AVONDALE — Considering themselves the long-established "dinosaurs" of Logan Square, the owners of Twisted Scissors have expanded with a second location in Avondale.
The salon's new spot, Little Sister, kicked off its soft opening at 3049 N. Milwaukee Ave., on Wednesday. Exuding a rough-hewn charm that manager Katy Skinner describes as "scrappy, punk vintage queens," the salon strives to be a welcoming place for anyone who walks through its doors.
"A salon is a good place to tell your darkest secrets, and you want to feel safe there," said co-owner Angela Bolos-Hartman. "I don't want to come in feeling judged."
Bolos-Hartman, Anna Arms and Amber Huels opened Twisted Scissors in Logan Square in 2007, doubling its space five years later with an expansion. And with rent in the trendy neighborhood ever on the rise, the three owners wanted to buy a building where their business would be secure.
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"We wanted to have more control over our destiny and not have a business man or someone else have control of it," Bolos-Hartman said. "If something last-minute did happen and we tried to find something in Logan Square, what if it wasn't what we wanted?"
Little Sister opened Wednesday at 3049 N. Milwaukee Ave. [DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung]
After looking for two years, they finally found the Milwaukee Avenue storefront long home to Portrait Beauty salon.
"We didn't really consider Avondale at first, but everything's kind of going this way," Bolos-Hartman said. "So we decided to open a second location and keep the other one as long as we could."
Their new home is a block north of Moe's Tavern, La Farine Bakery and the new Moonlight Vulture diner, which opened in October.
Starting off, Little Sister will be open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, 2 to 8 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
Little Sister has six stations and is open Wednesdays through Saturdays. [DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung]
Prices are the same as Twisted Scissors: Haircuts start at $30 for short hair and $40 for long hair, while barbering starts at $30 for haircuts, $20 for line ups and $10 for a beard trim.
Coloring starts at $75, with the trendy balayage and ombre styles starting at $120. Facials and waxing are also offered.
"We definitely try to provide high-quality service at a lower price," Bolos-Hartman said. "That's kind of how we got our reputation."
Like Twisted Scissors, Bolos-Hartman said she expects to see an incredibly diverse clientele at Little Sister.
"You see little kids to grandmas to the most conservative-type business guys," she said. "College kids scraping by, male, transgender, gay, straight — literally every color of the rainbow."
Little Sister has an aesthetic manager Katy Skinner describes as "scrappy, punk vintage queen." [DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung]
And as Little Sister finds its footing in Avondale, she hopes customers will be understanding while they work out the kinks.
"We've never done this before," she said. "We're still navigating, and we hope to make it as painless as possible for our clients."
