Covid 19

I own a salon in Minneapolis called Twisted Hare Salon.  It is an Alice In Wonderland themed salon that is curly hair focused.  I love what I do, and I never thought in all the years I have been in business that it would be considered non-essential or that we would ever have to close due to a pandemic. 

When I first became aware of Covid 19 in early March, I thought " what's all the panic"? “It’s a cold for God sake!”. Then the executive order came a month later to shut down all non-essential businesses, and a wave panic struck me so hard that it paralyzed me for a little bit.  "How am I going to survive with no income coming in"?  Then I went into a mode of denial and tried to see the humor in it; looking for all the funny memes and posts on Facebook so that I could laugh, laugh because I needed to not cry.  Then the calm set it and I started to look around…… I saw the people that haven't been able to collect unemployment and has been without an income for 8 weeks desperately wanting to go back to work so that they could have a income, I see another who has suffered the loss of a loved ones, I hear about the ones who have recovered from the disease that say this is the worst thing they’ve ever experienced and my heart goes out to them.    

I applied for unemployement and was denied because I am a business owner.  I then applied for SBA loan and got it. I got it because I have a good relationship with my bank and I have exellent credit. I am not bragging, I so realize that I was one of the lucky ones.  I am sad: so many people applying online didn't get this loan because they didn't have a good enough credit score or the SBA ran out of funds. I realize that this is serious, things may never be the same again.  I am not laughing anymore.

I have been trying to keep updated with the news, reading information so that I can make smart decisions when we open.  The problem with searching for information is that it is all so confusing.  You will find all sorts of opinion pieces; each opinion piece may or may not support each other but each one has some very valid points.  So now I must rely on my common sense, and my own concluded opinions.  As governors are trying to figure out how to ease back in to a new normal, please remember: This is not an easy decision. Be kind. 

We may or may not be open by May 4^th..   We have not received any rules as to how and what to do to make our salon safe, but there are guidelines - some of them valid some them ridiculous…I wonder who makes these rules?  One of the suggested rules was to have color clients process outside or in their car.  I will not be doing this for a number of reasons.  It was after all a suggestion.

The environmentalist has been saying how the environment has improved since the stay at home and social distancing have been in place.  My concern as the salons start to open, is how the environment will suffer when some will have disposable mask, aprons, wipes and such.  I am not condemning the fact that salons will have these things (as we will have to change our face mask, aprons, wipe down everything after each client) and some do not have access to a washing machine in their suites.  Oh, how I cringe when I think of what we will do to the environment after all of us are back to work.

I am listening to a song this evening called “Strange World” By Haley Reinhart.  Even though it is a love song the words just kept going through my brain over and over “strange world, strange world, what strange world we live in.  I feel that I have gone down the rabbit hole into the twilight zone of a totally new way in which our lives will be forever changed.  As Alice would say “It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then” …There will be changes, a new norm, and it just might get curiouser and curiouser.  The one thing that will always stay the same for Twisted Hare;  we will always be curl focused. The coming changes may keep us on the edge of madness as we try to adjust, but stay calm WE WILL get through this because we have to.


Be sure to visit us online at:  www.thetwistedhare.com

Much Love Twisted Hare