Graton hairstylist has set up shop on her front porch, and collapsed it down into her hatchback
When the state told county hairdressers, barbers and tattoo artists to close up shop in mid-July, Graton hairstylist Ramona Camille leaned into a plan she had had brewing since before the pandemic — creating a traveling hair salon. Camille, who owns Ramona Rainbow Hair Art, sped up her plans and has been traveling to clients in and out of Sonoma County.
Before the virus hit, Camille purchased a 1974 Volkswagen Bus. Inspired by the number of outdoor businesses she saw while visiting a friend on Maui two years ago, she hoped to eventually turn the bus into an extension of the traveling hair services she already had in place for weddings. Then, indoor personal care businesses were shut down countywide.
The plans she already had in place to create a more permanent traveling studio were accelerated by COVID-19 and now Camille has found herself slightly ahead of the curve when it comes to adapting her business to the outdoors.
“COVID happened and I started ordering everything that folds up that fits in my hatchback Toyota Yaris,” she said, laughing. “I got a traveling shampoo bowl, a styling chair … I can lay all of my seats down and I fit everything in my car. I bring a bucket where I dispose of water that has hair color in it and everything. I was doing it for my friends and people I knew very well and I wasn’t super busy at first.”
Steadily, however, business has grown.
Now, she’s making house calls — packing in an umbrella, a chair, a bucket and traveling hair washing station, everything she would have in a traditional hair salon. She noted that she carries everything in herself, and brings any trash home with her.
“I call myself a Mary Poppins of hair salons,” Camille said.
Camille said that, due to the clientele she tends to attract, she hasn’t seen much resistance to the idea of an outdoor hair appointment.
“I attract a certain clientele — they prefer that I’m outside, they want to be outdoors, they understand that it’s safer,” she said, noting that she’s been tested for the virus as a precautionary measure numerous times. “Before COVID even happened, another reason I wanted to travel to people’s homes and be an outdoor stylist is because I’m 100% a single parent, I’ve raised my son by myself since the beginning, and I attract a single mother crowd and they don’t want to have to try to get child care. If I go to their home, in their backyard, they don’t have to do that.”
In addition to loading everything up in her hatchback, Camille also set up a space on her front porch where people can sit and have their hair done — the roofed in space has wisteria growing, sits in downtown Graton and is in the process of getting outfitted with more permanent salon tools, like a hair washing station. She’s found that she prefers working outside to working in a traditional salon setting.
“I feel like I enjoy it more. I like that sense of freedom, I feel like I’m on a vacation or something, driving around beautiful Sonoma County,” Camille said. “I don’t really like the traditional salon — I’ve never loved any salon (atmosphere) I’ve ever worked in, and I’ve been working in salons for 14 years in Sonoma County. I love being a hairstylist, but this makes me feel more excited about it.”
When asked how working on the go has changed the way she does things, she said that she anticipates the time lost by driving around the county or neighboring towns may be partially made up by the lower overhead, since she doesn’t have to pay for a space in a traditional salon.
Once her bus is built, Camille will be able to travel around with all of her hair colors on hand — right now clients have to consult with her beforehand so she knows which colors to bring — and will be able to work outside in a variety of weather, since the bus has an awning.
“I really want to be able to be all year round, 100% outdoor,” she said.
“Why it works for me personally and for the clientele I attract is because I’m a single mom, it’s hard for me to find childcare and there’s going to be no normal school happening,” she said. “It just works into the lifestyle of this laid-back feeling people that I think may have become accustomed to while not working anymore. I feel like this is the time to reinvent ourselves, and this is the time to do that.”
Camille’s work can be found on her Instagram.
