Dreams burn brightly in Mt. Pleasant

MT. PLEASANT — Once upon a time, in a small town located in the Southeast corner of Iowa, a little girl dreamed of one day owning a beautiful stone building which she affectionately called the Castle Church.

The little girl dreamed of being a teacher and a cosmetologist as she played school and beauty shop with her little sisters, and got in a bit of trouble for giving her dolls haircuts.

That girl would one day grow up to see her dream come true.

Revival Salon and Sanctuary Owner Gina Burns was once that little girl with a big dream.

“I have had a photo of [the Castle Church] on my bulletin board, as a life goal, for the past 12 years,” she said. “When God’s plan matched mine, the dream became a reality.”

According to Burns, however, dreams coming true is not always as easy as “Bippity-Boppity-Boo.”

“I can honestly say the huge renovation project we had in front of us when we purchased the church would not have been possible on my own,” she said. “I have my husband to thank for his countless hours of hard work!”

While Burns attributes many thanks to her husband, and despite saying she is merely a retired teacher who drives to a castle and plays with people’s hair all day, Burns has put in a number of hours turning this dream into a reality, as well.

“We put an offer in on the church within hours of it being listed for sale and had an accepted offer by the second day,” she said. “We took possession of the church Jan. 1 this year, started renovating immediately, worked until 10 p.m. most days and opened the salon May 1.”

“There are still so many things we still want to do to the building,” she said. “Especially in the sanctuary, so I hustle in order to keep renovating.”

So, while she continues work on completing the sanctuary renovations, Burns continues working in the burgeoning salon.

“We are growing,” Burns said, “I began in May and the very next month another stylist, Silke Jennings, joined me. Shortly after that, we added Danielle Black from Glow Esthetics a couple days a month. We also now have a full-time massage therapist, Gina Rooks. And this last week, another stylist, Kaitlyn Klein began working at Revival!”

Between renovations, scheduling, cleaning, and running social media, Burns is sure to find time to enjoy her dream coming true.

“I specifically love all things hair, especially, special occasion styling and I am certified in invisible bead extensions,” Burns said. “Silke loves to do lash extensions and spray tans, Kaitlyn does facials, waxing and lash Extensions and of course we all do cuts, colors, manicures and pedicures.”

Even while it isn’t quite finished, Burns finds joy in what she does.

She says that her favorite part of living in her dream become reality is that first look when people see their new hair in the mirror and love it again.

“Second, I work in a castle,” she said.

Turns out, part of Burns’ dream coming true, is making dreams come true for others, too.

As the salon continues to grow, Burns is excited to invite students into her fairy tale.

“Currently we have 2 students from American Hair Academy doing mentoring hours with us,” she said. “Both have signed on to work with us when they graduate in October and November. We also have a senior at Mt. Pleasant Community High School interning with us each afternoon to determine if cosmetology is the field she wants to pursue! The teacher in me loves having students around to teach!”

According to Burns, one of the main reasons Revival will remain open on Mondays when many other salons are closed is because she wants to continue this relationship with students.

“That is the day students at American Hair Academy are free to do their mentoring hours,” she said. “We want to help support that program!”

Fairy tales continue to come to life at Revival as they host Princess Makeover Days with Elsa, Belle, and Cinderella, and that is only the beginning.

“Coming up Oct. 12, we will host a med spa info night to learn about services offered.” Burns said. “Similar to princess makeovers, we are working with a professional photographer who’s putting together packages for our senior princesses who will come for Fabulous after 50 makeovers and photo shoots.”

“When we finish the Sanctuary after the New Year, we will host a Christian concert series,” she said. “We are also in the planning stages with Sarah’s Bridal to offer some wedding gown and prom dress fashion shows!”

For Burns, all the hours, all the effort, all the planning, money, and work are completely worth seeing her dreams come true.

“When you follow your passion, work feels like play,” she said. “Remember, dreams don’t chase themselves.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com