We Cut & Shave
"There is nothing to sort out your thoughts on mortality like a stranger's hand spreading your neck to its full length while drawing a straight razor across your Adam's apple" - Troy Patterson / Gentleman Scholar
Thanks to too much Public Enemy in my younger days that I tend to keep a “don’t believe the hype” mindset. I had heard the rumors of a Barber Shop to end all others for over a year. When we finally made it to High Point for this article I was a little skeptical. That first visit though and every subsequent visit have dashed those doubts. There has been a great deal of meticulous planning and care put into all aspects that I found impressive and admirable. For the amount of talk of great ideas and plans it is nice to see one actually come together.
It’s a walk down Meadow to get to a door and large windows with a hand painted “We Cut and Shave” sign (artwork by Sure Hand Signs). I run into one of the owners and Master Barbers before I make it in. I have known Jacky for a few years from his time around shops. Glasses, beard, hair slicked back, and a thick northern accent. We talk and smoke outside for a few minutes before we head inside. The interior of the shop looks like an Edward Hopper painting. The cabinets and counters are a rich walnut with lighter accents surrounding them to encase the mirrors. The fixtures are brass and lights have that incandescent amber glow. Barber chairs from halcyon days sit on tile with the name “High Point Barbershop” laid in. The front desk is a case with vintage barbering tools. Its warm and inviting and stunning in comparison to some other shops.
I sit down with the guys in the center of the salon. They squeeze in close onto the wooden benches that line the walls and in chairs across from me. We start off with introductions and personal histories. Jacky, Elliot, and Foster all started in various Barbering schools. The details and times vary but essentially all of them spent over a year earning technique and the medical aspects of cutting and shaving. Anyone who has tried to cut a friend’s hair should respect and understand how difficult it really is. During and after school they worked through salons and shops to hone their skills. They cut their teeth in the trade and learned from mistakes made on clients in those early years. Their first shaves on burly bearded men and the gruff clients that insisted on “just a haircut.” Beyond the shops they practiced at home watching videos and shaving balloons. Those first cuts seemed to instill the value in building relationships and engagement while they built the skills. Darren is a local Richmonder working in real estate. He knows spaces and renovation and just about everyone here. Brian, who I only met later, was a friend of Jacky’s who pulled him here and is so clearly their hype man.
High Point is composed of what was going to be two different shops. Jacky, Elliot, Brian working to open a shop, and Foster and Darren looking to open another. The ideas were similar in aesthetic and end goal. They all laugh as they describe their first meetings. They met and sized each other up. What could have been easily been two competitors turned into them joining forces to create one shop. It wasn’t an easy agreement from the start. Meetings over months that were replete with disagreements and even a few walk outs. They pushed through realizing a mutual respect and passion for what they wanted. A two fold place for people to meet and engage and a place to get a truly solid men’s haircut and shave. The renovation of their space was painstaking. Gutting it to the bone. Ripping out ceilings and floors, putting up walls, cabinets, counters, sinks, procuring chairs and supplies, bringing all the ideas on paper to reality. Beyond the guys there is a long list of contributors and partners along the way. They all take time to cite everyone who helped with an honest gratitude. The ladies at Campfire and Company helped bring the design from a rough sketch to a legitimate plan. All the cabinets and counters were built by a friend and client. The antique tools were given to them by friends. People called to help point them in the direction of where to find what they needed. Shops from around the country gave advice and support. It is a far larger pool of people than I could have imagined.
Throughout the conversation I am struck by their constant excitement. It is refreshing to see how much they want to share and how much they believe in what they are doing. They spend a great deal of time complimenting each others skill and vision and thanking everyone who has helped. They want it to be in their words “that other place.” There is work, home, and that other place. Where you go to meet, talk, and hang out with friends and familiar strangers While waiting you catch up with people you otherwise don’t get the chance to. The guys talk to each other, their clients and each others clients like old friends. Sitting in the chair you start learning about each other. As I received a cut and shave from Jacky in their first week, the community element of a shop was driven home. I spoke to a 70 year old man while waiting, talked to guy I used to work with about his family while I waited. As Jacky pulled a straight razor across my face we all discussed the Allman Brother’s 20 minute version of “Whipping Post” on Live At the Fillmore East. A guy came in to see Elliot to get a cut before he proposed to his girlfriend later that day. Everyone in the shop congratulated him and the music was changed to Aretha Franklin “Never Loved a Man The Way I Love You.” Watching them cut with precision while maintaining conversation is impressive with how seamlessly they do it. It takes their entire body and focus for thirty minutes to an hour depending on what services you have done.
Before I sat down in High point I believed in getting a good haircut. Personally I find it a way to respect yourself and present yourself as a man. Though styles vary it shows that you have taken time to care about yourself enough to have something done right. I admittedly cannot grow anything close to a proper beard, but a straight razor shave is a treat to myself that is always appreciated when done properly. It takes time and practiced hands and it isn’t cheap for any barber to provide. Most places don’t for just that reason. Without the shop I would still consider anyone who can help me look my best and mitigate my growing bald spot a trusted ally if not a friend. The shop itself, though, adds what I believe is a desperately needed element: a sense of community. A place to meet and have genuine human interaction with other people in real life. A time to put your phones away and just enjoy your fellow company. Most of us have little time for that and it is at the heart of what they have struggled to provide. It’s in the name itself. High Point is meant to be the High Point of your day. Something to look forward to and something to appreciate when it is finished. I suppose my initial reservations were the fear that this was going to be another exclusive club that only a few felt comfortable in. It is anything but that. It is inclusive and immersive for anyone who walks through that door. That is the heart of High Point.
They have worked hard to build an experience and not just a shop. Little expense was spared to build a place that lasts. That attention and focus carries over to the haircut or shave you pay for. It’s a lot of things in one. Whether you want just a cut, a way to respect yourself, genuine guys who have taken the time to give you the best, or just a moment to take time to pause and reflect, High Point is fit. Though I believe there are room for all shops, High Point succeeds where most fall short.