Shop Talk: Hollywood Barber

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March 17, 2012

Shop Talk: Hollywood Barber

Hollywood Barber 20 Water St., Oneonta Owners: Sandy VanDusen and Margaret Lee Established: 1930s Employees: 2

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Sat Mar 17, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

Shop Talk is a weekly column featuring locally owned and operated businesses. This week, we talk to Sandie VanDusen and Margaret Lee, owners of Hollywood Barber in Oneonta.

How long have you lived in the area?

ML: I grew up in Delaware County, Bovina. I live in Hartwick now.

SV: I grew up in Laurens. I raised my boys here. I live in the West End.

Tell me about your business:

ML: A full service barber shop. Just for men.

SV: If we can help it.

ML: We do do a few women, but mostly men.

SV: It's just walk in. First-come, first-served. You don't need to make an appointment, because men hate appointments. They like to just walk in and sit down. ... We get a lot of college kids, both Hartwick and SUNY Oneonta. A lot of teachers, a lot of professors. A lot of families. Like this one (pointing to a black-and-white photograph on the wall of a little boy getting his hair cut and his mother watching). He's a dad now of two boys that he brings in all the time. That's fun, seeing the different generations. His family's been coming here for a long time, and a lot of families are like that.

Describe a typical day in your business:

SV: We get to work, and there's someone waiting at the door at 8 a.m., usually. And then it just starts from there. Sometimes it's cut all day. Sometimes you get to sit down for a little bit, and then there will be cuts. We were busy this morning, and now it's kind of quiet.

How did you get started in this line of work?

SV: I've always done hair. Since I was little, I used to play with my doll's hair, my aunt's hair, my sister's hair. When it was time for proms, it was me doing everyone's hair.

ML: I took it in school, and liked it, and followed up.

What is the most challenging part of what you do?

ML: Standing on your feet. We have our arms up. It's a long day.

SV: It wears on your legs. Wears on your arms, your shoulders.

ML: Massages help.

The most enjoyable?

ML: The customers, and the conversations. There's just a lot of laughing.

What are some advantages of doing business in this area?

SV: For me, I came back home when I was ready to have kids. I left and played around a little bit, and when it was time to get married and have kids, I came back. This was convenient for me, because if Jake (one of VanDusen's sons) had a ball game, I was out of here. The flexibility. You can work your life around it. Raising kids, you can work your life around it.

ML: It's just really a nice area. This is home. It's always been a good area to do business.

SV: It really helped that this business was established. It's been here since the '30s. When she bought in, it was already established. When I bought in, it was already established. The Hollywood name has been here a long time, and it has a good reputation. ... It was up by the theater on Chestnut. It had just moved down here when I started (16 years ago).

Will you be open on St. Patrick's Day?

ML: Oh, yes. 'Til noon.

SV: I enjoy it. We have a good time. We watch and laugh. If it's a nice day, we'll put our chairs out and watch everyone on Water Street. They're fun. ... We've never had problems (being on Water Street). We've never had a broken window or anything. The kids are very respectful.

Shop Talk interviews are conducted by Cassandra Miller. For information, call The Daily Star at 432-1000, ext. 255, or email cmiller@thedailystar.com.