Cool cuts

The Lighthouse Salon turns getting your hair done into a retro experience

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The Lighthouse Salon owner Liz Danielczak with Jose Arlequin, the salon’s barber.

Walking into the new Lighthouse Salon feels like stepping into another era—in a chic, retro vintage way.

Nearly every single item in the building at 1806 N. Mountain Road comes from a bygone era. And owner Liz Danielczak and her mother, Dawn Zattera, are decked out in outfits more reminiscent of a pinup contest than a typical hair salon. It’s something of a uniform, they explain. Even their barber, Jose Arlequin, is decked out like a barber of old, with suspenders, a bowtie, and the full straight-razor service on offer.

The concept of The Lighthouse Salon aims to bring a different experience to the business of cutting and styling hair. “People think this is so cool,” Liz says. “They have never seen anything like it.”

One might be under the impression that the décor was chosen to match the pinup style the stylists wear as they cut your locks, but it actually happened the other way around. The family has a background in restoring old homes, and has a business—based in the Tomahawk-Minocqua area—of finding antique items and restoring them for home décor. “It didn’t seem right to dress normal in a place like this,” Liz says. “I should look the part.”

The duo did the same for the shop, employing her sourcing skills to find vintage salon chairs. The barber chair, for example, dates back to 1910 and had been used by several generations of hair cutters, Dawn says. An antique cash register sits on the front counter. Nearly every object in the salon was sourced that way. Dawn and Liz have worked since July 2016 to rehab the highly visible building on the corner of Rib Mountain Drive and N. Mountain Road. “It was our night and weekend project for a long time,” Liz says.

And they weren’t even sure they were building a salon at first. The building once housed The Lighthouse Saloon, and Dawn came across the then-vacant property while doing insurance work. They knew it would be a cool building but it was only six months ago that they decided to turn it into a salon—a perfect solution, as Liz graduated from State Beauty College four months ago.

The pin-up style of the salon fits Liz’ personality. After spending years in dance, she fell in love with the production and make-up side of those projects. The salon allows her to express that style and pay homage to an era when men and women put a lot more effort into their public appearance. “We’re attracted to the vintage look,” Liz says. “In that time, people worked harder and carried themselves a little differently. They put way more time into everything they did, including their look.”

“That’s why I dress up in my outfits every day,” Liz says. “It shows you care a little more.”

The Lighthouse Salon also offers nails, waxing and skin treatment services. Check out The Lighthouse Salon on Facebook or at thelighthousesalon.com.