History

Bonika Shears was begun by Bonnie Megowan, a former school teacher. Bonnie used her background in science and experience in the knife industry to begin a business sharpening and repairing quality stylists’ shears in the Atlanta area in 1988. Later, her experience as the sharpener in the 1996 Olympic Village hair salon became the catalyst in the creation of the Bonika Shears line of scissors. Bonnie researched the strengths and weaknesses of various types of shears in the intense crucible of the Olympics. Over 7000 athletes received haircuts in the fast paced Olympic Village hair salon by only a handful of stylists. Gene Megowan, the marketing manager for Scissor Mechanic, conducted extensive market research. Together, they created the exclusive Bonika International shears. The Bonika International Shears were designed as the first truly multicultural shears. Since then the more than 6 dozen models have been added to the line. They now have local distributors in nearly 2 dozen countries and every state. In 2009 Bonika Shears incorporated as Scissor Mechanic LLC d/b/a/ Bonika Shears. Bonnie Megowan has trained most of these sharpeners. She became the first woman to place first in a national sharpening certification through the National Beauty Tools Sharpeners Guild.

Bonika Shears has been a member of the ISSA International Beauty Tools Sharpeners Guild, PBA Professional Beauty Association,  NBTSG National Beauty Tools Sharpeners Guild, Atlanta Better Business Bureau, and the IBSA International Beauty Sharpening Association.

When you call Bonika Shears, don't be surprised if you hear babies crying or dogs barking when they drop by and visit at the office. This is a true family business. Their oldest daughter, Mystie Hunter is part owner and vice president of daily operations. She oversees the office personnel, accounting and scheduling. Her husband, Jay Hunter, is an independent sharpener with a business called Living On the Edges, handles most of the local Metro-Atlanta sharpening. The oldest granddaughter designs sharpening aids with 3D printing during school breaks.  Other employees are also family or long time family friends. They all share the same goals and commitment to customer service. Together, with their employees, sharpeners and customers it is usually like one very large extended family. See our page with Key Personnel.