Rock & Roll Hair Studio on Front Street is celebrating five years in business.
The studio’s owner Barby Collins has been a singer-songwriter and hairstylist since she was 16 years old.
“I wanted to bring the music and the hair together and have some fun,” says Collins, in an interview with ThoroldToday.
Collins considers Rock & Roll Hair Studio to be the final stop in a lengthy career as a hairstylist. The location of the studio comes with a lot of history.
"This used to be a barbershop,” Collins says. “The guy who owned it, his name was Ken. I just thought it was really cool that the last person to have a barbershop here was Ken, and then Barby took over and made it her own.”
Every customer that walks into the door gets the VIP treatment.
“Everything is one-on-one,” Collins says. “One person comes in and they get my undivided attention for the whole time they’re here. It’s very personal. I just lock the door and treat them like rock stars. That’s the point.”
The walls of the hair studio are adorned with rock star memorabilia.
“I just took pictures one by one of who I liked,” says Collins. “I printed them and framed them, just kind of like a little museum. I laugh because honestly one of these days it’s going to look like a memorial. All the rock stars, all the legends are getting older.”
Classic rock music is playing at all times in the studio.
“I play what [the clients] like,” says Collins. “I ask them. I go: ‘Who is your favourite artist?’ So while they’re sitting here they get to listen to who they like.”
Collins doesn’t only provide a hair cut, she also entertains.
“Sometimes when the clients are processing with colour on their head I play the guitar and sing to them,” she says. “When I’m cutting their hair and the songs are playing, there could be a burst of singing or dancing.”
When she's not doing hair, Collins tries to make as much time as possible for her music.
“I just remastered a record that I did in 2014 that I’m about to put out on [music] platforms,” she says. ”I’ll be back in the studio for a new record in November. When I get in my spare time, that’s what I love to do. I play guitar and write songs. I have a briefcase full of songs that I’ll never live long enough to develop.”
The songs Collins writes are often informed by her work as a hairstylist.
“Sometimes there is inspiration in people’s stories,” says Collins. “As it goes, only your hairstylist knows. What is said at Rock & Roll stays at Rock & Roll. I’ll get inspired by their stories or something will make me go write down some sentences or some lyrics.”
Collins says that doing it all by herself can be a little stressful sometimes, but she values the personal relationships she has built with her clients.
“Right now it’s just so relaxing,” she says. “The client feels that it’s all about them, and it is. It really truly is. When you leave here you need to feel like a rock star because rock stars, they get treated like the best.”
