We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marie Rolla. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marie below.

Marie , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Being autistic has left me always feeling like the black sheep wherever I go and I’m often told I’m too intense or too weird for many spaces. I hold a lot of collective rage for the unjust ways the world operates as I watch systems fail my loved ones every day. Opening Black Sheep has given me a small corner of the world where I can feel normal and get a break from it all.

I was fired from my last salon for speaking about racial segregation in hair salons. While many all white salons were out protesting Black Lives Matter in 2020, I spoke loudly about the disconnect between our beliefs and how we uphold racism in our day to day lives, encouraging stylists to get educated and trained to be able to service Black people confidently behind the chair. I often ask non Black friends or clients if they’ve ever gotten their hair done next to a Black person, and the answer is most often a “no”. I hope that my story inspires other folks to take the initiative to learn to work with textured hair.

Marie , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We are working to service the folks who are often refused service or underserved in hair salons. Black folks and folks with curly hair are centered in our space since beauty schools are not teaching this and most salons do not invest in continued education. We only hire stylists who already have experience working with tight textures and we continue to prioritize outside education from Black stylists.

We have an entirely queer/trans staff with the lived experience to provide gender affirming services. Many salons are not confident cutting someone’s hair short for the first time or do not understand the nuances that can make a haircut appear more feminine or masculine, which is a skillset that can literally save a trans persons life.

Even though ADA helps protect disabled people, most businesses do not think about the diverse needs of disabled people. We go above and beyond the ADA minimums and have invested in making our space accessible to disabled people as best we can.

Some features of our space are shampoo beds that lay flat with grab bars to help ease neck and back pressure, a portable shampoo bowl for wheelchair users, a private room with dimmable lights for folks who are light, sound, or smell sensitive or need privacy for religious or personal reasons, chat free appointments, stim toys for neurodiverse folks and kids, fragrance free appointments, true HEPA air purifiers for COVID safety, and flexible cancelation policies for folks with chronic illness.

Our styling chairs have removable armrests that can hold up to 800lbs and our shampoo bowls are wide beds with no armrests that usually prevent a larger body from fitting. Our waiting room chairs were custom welded by a family member since most commercial chairs only hold a max of 350lbs (and often have much lower capacities).

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

A friend of mine recommended a podcast episode called “curb cuts” by 99% invisible. This podcast shared a story about how curb cuts (the ramps that make curbs accessible for wheelchair users) were created by renegade disabled activists in the 70s. Disabled people grew tired of not being able to use public streets, so they illegally poured concrete on certain curbs in busy parts of town so they could access it.

Curb cuts ended up benefitting so many people- elderly folks, folks with limited mobility, parents with strollers, and skaters and bikers, The curb cut effect is when a modification is initially made to make something accessible to disabled people, but ends up benefitting the general public.

This podcast episode sat with me while I was getting ready to open my business and I’ve found that making an accessible business model has benefitted so many folks. If one person struggles with something, it’s unlikely they are alone in that struggle.

Focusing on accessibility is one of our core values at Black Sheep Salon. I’m a firm believer that we all face one of two fates in life- death or disability, and that living life disabled is a privilege many people do not live long enough to experience. Especially in these times we must come together to create a more accessible world.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media has been an incredible tool to build and grow our business. Although it is vulnerable to share trans folks journey in their transition, we appreciate the clients who feel safe enough to share their story with others online because it helps trans folks find us.

Just last week we had a young trans girl who was stealth (not out and open about being trans) because her family was conservative. She had been going to barbershops previously and had a difficult time explaining what she wanted to her barbers. She found us on TikTok and was able to finally get an affirming haircut, thanks to those clients who have trusted us to share their transformations.

It can be scary in these times to be out and open online, but the visibility is an act of resistance and a reminder than trans people have always existed and will continue to exist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blacksheepsalonlbc.com
• Instagram: @blacksheepsalonlbc
• Yelp: https://yelp.to/6pljy8dBtl