Hairell’s hair conquered by Julius Scissor

Hairell Fletcher cuts his own hair. makes sense, Hairell seems like a DIY kind of guy. he says he looks in the mirror, uses scissors. rather brave, if you ask me. for the last visit of Hairell’s stay in Philadelphia, we took him to see Julius Scissor. Julius is a hair stylist/sculptor/inventor/poet with a storefront downtown on Locust. he cut Hairell’s hair, told us stories about fist-fighting with priests as a kid, and toured us around his hair studio to the delight of all. I think he may have even converted Hairell to barber-ism…

I found out about Julius from a friend who lived by his shop this summer. she told me that she had been looking in the shop window at the collection of sculptures and Julius had beckoned her inside. she mentioned some of the work on the walls, said it was mostly from found objects – piping, curling irons, and (get this) HAIR. Julius uses the clippings from his job as a hair stylist to create sculptures and portraits. I was intrigued.

I quickly scheduled a hair consultation. never had one of those before. basically, Julius told me how he would cut it if I was to commit to a full appointment. I dug his ideas. I told him about the People’s Biennial. he brought me around the studio and showed me everything. it was decided then and there: Hairell had to get a haircut when he came through town. Julius was too incredible to miss.

we spent Friday afternoon, our final hours with Hairell, at Julius’ place. Julius showed us his personal line of hair products, the scissors he invented, and his portrait of Barack Obama. he told us about one of his favorite clients: Mayor Nutter’s beard! after discussing his work for some time, Hairell sat down for a trim. judging by the look on his face, Hairell definitely enjoyed the experience. he has a pretty good poker face, that Hairell. but I caught him smiling more than once. later in an email, Hairell would write, “The hair cut was great, and I think much better than what I normally do myself, my wife thought so too.” the verdict is in.

for more info on Julius, hit his website or his store front on 20th and Locust. you will not regret.

Photo credit: Christopher Rocco at Intrigue Photography