Love Local: Eclectic Barbershop Experience Serves Up Excellent Cuts and Conversation
Retro vibes and expert staff bridge diversity and style in unique ways that fit Midtown’s identity.
03/20/2024
BY BRIAN CARR
Open seven days a week and centrally located, Eclectic Barbershop is the place to go in Midtown for fading, scissors haircuts, and shaving. The staff specializes in all hair types and textures. But there’s more to the experience than just a haircut.
We spent part of the day in this unique barbershop to soak up the fun atmosphere and speak with the crew about how their special brand of grooming intersects with ethnic diversity, art and fellowship.
A Place for Everyone
“We celebrate the diversity we have in our staff,” says shop owner Kevin Morian Wesley.
“Our slogan is ‘a place for everyone.’ And we have someone from essentially every ethnicity represented on our team. We specialize in all hair types and textures. We have the staff that can do it all. And when you come to our barbershop, it's someone you can relate to that’s cutting your hair.”
Eclectic Barbershop has been around Midtown for over a decade. As the business outgrew space on 14th Street and later 12th Street, Morian saw an opportunity to expand on Peachtree Street and convert the legacy 12th Street location into a salon for women.
The 805 Peachtree location is brightly lit, with big windows looking out on the bustle of Peachtree Street. The playlist coming through the speakers in the ceiling is lively, with classic hip-hop standards from Warren G and Snoop Dogg. Another feature in the shop that could go unnoticed is a row of clocks on the wall displaying the local time in Atlanta and different time zones for London, Los Angeles, Milan, and Hong Kong - cities where Eclectic Barbershop dreams of expanding someday.
“There’s no limit to what you can do with this line of work,” Morian says. “The opportunity for helping others and creativity is what attracted me to want to be a barber.”
Hip. Energetic. A nod to the landmarks that make ATL special.
Vintage vibes and fun decor featuring Atlanta landmarks are present throughout the shop. Midtown street signs hang on the wall above each barber’s station.
Mike Thomas, who has been cutting hair professionally for almost 30 years, is set up at West Peachtree Street. Next to his retro-styled barber’s chair stands a sleek Industrial tool cabinet on wheels, similar to what you'd find in an auto mechanic’s shop.
“I'm still the traditional old-school barber,” he says with a laugh. “There’s s still a big market for that kind of haircut experience, and I don't want to change that.”
A Unique Mix of Clientele
Marco Ortiz has 15 years of experience as a barber. He says he gets a lot of energy from the diverse crowd he serves.
“Sometimes my clients seek me out because I speak Spanish. Other times I work with English-speaking clients, and people who come to Midtown Atlanta from all over,” Ortiz says. “I get to talk to everybody, from all walks of life, too, like legal professionals. The variety of people here is like a big pot of gumbo.”
When asked about his unique style, Ortiz thinks for a moment.
“I'm real good with the scissors game,” he says with a wry smile. “So I like to mess around with the scissors a lot. I can create some really cool styles out of crop tops. I can also make it more traditional.”
A Ringing Endorsement
With clippers in hand, Jeceon Tuckett is carefully putting the finishing touches on his client’s fade. Tuckett sports a medium-length beard and says he became an accomplished barber after an earlier career in business administration.
“I love grooming beards and doing razor shaves with bald heads,” he says. “I also do designs. That's one of my strong points.”
Tuckett’s freshly-cropped client, whose first name is Anoop, hops out of the chair and offers a sharp testimonial on his way out the door:
“This is the only barbershop that I've visited that no matter when I walk in, what time it is, who's cutting my hair, I know I'm getting a good haircut,” Anoop says. “The other places that I've been, there's maybe been one person that I trust. Here, it doesn't matter who it is. Everyone can cut.”
Pushing the Envelope with Style
Across the aisle, Ian Lee is doing some intricate beard-trimming work for his client. Lee remembers being in his early teens when he went to his first barbershop.
“I was intrigued with how someone could make you look so good with just a pair of clippers,” he says. “It was a different type of art that I had never really seen before.”
Lee notes there are not many Asian barbers in Atlanta. And that as a younger member of the Eclectic crew, he is looking to bring a new spark to the game. Lee says there's an exciting transition he sees happening into new-school barber techniques.
“The fades we can create now are coming out even bolder, and our clients love it. You can come in here and get a cut from any of us and we’re all going to be clean with it. We’re all going to be consistent.”
Shear Wisdom: Eclectic Barbers Embrace Role as Counselors to Navigate Life’s Challenges
It’s widely understood that a local barbershop is a community space, where people can exchange ideas, get advice, and walk out with a fresh perspective. The team at Eclectic Barbershop embraces this.
“You might have somebody in your chair dealing with their own unique issues,” Morian says. “And then we'll share a story from our past that might help motivate and touch someone, and change the way they look at what they're going through.”
“It's easy for me to talk to people and it also helps me, Thomas says. “The conversations with my clients go back and forth. That's one of the parts I enjoy about it.”
Ortiz agrees, saying “Yeah, I feel like we're not just barbers. We take on the role of therapists when we can give great advice. As guys, our mental health gets overlooked all the time. So that's one reason why people come here.”
“When you step foot in the barbershop, it's like church,” Lee says enthusiastically. “The people that visit us here respect what we do. They respect our art. They can escape from the stress they feel, and we can make the experience special for them.”
And if a client is on a tight schedule, Morian and his crew can forgo the deep conversation for efficiency.
“I always take into account the Midtown professionals that we serve,” Morian says. “We’re considerate of their time. We know that clients might be going to work or headed out for a flight, or on their lunch break. So we give them a great cut and conversation in a timely manner, and they can get back to their day.”
Genuine ATL City Vibes Like No Other
Just inside the doors, the signature striped barber pole rotates as Tuckett’s next client arrives for a haircut. Lee sweeps hair off the floor as Ortiz gazes out the window onto Peachtree Street.
“It's a great location,” Ortiz says. “We get to see a lot of people. The city's really alive. It's a cool vibe, you know what I mean?”
When you go …
Eclectic Barbershop offers the convenience of online appointment booking at EclecticBarbershop.us. Head to their site for info on services, rates and more. During your service you can enjoy a complimentary beer or cool beverage while listening to Eclectic’s collection of jazz, funk, pop or hip-hop classics.
Be sure to browse @eclecticbarbershop on social media for inspiration and to see more about the unique staff personalities that cut hair.
South Midtown Location (Barbershop)
(404) 968- 9132
805 Peachtree Street, Suite L-15
Atlanta, GA 30308
North Midtown Location (Breez Salon for Women)
(800) 891-3583
77 12th Street, Inside Salon Loft #21
Atlanta, GA 30309
