Daphne LemkeFond du Lac Reporter
FOND DU LAC – Downtown Fond du Lac recently lost one of its community-loved hair salons, but the area hasn't had to miss out for long.
Opal Studios opened earlier this month in the former Hair Lounge, 104 S. Main St., Suite 102, with a new aesthetic but familiar faces at the forefront.
Hair Lounge opened in 2019 as owner Vicente Lezama Morales strived to create not only a hair salon, but a safe and welcoming space for everyone. This summer, he announced through a letter on the Hair Lounge's website that he would close the salon to move on to a new journey in life, expressing sadness for the decision and gratitude for the community and customers.
“Thank you for believing in me, for believing that ‘hair is not just hair,’ that a salon is not ‘just a salon,’ that an environment welcoming everyone is what makes it an experience,” he wrote on the Facebook page after the salon closed in August.
Now, Opal Studios has opened in the space, helmed by Hair Lounge employees Katie Lavrenz and Sydney Hayashi.
Even though the vibe has changed, the people inside haven’t, and they aim to carry on the same comfortable and welcoming environment.
“It’s interesting taking over because I think guests of Hair Lounge, some of them, are really attached to the aesthetic, and so they have to mourn that there’s not so many plants around here,” Lavrenz said. “But it’s also getting a lot more colorful and playful in here.”
Hayashi, who uses they/them pronouns, added that it’s a joyful space, and a place where people can feel comfortable and happy.
“We’re here to have fun as well as validate anyone in who they are, what they want to look like and how they want their experience to be, in the salon and with their hair at home,” they said. “We’re just a very affirming place and we want you to live your best life.”
Both learned cosmetology from Moraine Park Technical College and started at MoJo Hair Studio before Lezama Morales offered them a spot when he opened Hair Lounge.
While preparing to go on her own as an independent stylist after the closing announcement, Lavrenz knew she needed a name for an LLC and scribbled into a notebook the name of one of her favorite stones: opal. When Lezama Morales offered the option to take over the space, the salon as it is today began to take form.
“So it went from the thought of potentially just being what I would independently be as a stylist, maybe renting a suite or a booth, to turning into the whole concept of a salon,” she said.
The name Opal Studios turned out to fit the salon better than expected, not only because it’s the birthstone for October — the month the salon opened — but also for the meaning the stone often carries, she said.
“Hair Lounge was supposed to be this safe space, and opals are colorful and vibrant," Lavrenz said. "They have a lot of meaning behind them, like with emotional growth, creativity and self-expression."
Many Hair Lounge customers have stuck around and gotten comfortable with the transition to Opal Studios, which is already booked past Christmas.
The salon is a concept salon, meaning the products they use in the salon and sell for clients to use at home are exclusively from the Italian hair care brand milk_shake.
The brand has a high ingredient standard and is known for being safe on skin, hair and the environment, and also comes in recyclable or partially biodegradable packaging. Lavrenz and Hayashi like its range of vegan products — with some strictly plant-based products — and the brand’s roots in using milk protein-based treatments, which mimic the structure of the hair’s natural protein.
“It’s also focused on rebuilding your hair,” Hayashi said. “If I’m going to color your hair, it’s also going to put protein, it’s going to put shine, smoothing, weather protection all at the same time.”
Opal Studios also has spaces available for independent artists, such as nail technicians or estheticians, to rent.
Beyond cosmetology, Lavrenz and Hayashi also want to promote other area artists and small businesses. They are hoping to find partnerships that would allow them to showcase and sell their products in the salon.
“We really wanted to have some sort of gallery-type appeal so that when you’re here, you’re not only seeing beautiful things and getting inspiration, but you can also potentially bring back a piece of the rest of our community with you,” Lavrenz said.
Opal Studios is open 12 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, 1 to 8 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Appointments can be made online at opalstudios.square.site.
Contact Daphne Lemke atdlemke@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @daphlemke.
