While most barbers have a similar journey to opening their own shop, John Greenhaw has a unique, and colorful, path that led him to starting the Wimberley Barber Co.
Starting off as a tattoo artist, Greenhaw started his journey to becoming a barber at the behest of a friend.
“I was sick of tattooing,” Greenhaw said. “A friend of mine, as we were joking around, had said ‘You ought to go to Barber School, and I’ll give you a job.’ We laughed, and then two weeks later I signed off for Barber School in kind of a mid-life crisis.”
There is one rather long-term difference between the two mediums that Greenshaw has used to express his artistic talents; however, even though hair grows back – for most people at least – customers often still care just as much about the quality of work.
“It’s not so permanent (cutting hair) but people are still finicky about their hair,” Greenhaw said. “ …Tattooing is a little more stressful and cutting hair is more relaxful. But cutting hair, especially kids’ hair, you deal with people jumping around as much as you are tattooing.”
When an opportunity arose to rent out the current location of Wimberley Barber Co, it was an opportunity worth taking.
“I was in a saloon called the Edge near the high school,” Greenhaw said. “This place came up for rent, and over at the Edge I was in a room with no windows in the back. Having a place with windows was a nice change, and I just wanted to be in a barbershop type of environment and not a salon.”
But operating a barbershop has its own challenges as Greenhaw explained.
“It’s a different world,” Greenhaw said. “A lot of people want an old school Barbershop where people can walk in, sit and wait. But these days with COVID, it’s rare to have someone walk in from out on the street but we do if we can. It’s mainly an appointment only.”
Greenhaw has also added a couple of new Barbers to the shop.
“Some people would rather drive to San Marcos, Dripping Springs or New Braunfels for a haircut than not wait two days,” Greenhaw said. “Other than that, some people like appointments rather than walkins but it’s been pretty positive. This is a great town.”
For what Greenhaw likes about Wimberley, it’s the small town atmosphere.
“It’s a small friendly town,” Greenhaw said. “Everybody is really nice, even the people who move in. They like it being a small town in Texas. Nobody is trying to make it where they’ve been before.”
Beyond the haircut, Greenhaw has also made an effort to create a specific style inside of his shop.
“I’m a thrift store/antique junkie,” Greenhaw said. “Most of this stuff was at my home before coming here… I’d even had a Barber Chair in my living room. My wife was glad to be rid of it. Nearly all the chairs are from the 1930s and 1940s. I just like old stuff.”
One of the most notable items is a mounted Buffalo head that hangs in the middle of the barbershop.
“It hung in my buddy’s old barbershop who gave me my first barber job,” Greenhaw said. “When he moved to St. Louis, he gave me a few things and that was one of them.”
While giving his customers some slick cuts, Greenhaw wants to make sure his customers are also having a good experience in a barbershop he can call his own.
“A lot of Barbers are more like cosmologists these days,” Greenhaw said. “I want to give a great haircut, but I also want you to enjoy yourself and the shop so it’s not a bland environment. A lot of those barbershops are those small chains, but I want to have something of my own.”
