Kula's is still open for retail, sells gift certificates, and can schedule appointments

DIXON, CA (MPG) - For a regular dose of self-care for women, there is much offered behind the yellow door that bejewels the one block of businesses on West B Street inside Kula's Boutique and Tanning.

The door belies the large space featuring retail of clothing, jewelry, home interiors and gifts leading to the numerous tanning or massage rooms and now: a full hair salon fashioned in urban-esque design by owner Amy Rogers and stylist Michelle Doan.

"It's very important for me to do what I'm passionate about and [owners] Amy and Brian have given me that opportunity here," said Doan who spent the first decade of her married life as a full-time homemaker raising her two children.

Doan had been a stylist at B's Gallery for three years and became close friends with owner Becky Jacobs before wanting to pursue her career more with skills for eyebrow microblading and eyelash extensions. Those require a lot of different rules and regulations requiring a move from B's, she explained.

"But what I love most is the connection I get with my clients," she said. "That they feel confident enough with me to trust me and share a personal conversation. I'm 38 years old. Life is short and there is so much to be grateful for. During COVID, they let me run with getting the [the salon] all set up. They were a blessing from God to me." Kula's owners, who had a future goal of being a "one-stop-shop," needed someone to help run the shop for them.

"I was caught by Michelle's personality and her heart, her passion for being a stylist and for her customers, and we're both strong believers. I think that I was so lucky to find her. We both have a strong faith and I think that is what clicked first for me," said Rogers who learned that Doan had conquered many personal struggles but exudes positivity and a sense of determination. "We both have the same vision," she said.

Rogers works full time for Sutter Medical Center managing a team of 25 employees and put herself through school to provide better for her and her daughter after a teen pregnancy in her early life. Now, she is the mother of three daughters including a 3 and 8-year-old and has a "very supportive" husband.

It's understandable that Rogers could relate to Doan's drive and ascertain she'd be great for running the shop. Michelle revealed she had been gravely sick as a child and spent a lot of time at Oakland's Children's Hospital due to a rare genetic condition called Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome.

"Being at Oakland's Children Hospital and seeing kids there--some that actually live there--I was able to take that in and know the difference," she said. That realization gave her an attitude of gratitude. "I was able to go to school and go outside and play and develop my relationship with God--that was at a young age and that is a hard thing for young people." Not that life was perfectly easy after that.

"I did lose faith--for a minute--and wondered why wasn't I enough. I had to learn that I was enough for myself," she said. Out of three children, Doan is the middle child and the only one with the condition. After genetic testing, they learned one of her two sons has it and must be hospitalized for regular testing.

"We don't know where it came from," she said. "For an adult, [getting scoped] is a piece of cake but going through it as a kid, it is very traumatizing. I learned that God made me a fighter for a reason. It's going to take a lot to take me down. I go to counseling once a week and have learned a lot about myself. Family is huge to me."

Going through Cosmetology School during a divorce brought her closer to her teen sons and now she is developing a rich, communicative relationship with her father who has Stage 4 Terminal Cancer. She seems to find the 'silver linings' in each devastating crisis.

"My Dad wanted to be my first haircut," she said. A $20 bill is in the frame with her business license on the edge of her mirror at her styling station. "He made me shave his hair off when he first got cancer but his hair has grown back because he's not doing chemo anymore but it's different; it's wiry and curly. He calls me his baby girl and he said, 'Michelley, just cut it however!' " She gave him a trimmed down mohawk.

"It was his idea to do the $20 tip in the frame and sign it but I wanted to create a memory and I wanted that first memory to be of my Dad," she said.

Kula's is still open for retail, sells gift certificates, and can schedule appointments. They are located at 120 West B Street--look for the yellow door--and you can call (707) 678-2633 for more information.