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Suelyn Farel says they’ve been able to keep current on rent for the 10,000-square-foot salon during the lockdown, even though she anticipates revenue falling by roughly a third this year. They could have made extra money cutting hair in the city during the lockdown, but decided against it.
“If you get someone sick or you get sick, then you jeopardize your future,” he said.
Out in the Hamptons, house calls are one way to get back to business. Farel began in late May, charging double his in-salon price. The other day, as mass protests over policing in America convulsed New York and many other cities, Farel cut hair in a garden looking out on Georgica Beach in East Hampton, for a client who decamped from the Upper East Side months ago.
He gets around on his navy Vespa, with his tools in a Lacoste bag that he’s owned since he was 14, growing up in France.
They include robes, scissors, brushes, a curling iron, hot iron, flat iron, a dryer and pins for an updo. He also carries gloves, masks and hand sanitizer. He tries to arrive 15 minutes early.
“One thing they all have in common is they want to do it outside,” Farel said. “And they all want you to come with gloves, they tell you, ‘Don’t come with an assistant, come alone.’ Some give me their own gloves and mask to make sure it has not been used somewhere else. I respect that, it’s okay.”
Farel says his clients, with their Zoom meets, business meetings and TV appearances, appreciate his house calls. As for his own appearance, he says he’s looking like a surfer these days. He’s shaved his beard, but hasn’t tried cutting his own hair.
“The woman who cuts it is five-and-a-half months pregnant,” he said, “and scared to come back to the salon.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.