Upon entering his new digs in Shawville, skate and music memorabilia clutter the walls. A 2000s hockey highlight reel plays on a vintage TV. A Bob Marley record plays in the background.

Only the familiar snip-snips and buzz-buzzes behind the chair remind you that you’re in a barber shop, not hanging out in your buddy’s garage.

This is exactly the kind of relaxed atmosphere Ringrose wanted for his new shop, which opened last week at 119 Victoria Avenue in Shawville, a stone’s throw from Langford’s Grocery.

Ringrose, a Shawville native, had a shop in the same location when he was fresh out of barber school in 2019. A barbering job then took him to Ottawa, where he stayed for a few years before the rising cost of living pushed him and his partner back to the Pontiac last fall.

He ran his business from a chair in the neighbouring salon, Studio 127, but when the opportunity arose to rent his own location, he said it was a no-brainer. “I have a lot more freedom here,” he said.

A music fan with connections to local Ottawa and Pembroke bands, he said he likes to share his eclectic taste with his customers, ranging from punk to reggae to rock, among others, saying it’s a good way to break the ice with customers.

“I’d say music is one of the easiest things that people are willing to open up and talk about. That’s kind of a good way to crack someone’s shell and get a good idea of what kind of person they are,” he said.

Customers are welcome to spin a record from his collection, which he proudly says is made up of thrifted dollar-bin finds from various stores over the years.

“Maybe something they haven’t heard yet or learned about, and vice versa. That way it opens the conversation up,” he said.

Ringrose said for him the conversation and customer service aspects of the job are just as important as the actual hair-cutting.

“Especially in a small town, I think that’s almost equally as important as doing your job well, is creating a nice open environment.”

Ron Alexander, who recently moved to Bristol from Toronto, visited the new shop on Tuesday. He said it has been a struggle finding a good local barbershop, so he has been travelling to Ottawa to get a trim.

“For me coming from Toronto to a small town, there’s a lot I had to give up. And to get my haircuts back again without the hassle is really something,” he said, adding that he was happy with the cut but also enjoyed the energy of the place.

“I was there for an hour and a bit, but it really felt like I escaped from my life, and I was just able to be happy for a couple minutes. I got playing some music that I liked, checking out his album collection. It was a nice vibe,” he said.

Hopes ‘loosey-goosey’ shop can offer safe space

Ringrose said he hopes the space can be fun for kids. Growing up in Shawville he found himself wanting for things to do, and is hoping the shop can make sure kids of this generation don’t suffer from the same.

“There’s not a whole lot to do in your wild teenage years, so if I can offer even one kid a safe space to not get into trouble or maybe even find a new passion, just to have a community space, that makes it worth it for me.

“Even if one kid gets some kind of enjoyment out of it, boom,” he said.

With a foosball table, games, and boxes of records and CDs for his customers’ to browse through, Ringrose’s vision was to create a space that would be fun for everyone.

“The main theme that I was going for was that feeling of going over to someone’s garage, maybe, or someone who just collects a bunch of random knick-knacks and stuff, or going over for, like, a jam sesh,” he said.

“I wanted to keep it pretty loosey-goosey. Whether you’re a teenager, a little kid, older, doesn’t matter, there’s something for everybody [ . . . ] No discrimination, no hate against anyone, any walk of life.”

Even with all the good times, Ringrose still takes his craft seriously and keeps up on all the latest hair trends.

“I do want to be considered the best in the whole Outaouais, Pontiac, anything. I’ll take whatever area it is I want to be considered, like, the highest quality, best service you can get. So that’s kind of the end goal, is really to spread the name and just let the work do the talking.”

Ringrose is open for business 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday, and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m..

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