her moving closer, and Stonewell is a great location for clients on their way home to Berne as well, she said.

Renaldo and Federico’s shop is smaller and more personal than places Scalzo has worked before, she said. The atmosphere is less industrial, and has a warmer feel, Scalzo said.

Scalzo and Renaldo have lived down the street from each other in Albany off Krumkill Road for many years. Renaldo went to Albany High School. Scalzo said she had never traveled this far out from Albany before now.
"People are friendly out here," she said. It’s a career she likes because of "all the people I talk to"And it’s not a sit down job," she said, explaining that hairstyling is a creative profession that allows for flexibility in hours.
"We are meeting a lot of new people," Renaldo said. Women walking by from Curves, a fitness center located next door, have been stopping in to take a look and say hello, Renaldo said.

The storefront had been vacant since it was home to Emma Cleary’s Café almost two years ago. Renaldo and Federico have had the space completely renovated with new lighting fixtures; six wooden hair-cutting stations; two shampoo stations; a lobby; two rooms for tanning, a service Renaldo plans to offer in the near future; a side room reserved for manicures and pedicures once business picks up and she secures employees for that; and a private room for waxing, which is already set up. Renaldo also plans to offer massage further down the line, she said.

As of Monday, Studio 85 has been open for a week, and is organizing a grand opening celebration in March. The salon is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.