A staple of Spring Street, the Berkshire-based chain The Clip Shop celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.
The Clip Shop’s co-founders Carlos DeAbreu and Vasso Stamatakos — who own all of The Clip Shop establishments — first met as coworkers at The Chopping Block salon in Amherst, Mass. In September 1974, the pair decided to open their own salon together.
Stamatakos grew up in the same Greek village as one of the owners of Colonial Pizza — a store on Spring Street that closed in 2015 — and paid him a visit while planning the opening of the new salon. “When he came, there was an empty shop next to the pizza place,” said Mandy Parker, manager and artistic director of The Clip Shop. “He was like, ‘Huh, this is where we’re going to be.’ So he opened up here, and they’ve been here basically [ever] since.”
“When I came to see my friends in Williamstown, it was in September, so the students were back, but there were still a lot of tourists around,” Stamatakos said. “And I said, ‘Oh my God, this is the right place.’ We found the place, and we rented without really knowing what was going to happen.”
Fifty years later, The Clip Shop — though it moved to a different location on Spring Street in 1995 — still retains its original charm. “We are part of people’s families and they are a part of us,” Stamatakos said.
Parker said The Clip Shop’s longtime presence in the Town “shows that we know what we’re doing.”
On Sept. 8, The Clip Shop held a dinner to celebrate its 50th anniversary and raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association — a cause close to The Clip Shop community ever since DeAbreu was diagnosed with the disease in 2016. “All the employees and past customers joined us,” said Cheyanne Alcombright, a stylist who started working at the salon in 2022. “We had a beautiful dinner. There were a bunch of speeches and it was just a lovely, lovely night.”
“The 50th anniversary was more or less a surprise for me,” Stamatakos said of the event. “It was very emotional. I saw people that I have not seen for a long time because they had moved away. It was very touching. Words cannot explain, unless you’re there to feel that energy, the love everybody shows.”
Love — for the shop, its founders, and its clients — was emphasized repeatedly in interviews with the Record. “It’s wonderful to have bosses such as Vasso and Carlos, who have been such an inspiration and just give us the opportunity in life to do what we do and to love what we do,” said Sue Dube, who has worked at the shop for 46 years. “It’s a craft. I’m a crafter, making people beautiful.”
When asked if she has memories working with students at the College, Dube was quick to share her experiences. “I had a client who I would consider my mentor in life,” she said. “She was just so spirited and happy-go-lucky and paid it forward, always. For me, she was my inspiration.”
“I mean, so many stories,” she continued. “Especially because I do a lot of the athletes. They’re so full of fun, and I hear all about their parties. And, of course, what’s the name of that street? Hoxsey, right? Yeah, plenty of stories over the years.”
Stamatakos, too, shared his gratitude for the College and its students. “We welcome the Williams College students and we alway appreciate them coming into the store,” he said. “It’s not a big corporation, and any help from them is always a great appreciation.”
“The people there are chill,” said Kajus Walsh ’27, who has been to The Clip Shop for a haircut several times. While he has had past haircut experiences in which “people have absolutely violated [his] hair,” there has been no such trauma at The Clip Shop. “I only go to The Clip Shop now. They know how to do it.”
Amina Levites-Cohen ’27, like Walsh, had only positive things to say about her experience at the The Clip Shop. “I went to The Clip Shop last March, and I went for a pretty big chop,” she said. “It was a really lovely atmosphere, and the person that cut my hair was really nice. I got my haircut by the same person who cut Rabbi Seth [Wax]’s hair, and they were wonderful and they were wearing a really cool outfit.”
Levites-Cohen also noted that a general positivity permeates the shop. “There was a lot of fun chatter and it seemed like everyone who worked there really enjoyed working there,” she said.
Though the salon is a small operation, employees at The Clip Shop stressed its impact on their lives. “I feel like it is where I grew up, where I learned a lot,” Parker said. “It made me who I am.”
“Working here has been the most memorable experience I could have ever asked for,” Alcombright said. “I work with the greatest group of ladies you can ever imagine. There’s this camaraderie here. It’s like a big sisterhood. If I could sum it up into a teacup, I would say that I wouldn’t trade this job for the world.”
“It’s a lot of hard work, but for me, the best of all is not the money, it’s not the business, but it’s all the beautiful people,” Stamatakos said. “That’s our biggest reward.”
