Queer-friendly barber shop in downtown Tacoma to move into new space after lost lease
An LGBTQ-owned and centered barber shop in downtown Tacoma will move into a new space at the Armory next month after its lease was canceled in late February.
The Barber Collective offers a variety of gender-affirming cuts and hairstyles for an affordable price, owner and barber Georgette Watje told The News Tribune on Thursday. Its mission is to tailor haircuts to the client’s personal style and self, as well as provide a safe space for LGBTQ people and allies.
The Barber Collective started in Watje’s garage in 2020 and grew. Currently the shop is housed in the back of The Mill at 515 6th Ave., and opened there in September. In December when the business The Barber Collective was subletting from closed, Watje said the building owner asked her to sign a lease for the entire 10,000-square-foot space or vacate in 60 days, which left the future of her business up in the air.
Kyle Prosser, the principal leasing broker for the building, told The News Tribune on Friday that what The Barber Collective offered to pay the building owner in monthly rent wasn’t feasible, so the owner issued a 60-day notice to pay or vacate. Prosser said The Mill and the building owner parted ways amicably, and the entire space is available to lease. Building owner Ron Anway told The News Tribune on Friday he did not know what would go into the space in the future.
Watje said after looking for another space nearby that was close to public transit, The Barber Collective will be moving into a new larger space at the Tacoma Armory in early April and hiring additional staff.
A GoFundMe to offset moving costs had raised nearly $6,000 as of Friday morning. Watje said The Barber Collective also will throw a Mutual Aid Benefit March 24 at The Glass Factory in Tacoma with a silent auction of local business goods, a food truck, specialty cocktails and music from local queer musicians. The event will support The Barber Collective’s moving and renovation costs and go from 3-8 p.m., she said.
Hair as gender-affirming care
For Watje and many of the Collective’s clients, hair is representative of identity.
Before she started sporting a short masculine haircut, Watje said, she used to wear her hair long and in a ponytail. Once she realized cutting her hair short was an option, it got shorter and shorter from there. In her time as a barber, Watje said, she’s seen many happy tears as others braved a big cut, too.
“You can almost literally see the weight fall off of someone’s shoulders when you lop that ponytail off,” Watje said. “And the haircut’s only just begun. You lop the ponytail off, and you have this weird asymmetrical janked-up bob, and they have a big smile on their face because they know they’re going to walk out with exactly how they feel on the outside matching how they feel on the inside … it never gets old.”
Cosmetologist Nae Lapp, who uses they/them pronouns, said they remember the joy of cutting their long curly hair for the first time, too.
“The haircut was kind of like a gateway into changing pronouns and expressing myself in more neutral or masculine clothing,” Lapp said Thursday in the midst of shaping a client’s mullet. “I grew up in an environment that did not really allow me to question things or find myself. And so it’s really special for me to see and be a part of this community.”
Many clients of The Barber Collective go there because they have not always felt satisfied or comfortable at traditional masculine barber shops or feminine salons, Lapp said.
“Hair is just hair, and also it matters so much to people to be able to be treated well and pampered and feel like themselves,” Lapp said. “I do think hairdressing is gender-affirming care in the simplest form. It’s nice to be able to offer that. I’m not a surgeon, but I can help people feel seen and safe.”
Nicole Conner, who has been coming to The Barber Collective for several months and uses they/them pronouns, said this was the first time they’d been to a queer barber.
“I’m in my 40s and came out in my late 30s, and it’s been a little harder for someone who’s a little older. A little more reserved, a little more worried,” Conner said. “[Here] I just feel a level of trust. I don’t really even have to explain anything, Nae just gets it.”
Since moving back to Tacoma in May, Roman Christiaens said Thursday was the first time they’d had a haircut in a while, after finding that many barber shops and salons had expectations about what clients should want for their hair based on their gender.
“I don’t have a lot of agency or voice when I go to a traditional barber shop or hair salon,” Christiaens said, who uses they/them pronouns. “I’ve had experiences where I don’t feel like what I want is addressed, nor do I feel like what I want matters to people. Which is why I don’t often get my hair cut. I just let it grow out. I like having long hair, but I want to try new things.”
Aether Kertzen uses they/them pronouns and has been getting haircuts from Watje for about a year and a half. They said finding a local shop that gave them the haircut they asked for was a series of trials and errors. Kertzen said they “value and cherish” The Barber Collective and plan to follow it to its new space.
“A good haircut is a good expression of self,” Kertzen said, as they got a skin-fade flat-top cut Thursday. “A lot of people when talking about trans folks, a lot of times it’s about their shoulders and their Adam’s apple, it’s about their chest size, about their hips, those kinds of things. Because hair can be so extremely coded, it’s one of those things you don’t even think about that can make a huge, huge difference.”
If you go
Make an appointment online. Visit the 515 6th Ave. site through March and keep an eye out on social media for when The Barber Collective is moving into the Tacoma Armory at 1001 S. Yakima Ave.
Prices for haircuts and color are on the Collective’s website and range from $25-$50.
Watje said the shop’s hours will likely stay the same, open Tuesday-Saturday by appointment.
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
