(Sept. 14, 2017) After more than two decades of experience working in area salons, New York native Rhonda Pastor Pilarski opened her own business, Salon Sixteen on 16 Broad Street in Berlin, last month.
“I really didn’t know that I wanted to do hair when I was growing up. I actually wanted to be a nurse,” Pilarski said. “Nurses and hair dressers have a lot in common – maybe it’s our nurturing thing.”
Pilarski moved to the area in 1988 and got her first job running the front desk of a salon. She apprenticed as a stylist at Avery Gallery in Ocean City and worked there for eight years, then worked at Headlines Salon in Ocean Pines for 16 years.
Having her own businesses, she said, was something she always wanted to do.
“The timing was right with my two boys – they’re 17 and 14 now, so it was just a good point for their ages and for me personally. I’ve had a lot of personal growth,” Pilarski said.
She remembers moving to Berlin eight years ago and peeking in the window of the building that would later become her storefront. At the time, she said, it was a somewhat unusual barbershop.
“It looked really small inside and there were deer heads hanging on the walls,” she said with a laugh. “Still, I thought it would be the perfect spot, but I wasn’t personally ready at that point.”
Last December, Pilarski decided she was prepared to run her own salon. With the help of Tim Sherman at the Small Business Development Center at Salisbury University, she wrote a business plan and got financing to open in a different location.
Then, 16 Broad Street became available.
“I talked with [the owners] and they wanted somebody who was going to be here and be successful. After 24 years of doing hair, I was ready,” Pilarski said.
Starting in May, the interior was gutted and completely redone, from the ceiling tiles to the flooring “and everything in between.”
Several weeks into the process, however, her father, Glenn Pastor, became ill. A weeklong trip to visit him turned into three.
“During all of the build-out and construction, I was there for three weeks and then I came home for 10 days. It was the end of school and I was missing my kids terribly. By June I was wondering what I’d gotten myself into,” she said. “And then I went back and forth for another couple of weeks.”
On July 24, Pastor lost his battle with cancer.
Still, Pilarski persevered. To take her mind off of things, she drove a U-Haul truck back and forth with items collected for the shop that would eventually define the character of the interior.
She brought back stashes of antique furniture. Several pieces, including the some of the lighting fixtures, were rescued from the attic of her brother’s garage.
“When I was at my dad’s [house], I just started gathering things,” she said. “We wanted [a space] that was beautiful and warm and inviting – and kind of eclectic. I wanted to stick with some of the antique vibe of Berlin, but make the space clean.
“When I got here and made the color choices and all of that, it really came together,” Pilarski continued. “I’m thrilled. I can’t believe how well it turned out.”
Salon Sixteen opened on Aug. 22 and Pilarski said the response has been wonderful. The shop has been perpetually busy, offering haircuts, color, corrective color, make-up, facial waxing, spa pedicures, manicures and gel nails.
Longtime friend Paula Myers runs the front desk, and several other friends and former colleagues make up the staff.
“One thing I definitely wanted is a welcoming environment where people feel comfortable – you don’t always get that. I think the first impression is everything and I love having Paula there,” Pilarski said. “We started out with eight of us working together and it’s been perfect. It wasn’t too much for the desk. It wasn’t too much for the assistants. It wasn’t too much for [the stylists]. It was just right.”
Pilarski said she signed a five-year lease with an option for five additional years. She plans to honor that agreement – and then some.
“I just want to stay,” she said. “I have to do this for at least 10 or 15 years for me, and I want to be right here for as long as we can.”
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 443-513-4248 or visit www.facebook.com/pg/SalonSixteenBerlinMD.
“I really didn’t know that I wanted to do hair when I was growing up. I actually wanted to be a nurse,” Pilarski said. “Nurses and hair dressers have a lot in common – maybe it’s our nurturing thing.”
Pilarski moved to the area in 1988 and got her first job running the front desk of a salon. She apprenticed as a stylist at Avery Gallery in Ocean City and worked there for eight years, then worked at Headlines Salon in Ocean Pines for 16 years.
Having her own businesses, she said, was something she always wanted to do.
“The timing was right with my two boys – they’re 17 and 14 now, so it was just a good point for their ages and for me personally. I’ve had a lot of personal growth,” Pilarski said.
She remembers moving to Berlin eight years ago and peeking in the window of the building that would later become her storefront. At the time, she said, it was a somewhat unusual barbershop.
“It looked really small inside and there were deer heads hanging on the walls,” she said with a laugh. “Still, I thought it would be the perfect spot, but I wasn’t personally ready at that point.”
Last December, Pilarski decided she was prepared to run her own salon. With the help of Tim Sherman at the Small Business Development Center at Salisbury University, she wrote a business plan and got financing to open in a different location.
Then, 16 Broad Street became available.
“I talked with [the owners] and they wanted somebody who was going to be here and be successful. After 24 years of doing hair, I was ready,” Pilarski said.
Starting in May, the interior was gutted and completely redone, from the ceiling tiles to the flooring “and everything in between.”
Several weeks into the process, however, her father, Glenn Pastor, became ill. A weeklong trip to visit him turned into three.
“During all of the build-out and construction, I was there for three weeks and then I came home for 10 days. It was the end of school and I was missing my kids terribly. By June I was wondering what I’d gotten myself into,” she said. “And then I went back and forth for another couple of weeks.”
On July 24, Pastor lost his battle with cancer.
Still, Pilarski persevered. To take her mind off of things, she drove a U-Haul truck back and forth with items collected for the shop that would eventually define the character of the interior.
She brought back stashes of antique furniture. Several pieces, including the some of the lighting fixtures, were rescued from the attic of her brother’s garage.
“When I was at my dad’s [house], I just started gathering things,” she said. “We wanted [a space] that was beautiful and warm and inviting – and kind of eclectic. I wanted to stick with some of the antique vibe of Berlin, but make the space clean.
“When I got here and made the color choices and all of that, it really came together,” Pilarski continued. “I’m thrilled. I can’t believe how well it turned out.”
Salon Sixteen opened on Aug. 22 and Pilarski said the response has been wonderful. The shop has been perpetually busy, offering haircuts, color, corrective color, make-up, facial waxing, spa pedicures, manicures and gel nails.
Longtime friend Paula Myers runs the front desk, and several other friends and former colleagues make up the staff.
“One thing I definitely wanted is a welcoming environment where people feel comfortable – you don’t always get that. I think the first impression is everything and I love having Paula there,” Pilarski said. “We started out with eight of us working together and it’s been perfect. It wasn’t too much for the desk. It wasn’t too much for the assistants. It wasn’t too much for [the stylists]. It was just right.”
Pilarski said she signed a five-year lease with an option for five additional years. She plans to honor that agreement – and then some.
“I just want to stay,” she said. “I have to do this for at least 10 or 15 years for me, and I want to be right here for as long as we can.”
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 443-513-4248 or visit www.facebook.com/pg/SalonSixteenBerlinMD.