Skip to main content

Hers and His in Clarksville


 

Another assumption smashed. I naturally assumed that Victoria and Albert Hair at Clarksville Commons was named after this Victoria and Albert.


Image from Windsor and Royal Borough Museum Website


Silly me. The salon was opened in Ellicott City in 1974 by Victoria and Albert Clark. And, if I could find a photo of the founders, I’d put it here. Alas.

UPDATE: This photo found by reader Shannon Drury! I’m impressed.





The current owners are Christie Kaiser and Scott Schmidt.


Image from Victoria and Albert Hair Website


The salon moved from Ellicott City to Columbia in 1986, then opened their new location at Clarksville Commons in 2018. I’ve seen the exterior of the business many times when attending events at the Commons or picking up a meal at the Common Kitchen.

A little internet digging gave me some views of the interior.


Image from Victoria and Albert Hair Website 


Pristine. Immaculate. Soothing neutral tones. I can imagine getting away from it all and spending an hour or so investing in some self-care. 

Well, here comes a new look for Victoria and Albert which will co-exist inside the established hair salon. A new Albert for Victoria, if you will.


Photo credit: Victoria & Albert Hair


The men of Howard County have a new place to go for a relaxing shave and haircut with the opening of an old-fashioned barber shop inside Victoria & Albert Hair. Master Barber, Rob Humienny, and Level 1 Barber, Parker Warner are the newest members of the level structure salon located at Clarksville Commons.

The announcement of the new venture was passed along to me by Kerry Lenny of the Caplan Group. If you’ve ever wondered how I always seem to be up-to-date on things happening at Clarksville Commons, it’s largely because of Ms. Lenny. She keeps me in the loop. 

From the press release:

Occupying its own space within the shop, the barber area features traditional-style leather barber chairs, a whiskey barrel sink, and shiplap accents helping to create a unique and distinctly masculine design. Barbers Rob and Parker offer classic services including straight razor shave, haircut, beard trims, and head shaves. Serving clients of all ages, V&A Barbers offer styles from traditional executive contours to the precision of razor fades and creative sculpting.

The new old-fashioned barber space reminds me of the overall vibes of the sadly-departed Jaxon Edwin Social House in Old Ellicott City.



Jaxon Edwin, photo credit Brian Krista, Baltimore Sun Media Group


While the now-defunct Jaxon Edwin business model included casual food and grownup beverages, it won’t be hard to approximate that at the Victoria and Albert Barber Shop. It’s conveniently located near the Common Kitchen plus the Clarksville Commons Restaurants. (Although I doubt you can have cocktails delivered.)

In some ways it feels to me as though Victoria and Albert has created a Man Cave in the middle of a hair salon. It’s an interesting concept. What do you think of the new look? Have you noticed a resurgence in men you know who are looking for the old-school barber shop experience? 

Since I’ve never experienced the old-school barber shop experience, I have plenty to learn. Fill me in.


Victoria and Albert Hair is on Facebook  and Instagram. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more