Bishops Barber Shop, a new addition to Tempe, is wearing several hats with hair services and plans to operate in harmony with local artists.
Bishops opened for business in Tempe on June 10th. Originally based in Portland Oregon, the shop has opened its doors right next to Dutch Bros Coffee Co. where many ASU students convene, and aims to bring the vibrancy of the local music scene to Tempe this fall.
After its official grand opening scheduled in August, Bishops will begin partnering with local artists to do bi-monthly gallery showings.
The walls of Bishops are covered with abstract art pieces. Right in front of the stylists seats is a big television projecting music videos from various genres.
This is known as the Bishops TV - a music video playlist that is curated by a DJ in Oregon. The music varies from world pop, old school hip-hop, pop and R&B.
To keep the versatility, there are blocks of 10 songs that are handpicked with certain motifs. On Saturday mornings, old school cartoons are televised instead.
"We want the Bishops TV to be reminiscent old school TV that can create an environment for throwback music conversations," said store owner Vincent Ramirez.
Ramirez said he hopes to partner with local musicians by integrating local music into the playlists and creating a "Bishops unplugged."
"This would have the artists play an acoustic set, have it filmed, and then we would add it to our youtube channel and social media," Ramirez said.
Monica Suarez, a hairdresser from Bishops, was initially in the music industry before she got into hairdressing. She is originally from Los Angeles but decided to move in order to be part of the Bishops team.
"You can come here, be relaxed and judgment-free," Suarez said. "We want the guy with the pink mohawk to be comfortable around the guy in the business suit getting a haircut. I also love the non-binary feel of the salon. We are super welcoming to feminine and masculine feels."
Suarez said art and music can go hand in hand with hairdressing.
“I get inspired by the music videos in my hairdressing plans," she said. "I saw a music video with cornrows and got inspired to do cornrows all day."
Boston Cavender, junior at ASU studying mechanical engineering, works at the Dutch Bros. a couple feet away from Bishops.
"Bishops is a very trendy and hip place to be," Cavender said. "If you're mean, they can ask you to leave, and that applies to how our generation wants to be: bold and honest."
Cavender said she thinks the environment will appeal to college students specifically, especially art students at ASU.
Reach the reporter at rdomin10@asu.edu and follow @becca_stories on Twitter.
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