We recently connected with Laran D’Eustachio and have shared our conversation below.

Laran , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

When we opened Barrelli Barber in 2017, my partner Peter Evans and I had worked together as owner (Peter) and Managing Director (Laran) at Stella Nova – Hair, Skin, Beauty in Charleston SC for over 20 years. We were both inspired by our experience as parents of sons, and our beauty service and retail expertise called us to provide service and products designed with men in mind. We knew that men are looking for high quality services but are looking for something different than the feminine salon/spa concept; the needs are very similar but the aesthetic and the approach are unique.

Barrelli Barber offers “Proper Grooming for Gentleman”: shaves, haircuts, waxing, hair color, beard and neck trims. In addition to the barbershop, we launched a men’s grooming line available for sale at the barbershop and on the Barrelli Barber website. The line includes shampoos, conditioners, and styling and grooming products formulated with the influence of our years of experience. We had a firm understanding about what we wanted and what we did not want.

Barrelli Barber combines my greatest joy and love in life: being a “boy mom” to my son, Henry, and a bonus mother to his group of friends – with my professional passion: the beauty service and retail industry. It’s a mission born of synchronicity and experience, and I’m so lucky to have my priorities align in this way.

Laran , 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?

I had over 20 years experience working in the beauty service and retail field prior to opening Barrelli Barber. All of that experience in every area of the business: the services, retail, relationships, financial and administrative responsibilities, etc. helped prepare me and also give me focus on what was the most important. At every step, I focus on the overall concept of relationships.

Making the customers happy is critical to our business’s success, and our team of barbers and customer care staff are the ones that make our customers happy. They are on the front lines of customer service, and it is my goal to create an atmosphere of respect and harmony where they are happy to come to work and practice their craft. At the beginning and end of every decision is my effort to take good care of my team. That is definitely what makes me most proud.

The second thing I’m most proud of has been building and maintaining a strong brand. The Barrelli Barber brand has a streamlined aesthetic that delivers time-honored barbershop traditions, elevated to modern standards, in an understated, masculine way. We launched our first shop in the Cigar Factory in historic Downtown Charleston in 2017 followed by a location in Mt Pleasant, SC, and then Park Circle in North Charleston. We opened our 4th Barrelli Barber location in April 2024 in Summerville, SC. While each location has a unique personality, they are all distinctly a Barrelli Barbershop.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have always been good at being able to carry on, and put one foot in front of the other despite challenges. An extreme example of this was in January 2006, when I was on a business trip to San Diego while six months pregnant. I’d been working with my boss, and now-business partner, Peter Evans, to set goals, and we’d encouraged each other to push ourselves to reach them. He was speaking at a salon conference – something he was at the time going out of his comfort zone to do. The talk was at 1 pm, and at about 9 am, I went into labor prematurely. Me and another coworker went to the hosptal, but I refused to let anyone tell him I was I labor in case it derailed him from completing that goal. After the speech, everyone jumped in to help out, and I gave birth to a baby boy in California. It was a challenging and scary time, because my son, Henry, was born so early and I was away from my family in a strange city. But, in the end, you just have to put one foot in front of the other. My baby needed me and I needed to stay strong for the both of us. That continues to be a driving force for me today.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I love the people I work with like they are my family. Because of this, I have had to adjust how I approach these relationships so that there are healthy work and friend boundaries. I cannot be an effective leader or friend if I don’t establish and maintain what our expectations are of one another. It can be difficult, but being honest about it and aware of it from the start is key to navigating this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://barrellibarber.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larandeustachio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laran.deustachio/