The first thing I thought when I walked into Sparrow was "This space was designed for me."
I am not exaggerating at all. If I started a hair salon and decorated it myself, it would look like Sparrow.
The candle that was burning? Bamboo, from Linneas Lights. The same candle I had recently bought from Greer, over in Old Town. What are the odds? Sparrow and I like the same candles.
The magazine on display in the waiting area: Not Vogue. Not People. Not even Harper's Bazaar. They had The New Yorker. That's right. People who get haircuts read. We read about stuff that's not necessarily about hair and fashion and makeup. We read books and book reviews and poetry and social commentary and news.
But was there anything to flip through if we weren't in the mood to read - something light hearted and just to look at? Yes, there was. Books of photography. Not the same old "all the beautiful people and places from around the world" sort of photography that everyone likes to look at. Photography that's hit or miss, but is interesting to look at even if it's a miss. Conversation starter photography.
The visual style of the space? Vintage with a bit of industrial, and some minimalist yet feminine touches. Sort of a cleaner, unpretentious, less trendy version of Anthropologie Home.
So why does all this matter at all? It usually doesn't. These aren't things that I evaluate when I enter other salons. But I note it here for a reason - I think these little touches represent the way this salon feels about hair. It's a Festivus for the rest of us. Believe it or not, some of us who are willing to put down a chunk of change on our hair are actually paying for a low maintenance, wash-n-go cut. We don't want a shiny new project to fuss with. We want someone to give us good, natural looking hair so we can go on with our lives and focus on other things.
My stylist, Susan, gave me an awesome cut. A true wash-n-go cut. And even when I asked her to recommend products (I am intellectually aware that humans don't need hair products to survive, but I do occasionally find myself a slave to marketing, like every good American) she insisted products weren't necessary at all, and walked me through the process of actually air drying my hair without allowing it to dry or frizz out. Techniques that no other stylist had taught me, and techniques that worked.
And when I left, I didn't have that glossy "just came from the salon" look. Don't get me wrong - that look is great sometimes. That look gets compliments and head turns and more eye contact from men and is great for special events. But that day, I left Sparrow looking like a more attractive version of myself. I looked like a person who just has naturally pretty, healthy hair, and who doesn't fuss with it because she doesn't have to.
My haircut is as good as the best haircuts I've gotten. I'm not saying my haircut here is quite *better* than any haircut I've gotten - Aggie at Art and Science and Annie at Gold and Braid have given me haircuts of equal quality (so I do suggest them if you're on the waiting list at Sparrow, more so than Tracy at Sine Qua Non, whom Sparrow refers customers) , but I am saying that it's of the same high quality as the best haircuts I've gotten.
And with all the other little details, Sparrow is a cut (get it?) above the other well reputed salons - Sparrow is the whole package. read more