Image by Ryan Pfluger
Mane attraction
Issue #30
Le Tigre’s Johanna Fateman opens a Manhattan salon
By Amy Schroeder
Published: December 1st, 2006 | 12:00am
Johanna Fateman has made a name for herself as a zinester and one-third of Le Tigre. Now she’s got a new category on her resume: business owner.
Along with her friend, hairstylist Shaun Cottle, she opened Seagull salon in New York’s West Village in the fall. Staffed by talented stylists who’ve fled high-end salons — along with under-employed artists, performers, and off-tour musicians — Seagull emits a vibe of “eclectic living room with a great soundtrack.”
The salon originally opened in 1971, during the height of pre-AIDS Gay Liberation and was the first unisex barber shop in New York (and some say, the entire U.S.). Named after the title character in Richard Bach’s book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the shop has switched owners several times over the years. Fateman said that although the ordeal of purchasing the salon from the previous owner was a huge learning process, she was able to utilize a lot of the business skills she obtained as a member of Le Tigre.
“I think the challenge to setting up any business is a lot of bureaucracy — licensing, insurance — superficial stuff,” she said. “It’s just a matter of being patient. The deeper challenge of opening Seagull has been trying something totally new. I wondered about how huge the responsibility would be of owning a business.”
Despite the obstacles, Fateman — who pitches in as the salon’s receptionist — said she enjoys owning her own operation. “I like providing jobs for people and working with friends,” she said. “The most important skill is knowing that you can learn anything. Starting a business is just a matter of finding people to ask questions of and doing research. That’s really all you need to know to do anything in life — everyone is just kind of winging it.”
Fateman said she’s currently working full time at the salon but hopes to eventually work part time. “I have a problem with my work life and personal life being a huge blur,” she said. Fateman’s latest creative outlet is helping to produce LIBBER, which is the new solo project of Wynne Greenwood, formerly of Tracy + the Plastics.
Right about now you may be wondering if the rumors about Le Tigre’s breakup are true. Fateman said they’re false. “We’re definitely on hiatus and everyone’s kind of getting back to pursuing individual interests,” Fateman said. “JD [Samson] is on tour with Peaches, and Kathleen [Hanna] did some stuff with Joan Jett. I think we definitely need a break — we were working so hard for eight years straight. We used to always say in interviews that we had these individual side projects, but over time, it became like ‘Yeah, in theory, we do other things but actually we don’t.’”
Seagull is located at 240 West 10th Street in New York. For more information, visitseagullhair.com.
Comments
Please login to be able to comment on this article.
more