Amber Waves

Shannon’s Story

I grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and both of my parents had their hands in hair. My mom was a stylist in the early 1960’s era of very coufirred hair using wig pieces and lots of bobby pins. My dad worked as a barber in the 1940’s era of very clean, military style cuts with lots of waxes. I always had the desire and the dream to become a hairdresser.

I grew up as a child of the “his, hers and ours,” story like the children of today in a blended family. I graduated high school in 1987 and 2 weeks later, moved to Davenport, Iowa and attended the Capri Cosmetology College. Upon graduating, I moved back to Cedar Rapids for about 6 months. My friend had a connection to a salon in Naperville, IL. The two of us came to the interview and before I even said yes, we had our bags packed and were moving into an apartment in Naperville, IL.

I worked for Zano’s Hair Salon for 6 years and have much appreciation for the owner, Denise Provenzano. She was an amazing mentor. The 6 years I spent at Zano’s were instrumental in my growth period of hairdressing and life. I believe you should always cherish everything brought to you, good or bad, learn from it and move forward. I left Zano’s to open Amber Waves in 1996. As the years have shown, I have put my love for hairdressing into my business and my staff. I am very proud to say we have done it and we will keep moving forward. I want to thank my mentors, my mom and dad, Denise Provenzano and Geno Stampora for their support and guidance. My greatest thanks goes to my 2 wonderful children, Magee and Sam.