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photo by Michele Manske
Jon Charles in his Uptown salon.
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Salon stimulus: Jon Charles Salon unveils deal for new customers
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By Alex Van Lepp
The Jon Charles Salon in Uptown has come up with its own kind of stimulus package for its new clients.
"We've been talking to our clients and they've been saying everybody's being offered buyouts or everybody's losing their jobs," salon owner Jon Charles said. "We're actually doing pretty good at the salon and we're thinking people need a break right now."
The deal the salon has come up with offers new customers a discount of up to 50 percent off of hair and nail services with Charles and his new creative director Craig Weitz. The discount doesn't apply to premium packages like Japanese hair straightening or hair extensions.
As for existing customers, Charles said the salon is providing them with what he likes to call an economic-stimulus card. According to Charles, clients pay for five services and get one in return for free. Charles added the stimulus package would continue for the next two months.
Coming up with creative discounts is not a new practice for Charles. In the past, he has traded hair services for golf clubs and last spring the salon gave a 30 percent discount on hair styling and coloring. Charles added whenever he can, he tries to help customers who are strapped for cash.
"A few years ago I had a client whose husband lost his share of a company. She was paying about $150 every two weeks to get her hair colored and cut," Charles explained. "So I charged her $50 and I told her to tell me when she could pay full price. Eighteen months later she came to me and said she could pay full price again."
Creative director Craig Weitz said the stimulus package has taken off in only a week, with the salon receiving around 70 calls a day asking for the stimulus package. Weitz added he is excited about the positive feedback the stimulus plan has had in community with people's attitudes.
Weitz said he notices how a hair cut can give people self-assurance for job interview or confidence after a layoff. He added the salon staff feels rewarded for what they can do for people, especially in this time of need.
And as people look for jobs in such a bleak economy, the Jon Charles Salon will continue to do its part to ease some of people's financial burdens.
"My clients are going to be fine. For a year to a year and half they might struggle, but I want to take care of them during that struggle," Jon Charles said. "A lot of people helped me in my life and that's what this is all about."
The salon opened on Uptown Row in the summer of 2006. Deal details What: The Jon Charles Stimulus Package allows new clients to trim the percentage lost in a retirement fund for most salon services with John Charles or his creative director Craig Weitz — up to 50 percent. Where: Jon Charles Salon, 1221 W. Lake St. When: Next several months
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Art beat // Closing and opening
By Dylan Thomas
Art of This leaving current space, but won’t cease to existLYNDALE — A few weeks before they planned to shutter their Nicollet Avenue art space for good, John Marks and David Petersen of Art of This Gallery reflected on “Open Summer,” their ongoing, open door, last blast summer project. A free-for-all residency program that eventually enrolled 80-some artists, the slowly percolating “Open Summer” was building steam as it headed into its, and the gallery’s, grand finale at the end of August. And for all the potential pitfalls in telling some seven dozen people where the gallery key is hidden, about the worst thing that happened all summer was when someone spilled salsa in the refrigerator and never cleaned it up.
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On the mat // Green yogis in Linden Hills
By Sarah McKenzie
Devanadi Yoga, a new studio near Lake Harriet, is a trailblazer in the local yoga community. The small 525-square-foot studio, tucked behind the Bruley Center on West 43rd Street in Linden Hills, is the first yoga studio in the state to be certified by the Green Yoga Association for its environmentally friendly efforts. The studio’s green practices include using non-VOC paint, controlling the thermostat to keep the building energy efficient and encouraging students to walk, bus or bike to class. Tanya Boigenzahn Sowards, studio director/owner of Devanadi Yoga, said being green is “core value of the studio and it ties back to the yogic philosophy of doing no harm.” “Minneapolis frequently ranks as one of the top green
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Everyday gardener // Q&A
By Meleah Maynard
Struggling tomatoes, rain barrels and rootbound plantsEven though spring started in earnest in March this year, it still seems like summer is going by too fast. So, fast, in fact, my inbox has been a bit stuffed with questions. As always, I’ve replied directly to people who asked for help with various things. But here in the column I’m going to cover some of the questions that seem likely to be of interest to a lot of gardeners. By far, the questions I’m getting most are about tomatoes, so I’ll start there. Q: My tomato plants look good and have a lot of flowers, but I’m not getting a lot of fruit this year. What’s going on?A: It’s been too hot for tomatoes to set fruit
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Flavor // A smokin’ sensation on Nicollet
By Carla Waldemar
If you’re wondering what caused the traffic stand-still on South Nicollet the other evening, let’s just say I should have kept my window shut. When passing cars got a whiff of possibly the best aroma in the galaxy — I’m talking about barbecue, of course — they halted to demand, “Where’d you get that?” At C&G’s, of course. Greg Alford launched C&G’s Smoking Barbecue exactly a year ago; the anniversary balloons in the otherwise-Spartan, clean-as-a-whistle hole in the wall provided the only touch of whimsy in this serious business. Greg was born in Louisiana, which may explain his superior taste in food. He grew up in Detroit, one of 12 kids whose mamma set him to cooking when he was 5, he
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Wild city // Eating the yard
By Mary Jean Port
I love August. It is so lush. All summer, as I nurse the garden along, I anticipate these eating days. We now have too much of everything: tomatoes, green beans, heat, humidity, and also thunder, for those of us who have a dog frightened by it. I have been working our piece of ground for 14 years, and have good soil to show for it. Back when we first started, my husband was more of a lawn guy. He liked the idea of a garden, but drew a line in the grass with his toe. Don’t dig up anything beyond here, he said. So I dug my first of what are now 10 beds, and planted the pumpkin right on his line. The vines ran out of the garden and took over the whole backyard. My husband good-naturedly threw up his hands. We started with vegetables, and
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Kid rock
By Sam Lane
Twin Town Guitars hosts a camp that gives young musicians a chance to play and perform in a bandMore than 60 excited, camera-toting fans packed Cause Spirits and Soundbar on a warm August afternoon waiting for two headline bands to take the stage. The hotly anticipated musicians weren’t well known. They weren’t 20-somethings trying to strike a record deal. They weren’t middle-aged men trying to relive their youth. They were kids, ages 8–17, who spent prior weeks at Twin Town Guitars, 3400 Lyndale Ave. S., preparing for their first concert. In an economy where budget cuts deal constant blows to public school music programs, the owners of Twin Town have spent the last three summers providing a haven for aspiring
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