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Two hundred square feet is all Isaac Alvarado needs to run his barber shop.
Some taxidermy and antique knick-knacks don’t hurt, either.
Taking over the sliver of space at 27 ½ E. Victoria St. in Santa Barbara is Wolf’s Head Annex, the barber shop arm of the Wolf’s Head menswear store at 432 State St.
“Before we had opened the store downtown, we would come by Members Only to get a haircut,” said Cristian Sagastume, who owns the shop with his brother, Ruben, and Alvarado. “It always had that mystique, which we liked.”
The Sagastumes opened the main Wolf’s Head store in 2014, and took over the spot of Members Only Barber Shop when their State Street landlord, who had acquired the Victoria Street location, asked them to check out a new vacancy.
“We jumped at it because it’s just kind of legendary,” Sagastume said of the location and its barbering history.
The Sagastumes and Alvarado already had local barber shop experience, and said demand for those services was increasing.
“The support has been really good,” Sagastume said. “All the businesses on this block really support what’s going on.”
Wolf’s Head Annex is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday by appointment.
Members Only Barber Shop returns with new location
Members Only Barber Shop — the former 27 ½ E. Victoria St. tenant — reopened last month at 2005 State St.
Barber Henry Franco told Noozhawk last summer that he closed MOBS after 21 years after being hit with an abrupt and considerable jump in the rent.
He said that, at 925 square feet, the new location is much bigger than what he’s used to, but affords the opportunity for expanded services.
“My better half worked across the street, and she saw the building,” he said. “We investigated it, and came to find out that this was, one time, a unisex hair salon. … Everything was here.”
In the intervening time, Franco worked a couple days a week around town as a pop-up barber.
“What we’re putting together is a men’s grooming spa” that includes manicures and esthetician advice, Franco added, calling it the first of its kind on the Central Coast.
He said he employs an 1800s-style approach to barbering with “a 21st century twist,” which he said puts men’s hair and skin health first and beauty second.
Members Only Barber Shop is currently open from 8:30 a.m. to around 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and is open half the day Saturday.
Franco said that once he takes on a couple more barbers, he will probably be open six days a week.
Carpinteria Wellness Center celebrates grand opening
The Carpinteria Wellness Center celebrated its grand opening Thursday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in conjunction with the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce.
The center is located at 550 Maple Ave., Suite E, and provides chiropractic services, massage therapy and naturopathic medicine.
It is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.
Local consultant launches necklace line for peace and unity
Santa Barbara nonprofit consultant Judi Weisbart launched a necklace line last week to promote peace, unity and women’s role in achieving them.
The Birth of Reason Egg Necklace is a silver egg with a globe etched onto it. Weisbart, who designed it, said that in the past week it has generated $5,000 of sales, with the goal of $20,000 by mid-February.
Weisbart said she conceived the idea at a 2002 Global Peace Initiative of Women summit in Geneva, Switzerland, and sold about 200 necklaces the following year.
The idea was revived, she said with the election of Donald Trump and the concerns it caused many women. A friend asking out of the blue for six necklaces for Christmas solidified her decision to produce more.
“I believe the women’s movement is literally on fire, and will be a voice for both the United States and the world,” she said.
The goal, Weisbart added, is for the necklace to become the symbol of what she called today’s women’s movement, and for it to inspire women to lead an effort for greater peace, unity and love.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
