After short stints at several Lansing-area hair salons, Parks decided to open her own, Bohemian Barber, which she ran from April 1993 to December 2005.

The cozy shop, which was located at 223 M.A.C. Ave., usually housed five to six hair stylists who rotated among four chairs. There was no room for a receptionist, which meant everyone working there took turns answering the phone and making appointments. This ultimately contributed to the salon’s community feel.

“That shop was super — everybody wanted to go,” said Dalisa Madaski, who worked with Parks at Bohemian Barber for three years and now also works at Rubie’s. “All the cool people went to Bohemian Barber to get their hair done. It was like the hot spot.”

During her time at the salon, Parks built up clientele who followed her to Rubie’s after she closed the shop in 2005.

As the climate of East Lansing’s downtown changed and the cost of rent skyrocketed, Parks decided it was time to shut down.

Parks then approached owner Beth Sanford about working at Rubie’s, a business run similarly to Bohemian Barber in that all stylists pay a chair rental fee and everyone shares receptionist duties.

Sanford, who worked at the salon under its previous owner and a different name before taking ownership two years ago and naming it Rubie’s Paradise Salon after her daughter.

The salon is quaint with black-and-white checkered floor tiles, black and lipstick-red walls and wooden cubbies holding books and business cards.

Two of the haircutting stations have black velvet curtains bordering the mirrors.

On the wall hangs a clock with a woman flexing her arm and the words “we can do it” where the 12, three, six and nine would be.

The lobby area consists of a couple of chairs, a counter with coffee, tea and candy and hand-blown glass ornaments hanging from a ledge on the wall.

Sanford, 25, uses the art aspect of the salon to reach out to the community because a lot of the featured work is done by clients.

“We’ve got a lot of artists and pretty liberal people that come in,” she said.

The art is shown on a four-month rotation, so customers who get their hair cut there every few months see everyone’s work, and Sanford also sells jewelry made by local artists.

She said most of the salon’s clientele are regular customers.

“We’re not really a walk-in salon,” Sanford said. “When it’s warm out we’ll get a couple (walk-ins) a day, but usually it’s people who come here for that specific person. It’s awesome because a lot of the people live in the neighborhood, so that’s really cool to keep everybody local.”

Sanford said people sometimes will come in just to hang out and have coffee.

Parks also lives a couple of blocks from Rubie’s.

“One of my slogans at Bohemian Barber was ‘East Lansing’s neighborhood barber,’ but now I’m learning my own real neighbors from my neighborhood that I live in and it’s really cool — I love it.”

Breaking the language barrier

Language barriers are no problem for hair stylist Anna Chang’s Chinese clients.

Chang, owner of Urban Roots Salon, 1393 E. Grand River Ave., said some people come to her — sometimes from as far as Novi or Mount Pleasant — because she can speak their language.

Urban Roots also draws international students involved with Chinese and Taiwanese groups on campus, she said.

“Some international students have trouble explaining what they want at an American stylist,” Chang said.

In her 10 years as a hair stylist, Chang, 36, has worked in five salons in the Lansing area and has clients who have stayed with her from the beginning, moving from a salon in Frandor Shopping Center to near Grand Ledge, then to Holt, East Lansing, back to Frandor and finally to Urban Roots.

Laurie Blaszak has worked at Urban Roots for about two years and said the shop has a laidback atmosphere and there’s a significant difference between Urban Roots and a larger salon.

“(At a bigger salon) everyone has their makeup on, everyone has their really good outfit and they want you to have a dress code,” she said. “It’s kind of intimidating.”

Like at Rubie’s, Chang and Blaszak share receptionist and haircutting duties.

Chang said the salon is never “super busy,” which is ideal because she and Blaszak are the only stylists.

However, she said she eventually would love to hire more people, possibly in areas other than hair, such as massage or skin treatments.

Chang said she likes the freedom that comes with owning a business.

“It’s a lot easier not being pressured,” Chang said, noting that previous jobs had scheduling conflicts while she was raising her son. “I try not to do what I didn’t want (previous employers) to do to me before.”

Showing some ‘Love’ for the barbers

Barber Love Barber Shop is not the typical barbershop. Located at 2003 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, it’s normal to hear the clacking of pool table balls with hip-hop music blaring in the background.

Along with a pool table, the back of the shop also has two vending machines and two reptile tanks — one with a frog named Agnes and another housing corn snakes.

Co-owner Kris McCorkle said Barber Love definitely is a place to be social.

“A lot of people come in and get their hair cut just to get away, and to socialize and tell their problems and stuff like that,” McCorkle said.

McCorkle, 30, and co-owner Paul Trowbridge, 39, built up their clientele while at barber school in Lansing, so they decided to open the shop in a place they knew would get them business.

Trowbridge said running an independent shop where barbers pay to rent a chair — the same set-up as Rubie’s — is better financially for the people working there.

“They’re in charge of their own practice,” he said.

Now in its fifth year, Barber Love has some clients who get their hair cut multiple times per month — like 2-year-old Xavier Schneider.

Xavier’s mother, Lansing resident Michelle Schneider, said she brings him to Barber Love every couple of weeks.

Schneider said Xavier, who was wearing an MSU basketball jersey, likes to talk to the barbers about sports — especially Spartan basketball.

“He loves to come get his hair cut,” she said.

McCorkle said that clients often stop by to chat for a few minutes.

Trowbridge said the most rewarding part of the job is being able to lighten someone’s day.

“Sometimes people can come in and have a rough day and we can make ‘em laugh,” he said. “Or they come in looking scraggly and we clean them up — putting that sexy back on ‘em.”