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HairQueen News Last December, salons were closed. Then came 2021 and all it entailed.  I'm so grateful the salon is open now! Photo credit: Tim Mossholder We got our vaccines, stylists continued to work masked, clients stayed masked. Professionally, my love for hair and you, my clients, got me through. What a relief to be fully vaccinated! On the personal side, I became a Glamma again!  Isla, her new little sister, Pali Lu, plus my family and friends got me through the rest of it all. Isla and Pali Lu What helped you get through this past year? Is it the booster, the chance to gather with friends and family, the opportunity to begin to travel again, or maybe just the ability to breathe a little easier? All of these are true for me.   Swans Studios News I am still looking for a new person to join Swans Studios. I made the decision that Swans Studios is a vaccine-only environment, this is why the space is open. It has been many years since I have had an opening. Before Covid,

 HairQueen News In November 2020, I took this photo of beautiful cards and letters I received during the six-month-long shutdown of the salon industry.  I intended to write about them at the time and express my deep gratitude for the overwhelming support each one of these correspondences represented. I imagine, sometimes, that happens to you as well...your best laid plans get sidetracked and you think, "I'll do it later." Here we are one year later and what a year it has been! Cards of support and encouragement from my wonderful clients. I have kept the cards and letters on my desk since they started arriving during the early days of the pandemic.   What mementos do you have from those early days?  What helped to keep your spirits up in the midst of all the unknowns and uncertainties? I'd love to know. How are you doing now?   I am okay.  I had a difficult business decision to make and now I need your help.   I have an open suite and I am looking for a new person to j

Hairqueen News Are you giddy about starting to attend events?  Are you going to entertainment venues and celebrations with friends and family? Are you thinking about changing your hair to surprise yourself and those around you? Let's talk at your next appointment. I can't wait to talk during your next appointment. Are ready for a few peek-a-boo bold highlights in electric blue or orchid pink?   Bold highlights are a fun, easy way to change your look. Or, are you ready to learn a new way to style your long hair for the holidays? Looking for new ways to style your long hair? I'd love to help!   I recently provided both of these services for two of my long time clients. It was so much fun and gave them (and me!) a little boost of creativity and joy. Looking for more hair inspiration this autumn? Check out this article on the latest hair trends. New seasons bring new changes, a lot of them are welcome this year. I'm grateful I can spend more time with friends and family thi

HairQueen News: How was your summer?   How are you holding up as we navigate Covid-19, the Delta variant, wildfires and politics? Thank goodness for calm waters, sun and sand. I know I'm having some really hard moments and there are times when I truly struggle to maintain my usual upbeat, fighting spirit. It is hard to keep up with the best pandemic practices for my businesses and just as hard to know what’s best personally. I am a member of the Professional Beauty Association . Recently, I spoke to them to try to find out what the latest rules and regulations are for the salon industry. Our conversation was very helpful and it gave me some solace to know that I am not alone as a small business owner navigating these unprecedented times. Soon there will be updated Covid Management Guidelines.   In the meantime, we must mask up, stay calm and carry on. If you follow me on social media, you may know that I have a promotion running on my liter size hair products and I am booking up fo

 Hairqueen News: And off we go!   Travel has started up once more.   I hope that you are able to put your feet in the sand, feel the sun on your face and cast your eyes upon a vista away from home. I will be away for a month, both celebrating and recovering.   I'll be celebrating my 60th birthday, which was cancelled last year due to the pandemic. And, I'll be recovering from the Covid-19 roller coaster ride of the past 17 months. The Covid-19 pandemic has felt like a roller coaster ride! I cannot thank you enough for your continued support. Every bit helped, every payment for virtual haircuts and colors, every product purchased online from my store, every phone call and email to the Alameda County Health Department, every appointment visit where you came with freshly shampooed hair, wore your mask, and went home with cut, but not dried, locks.  Hairstylists are back and we are tired. Tired from worry and disinfecting, tired from the months of limbo, filling out forms, naviga

Swans Studios News: June 15th is around the corner and California is opening up! What does this mean for the salon industry? What does this mean for the Swans Studios Salon client? The Alameda County Public Heath Department has yet to update the Salon Guidelines although by the time you read this it may be updated. Here is the link for you to check: https://covid-19.acgov.org/index.page In the meantime, through June 15th, I will follow the current guidelines below: Minimize contact Client fill out waiver Client and stylist, (me) wear a mask Sanitize hands upon arrival Temperature check Clients, if able, arrive with freshly shampooed hair Minimal blowdrying Great conversation and human touch Treats for Never On June 15th, I expect to continue the above guidelines with the following modifications: Bit more than minimal contact Client and stylist, (me), wear a mask, but client mask can be removed if needed for beauty creating purposes Sanitize hands upon arrival Shampoo wi

Hairqueen News It's May 2021! How are you? How’s your hair?   Your heart?  Your life fourteen months and counting into Covid? I am okay, I am resilient, my hair is long, my heart suffered, my life is good, I have my vaccine, Covid tried me and I met the match. I could not have navigated all of this without you - my clients, my colleagues at Swans Studios, my landlords, my family, my virtual assistants, my little dog, Never, and my really good, professional salon products. Never, best salon dog ever! Never and my mask waiting for our client :) Swans Studios News Last month I was interviewed by my landlords for their series 45 Stories for 45 Years .  It is a good synopsis of my life at Swans and my Covid-19 experience.  Here’s the link for you to enjoy if you wish: https://ebaldc.org/commitment-to-community-that-comes-from-the-heart/ Swans Studios! 💕 Summer Hair Plans Summer is coming and travel is on the horizon.    I have a few trips planned. I encourage you to book ahead to get t

Hairqueen March News As I began to write this update I hardly knew what to write or where to start because there seems to be something new to share almost everyday! First, we are almost at the one year mark of our first COVID-19 shut-down and secondly , we are in the midst of the vaccine rollout.   The salon industry and all personal care services are currently in the “other” category listed on MyTurn and other vaccine sites.   For most of the personal care industry that means having to wait weeks or possibly months for a vaccine.   Although, with the recent introduction of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine hopefully appointments will be made available for the personal care industry soon. In the meantime I have contacted the Alameda County Health Department, MyTurn, and my doctor to advocate for the Personal Care Industry to be included in the COVID-19 Vaccination Rollout Plan.   We would like to be included along with bars and restaurants which are eligible to receive the vaccine at

Hairqueen Update: Dear Clients and Friends, California Salons re-open as of Tuesday, January, 26, 2021.   It seemed that we were in for at least another few weeks or more of the on-going December 7, 2020 shut down, then overnight we got the word to re-open. I have reopened my appointment book and all upcoming reservations are valid .   If you do not have an upcoming appointment please contact me so I can find you a time. As before the Covid-19 protocols will remain in place: Masks - please wear a mask that does not have loop ear pulls and does not cover more that your nose and mouth.  If you do not have a simple mask I can provide one for you.  When the mask covers across  all of the lower face it is harder to see you. Arriving - please call or text when you arrive, (the lobby will remain closed), be prepared to receive a temperature check and to sanitize your hands upon arrival. Contact - in order to minimize contact haircut clients, please arrive with freshly sham

Hair Queen News In California on December 7 2020 another Regional Stay at home order was issued by the State and therefore by the County as well.  As of today, January 9 2021 this order remains in effect. For more information click here:  https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/ And here:  https://acphd.org Being closed again is a real setback for those of us in the salon industry.  We are spending our time filling out grants and PPP applications instead of designing haircuts and applying hair color applications.  We know we are not alone, we are in the good company of restaurants and the arts and so many other industries that are brutally affected as well.  As I receive updates for the salon industry I will post updates so we can get you coiffed once again.  I miss you and I miss being in my studio with you and in Swans Studios with my colleagues.  I am doing everything I can to keep Swans Studios a going concern because it is a great business and it is not time for us to be closed for a