By Shade Narramore, Studio M staff //
“I’m probably one of the most boring interviews you’ll ever do.”
Stylist Shannon Stibolt. (Courtesy Shannon Stibolt)
Shannon Stibolt couldn’t be more wrong. Stibolt, 29, works as a hairstylist in Nashville and has amazing opportunities to work with artists and stars.
Originally from Albuquerque, Stibolt knew at a young age that she wanted to move to Nashville. More importantly, she knew she wanted to do hair in Nashville. Now, 17 years later, she calls herself a local.
She started her career about a decade ago working for Marabeth Hough Poole, who hired Stibolt to work in her Spring Hill salon, Natural Oasis.
“She gave me my start. She just threw me in and said, ‘Go do your thing,'” Stibolt said.
Later, Natural Oasis was sold to high-fashion runway stylist William Edge. While working at William Edge Salon, Stibolt learned the runway side of hairstyling and finally was working where she wanted: the CMA Awards. She made a lot of connections and friends through William Edge. Her favorite job: doing a simple up-do for Carrie Underwood for the CMAs.
“I just remember being like, ‘Oh crap, this is so scary,'” she says, adding how great Underwood was to work with.
“Most people think celebrities are horrible. But I just think celebrities in Nashville are a-maz-ing,” Stibolt said, drawing out the word.
Recently married and now a mother of an 18-month-old son, Benson, Stibolt is currently a “Royal Stylist” at Lucy Pop Salon in Hillsboro Village, where she mainly works with songwriters and upcoming artists as they try to get on their feet in the music world.
Stibolt says the team at Lucy Pop is like family and has supported her through a lot, even pushing her to open her own salon.
That endeavor, The White Cactus, had its grand opening on Nov. 1. Starting out as a one-woman team, she wants to make sure everything is the perfect fit before adding more stylists. The White Cactus will be located in West Nashville at 3307 Charlotte Ave.
Singer-songwriter Rick Ferrell has been going to Stibolt for four years now. They became instant friends after Stibolt worked as the make-up artist on one of his video shoots.
“Shannon’s creative eye and attention to detail stand her out of the pack,” he says. “She has a way of making people feel comfortable. … They trust her vision.”
In addition to opening a new salon, Stibolt and her husband, Ben, are also expecting a second child in February. But as her family and career evolve, there’s one thing she doesn’t plan to change: the city she calls home.
“This is such a beautiful, healing, epic place to live,” she says. “I think that’s one thing Nashville does: It makes it so easy to live here and be a family.”
Shade Narramore is a senior in journalism at Middle Tennessee State University.
Studio M, a project of the College of Media and Entertainment at MTSU, allows student journalists to be published statewide and nationwide. It’s made possible through grants and donations from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Tennessean and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.
