Show and Tell

I should worry that this post is going to date me but since you all know I just turned 60, there is no point worrying about that! I found these 2 Beauty Books of Knowledge at a household sale and couldn't resist them. They are updates for 1965 and 1967, the year I graduated from high school.
They show every thing from razor cuts (Yes, they have been around that long and were the main cuts I did when I first started!) to rollers and pincurls.
I actually took the first state board that included rollers.
This is something I didn't learn, leg waxing. I did do facials, manicures and eyebrows. There was also information about running a beauty shop and even signing a lease.

Small hair pieces or wiglets were very popular back then often used to add curls to the top of your head. Some people with thin hair used more than one.

I'd guess at least half of the yearbook pictures from this era had a version of this do. Every single hair had to be in place and the hair spray business was booming! Fess up, do you remember?
For more Show and Tell posts go over to Kelli's House.

Show and Tell Friday!

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday! To find out more and get a list of everyone involved today go to Kelli's House.

Today I'm showing you the most fun part of my shop. Believe it or not it is the tiny bathroom.

This is the wallpaper border I have around the middle. I already had my theme picked out and couldn't believe it when I found this paper. Someone had ordered it and never picked it up so I got a good deal, too.

This is what you see when you open the door. The fox stole and hat on the mannequin were given to me by customers.The crochet like purse was my mothers.

This is one side wall.



This shelf holds two clutch purses and two pair of gloves donated by customers. The perfume bottles, compact and gold hanging purse were my Mom's.

The other side wall.

I love this turquoise feather hat!
This set also came from a customer. She was in her 90's when she gave it too me. She had made them for her wedding. They are also turquoise but made of velvet.
I hope you've enjoyed my beauty shop tour.

While you're here why don't you check out my daughter's "blog-shop",

Bits and Pieces by Laurie.

Show and Tell

Go on over to Kelli's House to find out about Show and Tell Friday and to get a list of participants.

Today I'm going to show you the last of my old hair "stuff" in my beauty shop. There is a bench on this wall where people sit to wait for me. I found this travel beauty kit at an antique store.The graphics are hair net packages. The first three items are early crimping irons.
These packages are hair color. All these irons,except the one with the yellow handle need to be heated on a stove or fire. The one with the yellow handle was my Moms. It has a cord that goes into the handle like an old coffee pot cord.
These are clippers. I can't even imagine trying to cut with these but customers have told me they were used on them!
I made up this shadow box for some of my smaller items. The red box is hairpins.The green bead thing on the left is a bun cover. The funny looking item on the bottom right is to make pincurls. My favorite 2 things are on the top left and middle with the orange band. The first one is a package of "bendies". They are like wire covered with cloth and the package says they will give you a perfect bob. The middle package is basically the same thing from an earlier time. They are made of leather . There are 2 of them next to the package. Our "bendies" are wire covered with foam.
As you can see from all my "stuff", concepts really don't change much They are just made more up to date and comfortable with new materials. I hope you have enjoyed this look into the past. Next time you go to the hairdresser be thankful that things have continued to improve!

Show and Tell

Friday and another Show and Tell! Today I'm going to show you more of my beauty shop. I have a whole wall of hair "stuff" that I have collected over the years.
I love the graphics on these hair net packages. Some of the packages still have the human hair and nylon hair nets in them.
The blue object on this shelf is one of the first blow dryers. This one is on a stand that came with it. They were so heavy you couldn't hold it for long. The box holds an old curling iron one of my customers found in their mother's things. On top of the box is an electric crimping iron. We always assume that what is available today is a brand new idea but later I'll show you a crimping iron that had to be heated on the stove. The item on the right must have been made between heating things on the stove and electricity. It is an electric cylinder that you put an iron in to heat it.
The 2 irons that hang are early electric irons. They don't have a thermostat so they aren't much better that the ones that had to be heated.

Thanks Kelli for hosting Show and Tell Friday! Go the Kelli's House to see a list of every involved.

Show and Tell

I decided to show you some of the things in my home beauty shop. I've had my own shop since 1981 and moved it to my home in 1988 after deciding I didn't like being a boss in a large shop. I purchased my home and solely supported my 2 children with this shop. As the beauty shop business changed and my clientele and I became older I found it necessary to take on a second job. Thus the grocery store job. The pay is low but the benefits are great and something I never had, owning my own business.

Since I am in a residential zone I only have a small sign which I made several years ago. The shop is in the back/basement of my home . The house is built on a hill so the basement is the first floor from the back. Gravel stairs with gardens all around lead to the shop door.

Do you know what this is? If you do you are dating yourself!
This is an antique perm machine and no I don't use it!. It was found in the basement of a house not far from me. Each clamp was put on a curler and heated. Can you imagine the smell of perm plus singed hair? I have heard plenty of great stories about these machines and it was worth the small price I paid for it.

Next week more on my old beauty shop supplies. Go to Kelli's House to get a list of all the "Show and Tell" posts for today. Thanks for hosting, Kelli!

To the few people who read my blog when I started a year ago, pretend you haven't seen these pictures and heard my story!

Final beauty shop tour.

In looking back I realized I never finished my beauty shop tour. For those who missed it all started here . Then I showed my hat bathroom.

The first part of this display is here

This wall is filled with old stuff. I found this travel beauty kit at an antique store. The graphics are hair net packages. The first three items are early crimping irons. These packages are hair color. All these irons,except the one with the yellow handle need to be heated on a stove or fire. The one with the yellow handle was my Moms. It has a cord that goes into the handle like an old coffee pot cord.
These are clippers. I can't even imagine trying to cut with these but customers have told me they were used on them!
I made up this shadow box for some of my smaller items(I had to take it down because I kept getting a glare). The red box is hairpins.The green bead thing on the left is a bun cover. The funny looking item on the bottom right is to make pincurls. My favorite 2 things are on the top left and middle with the orange band. The first one is a package of "bendies". They are like wire covered with cloth and the package says they will give you a perfect bob. The middle package is basically the same thing from an earlier time. They are made of leather . There are 2 of them next to the package. Our "bendies" are wire covered with foam.
As you can see from all my "stuff", things really don't change much, they are just made more up to date with new materials. I hope you have enjoyed this look into the past. Next time you go to the hairdresser be thankful that things have changed!

Beauty Shop Tour

Today I'm showing you the most fun part of my shop. Believe it or not it is the tiny bathroom.This is the wallpaper border I have around the middle. I already had my theme picked out and couldn't believe it when I found this paper. Someone had ordered it and never picked it up so I got a good deal, too.

This is what you see when you open the door. The fox stole and hat on the mannequin were given to me by customers.The crochet like purse was my mothers.

The two top hats are black and the bottom left is black and white feathers. The one on the bottom right is navy with dark pink trim.

This shelf holds two clutch purses and two pair of gloves donated by customers. The perfume bottles, compact and gold hanging purse were my Moms.

The last wall is more hats. The top one in the middle is one of my favorites. It is a turquoise feather hat. I'm sorry the colors don't come out very well.This set is on the left in the last pic. This also came from a customer. She was in her 90's when she gave it too me. She had made them for her wedding. They are also turquoise but made of velvet.

If you haven't been here before there are 2 more tours of my shop in the October archives. I only have one tour left and will be showing that soon. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are enjoying the tour.

Halloween decor

I don't do Halloween decorating in the house anymore but I do put a small amount in the shop. There isn't room for much. These are all things I've made over the years.

(click on Picture to enlarge)
The top three items are always up. I had the heart made after I saw a similar one in a craft magazine. I have different bows and figures for the holidays. The girl has different outfits for each season.Her headband, shoes,outfit and item in her hand all change. Everything is made of wood and attached with velcro. The last one is a sign board with a different heart for most seasons and holidays. I'm not into the cutesy country stuff anymore but it's ok for the shop. The little ones enjoy them every year.

Shop tour

Well, it's another dark, rainy day in Western NY, so I'll show you more pics of my beauty shop. I have a whole wall of hair "stuff" that I have accumulated over the years. Don't you love these old graphics? I use these to give a little color. I bought a few at a flee market and they even have the human hair nets inside!

The light blue object in the next pic is an old blow drier. It sets on a stand but could be held for a short time. It is very heavy. On top of the curling iron box is an electric crimping iron. On the right is an electric cylinder that heats up. You can put a curling iron in it to heat it up. I assume that came between the irons you heat on a stove and electric ones.

Two early curling irons hang on the pegs. The old electric irons did not have a temperature gage. They just get HOT. A shop I worked in in 1975 used the old irons to do hair at the funeral home. The worst part was the burning hair smell because you had no way to regulate the temperature. They offer to take me with and teach me how to do it but I "gracefully declined"! I have gone to a funeral home once since to do hair on request and one customer tells me she has made all her arrangements in advance and has me listed to do her hair. Now that's something to look forward to!

Beauty Shop Tour

It is dark,rainy and windy here today so I decided to start a tour of my beauty shop that is always bright from artificial light. It is in my basement but my house was built on a hill so it is really the first floor in the back of the house. I have a gravel stairway, with gardens on both sides to get to the back of the house.
I have had my own shop since 1981. Originally it was on a busy city street and I had girls working for me. In 1988 I decided to work alone and move to my house. The business has been good to me. I raised 2 kids with that as my only income. My weekly customers, what we in the business called our "bread & butter", are leaving me thru death, moving south after retirement and going to nursing homes. My choice to remedy a cash flow problem was to get another job, thus the grocery store position. It was very hard to leave my comfort zone but it has been good for me in a lot of ways. The biggest of which is getting health insurance after 2 years on the job. Another plus, I feel it has improved my memory. I didn't think I could ever remember everything I needed to! I have gone from cashier, to working the service desk, to the cash office. I work the beauty shop Wednesday thru Saturday days and the store 6 to 10 five nights a week. I'm busy but it is better than being bored!
Here are my first shop pics. Do you know what this is?

If you do, you are dating yourself!

NO! I do not use this! It has been a great conversation starter and I have heard a lot of great stories. This is how they used to do perms. They would clamp a heated clamp on each curler. I can smell the burning hair now! I'm surprised people didn't get electrocuted. I couldn't resist buying it a few years ago. It was actually used in a home shop a couple blocks from my shop. A new owner found it in a basement and didn't know what it was.

Well, that's my first beauty shop entry. I hope you enjoyed it.