Story and photos by Nia Harrison.

There is a lack of hair stores that cater to black people in Springfield, MO. Although it is a problem, the few stores in Springfield try their hardest to be the best providers. Della Gardner, Owner of Della's Beauty Plus is one of them. Della wants her store to stay true to black culture. All mannequins in the store are modeled after black women. Della believes that since she is black everything in the store should represent that. It is important for her to stay true to the culture. She not only sells hair but gives words of wisdom and strives to meet the needs of her clientele. Customers leave with quality products and confidence that they can do anything

"I keep it black because I am black." - Della Gardner

What is the story behind Della's? Why did you decide to start a hair business?

“I had a sister who passed away back in 2015 of colon cancer. She was 47 and I'd always thought about maybe opening up a hair store. She went to go get a wig and she really couldn't find one and they wanted to charge her an arm and a leg and the cancer society wanted to do her... ya know any kind of way and so she was like 'sis you remember that idea you had about opening up a hair store?" I said' "Yeah," and she said, ‘Open one up.’ I may not be around to see it come to life but I want you to open one up." So I said, 'Okay.’ She passed away October 28 of 2016. I retired from my job, which was at Kraft foods, and I looked into starting a business. I brought my daughter on board because she knows about all hair, and we started investing. We actually have a sales woman that comes here to sell us hair, she's from our community.”

In one word how would you describe Della's?

"I would describe it as Della. I really would because you know what? To me it's exciting, it has its moments, it’s up, its down. Every day I wake up and I come down here and I just love coming through that door. I love what I do so it's very exciting. You never know who you're going to meet. I meet different people all day long. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I think to myself, 'mmm very interesting' but I always laugh at the end of the day.”

Why Springfield? Pros and cons? 

"My home town is East St. Louis, Illinois. I've been here in Springfield since I was 16 years old. I moved here with my mother and father, my father had accepted a job. I go places but I really do like Springfield. If people just give it a chance, especially young minorities, they will realize that entrepreneurship here is wonderful. Just give it a chance. 

How do you feel about the lack of black hair stores in Springfield?

"Everybody has an opportunity. Everybody has that drive in them. It's up to you what you wanna do. If there's not enough black stores in Springfield it's not because anybody has stopped them. It's because they've stopped themselves and told themselves ‘I can't do it’ instead of saying, ‘I can do anything.’ Through God, through Christ who strengthens me. We all got a passion. There's all kinds of stuff out there. I mean I did it! I know other people can do it. I'm always telling young women and men, 'Hey look, you can do anything. You don't have to go to a big city just to work for somebody for the rest of your life and retire.' If you have a passion in you for something, anything, take it and use it.

Are there any plans in the future for the store?

"Yes, there are big plans. I would like to get a mega store because the clientele is here. We have people coming from Joplin, Arkansas, and Branson. We have entertainers that call us when we have a whole stock of wigs. I try to service everybody. That's what I want for this store. All people of different ethnicities come in here. Whether it's Asian, Spanish, Caucasian, Arabic. I try to have quality hair. My daughter wears hair, wig units and I do too. Whatever we put on, we make sure the general public is going to like it. Also, within the next few months I'm going to move in makeup, and more hairlines. Just really do a transformation in here."

Any advice you would give to someone opening a store in a small town like Springfield?

"The advice I would give is this right here-lack of knowledge, you won't make it. The best thing to do is ask. Don't ever be afraid to walk up to anyone with a business and ask them, how did you do this? How did you do that? Tell me which way. There's nothing in my body that would ever stop me from keeping somebody behind. I want them to always move forward. It ain't gonna hurt nobody to put in a little bit of elbow grease in. Some people think you have to have a lot of money to go into business.You don’t, you just need to know the resources. I'm always telling them, 'Hey look, reach for the stars. Do not look back. Leave all negative feelings and always step forward and say, “I can do it.' That's why you gotta keep telling yourself. I can do this. I'm geared up for it. I tell all the young people that come in, 'You can do whatever you want. Don't let nobody hold you back.' 

   "Where ever you move, make it your home." -Della Gardner

Della’s Beauty Supply is located at  221 E Commercial St, Springfield, MO 65803.