MANSFIELD — Working in Los Angeles as a hair stylist during the COVID-19 pandemic forced Andrew Kleiman to reconsider how he paid bills.
While his main source of income still comes from his clients in California, he is opening AK Hair Collective in downtown Mansfield to earn passive income and advance development by Mansfield Central Park.
“I want it to be a collective of stylists and creative people who are really good at what they do but not all the same — like having someone that does extensions and a variety of specialties,” Kleiman said.
AK Hair Collective has 11 stylist booths, three shampoo bowls and a coffee station at its 19 N. Park St. location. Managers and stylists working at AK Hair Collective will celebrate their grand opening Oct. 15 from 4 to 9 p.m. with a block party including door prizes, games, food trucks, live music and a wine and beer garden.
The metered parking lot between the storefront and Central Park will be closed for the grand opening, but attendees can park in the Mansfield municipal parking lot or at other meters.
Jamie Schiro, Kleiman’s uncle and business partner, said the hair collective has enough space for 11 stylists and one nail technician for the opening of its first floor. In the basement, Schiro and Kleiman plan to build a space for esthetician and spa services.
“At some point, it will be almost a full-service salon,” Schiro said.
Kleiman travels back and forth between Santa Monica and Mansfield every two weeks to keep his clients and still spend time with his extended family. He started seeing his family more during the pandemic and mentioned the idea of AK Hair Collective.
“My uncle Jamie was a pretty big dreamer and I was just talking to him about it once and he was like, ‘I think this is a really good idea. We should do this,’ ” Kleiman said.
Schiro connected with John Fernyak’s secretary, who showed him and Kleiman the building in December before they leased it.
“John Fernyak would come over once in a while just to kind of see the progression — and to see his excitement of what’s becoming of this space has been fun,” Schiro said.
Kleiman said he and Schiro had a clear vision for what they wanted the salon to look like. It was important to Kleiman that the styling stations had space in between them and the shampoo bowls were comfortable.
He also wanted to make AK Hair Collective a booth rental salon rather than a commission-based business. Kleiman said each stylist will have their own key to the building and can make their own hours. Each stylist is their own boss who handles their own bookings.
Madison Mullen, salon manager and stylist, worked in a commission-based salon before joining AK Hair Collective.
“That’s what drew me here was that I was working alongside somebody who wanted to see me succeed,” Mullen said.
Mullen said she is grateful Kleiman has experience as a stylist and knew what would work well in the salon’s setup. She said she is excited to work in a supportive environment and to connect with other stylists.
AK Hair Collective has space for other stylists to rent booths, whether they want to work full-time for themselves or just for a few evenings around another job.
Stylists and customers can contact the salon at 567-306-7456 or Office@akhaircollective.com. The salon also has a website, Facebook and Instagram pages.
Mullen said anyone can come to the grand opening and block party at 19 N. Park St. regardless of whether they will be an AK Hair Collective customer.
“We want the community to be involved and have a good time and get to know us a little bit,” she said.
