St. Olaf barbershop getting a permanent space on campus
The pop-up barbershop that St. Olaf College students Aidan Lloyd ’24 and Giovanni Green ’23 brought to campus several years ago — and that was featured in the CBS documentary CROWN — will soon have a permanent space in Buntrock Commons.
The Shop 1500 will be located in Buntrock Commons 112, across the hall from the Taylor Center for Equity and Inclusion. The shop will provide hair cuts, braiding, and styling services for all students, especially meeting the needs of Oles with Black or textured hair. Just as importantly, it will provide a space for connection and conversation.
“This should be a place of community in the heart of Buntrock, serving students from the beginning of their interactions with St. Olaf to the end,” says Lloyd, who notes that this is a much-needed addition to help all students feel a sense of belonging on campus.
Before Lloyd and Green created the pop-up barbershop at St. Olaf in 2021, students of color typically needed to seek out proper hair care services in the Twin Cities. Without a permanent space on campus, those with longer curly styles or braids could not be accommodated regularly. Construction of The Shop 1500 aims to change that.
“This should be a place of community in the heart of Buntrock, serving students from the beginning of their interactions with St. Olaf to the end.”
Aidan Lloyd ’24
The shop will have four chairs, with professional barbers and stylists coming from the Twin Cities to work in the space. The shop will also include chairs and tables for Oles of all backgrounds to chat, play games, or just hang out between classes.
“In the Black community, barbershops aren’t merely just a place to get a haircut, and your barber isn’t just someone who cuts your hair,” Lloyd says. “Historically, barbershops have been a hearth for the civil rights movement, a safe place for people to communicate ideas, a place of community.”
Plans for The Shop 1500 were designed by LSE Architects, the largest Black-owned architecture and interior design firm in the upper Midwest. Architects there worked closely with Lloyd on his vision and design, and introduced him to Houston White, a Minneapolis-based entrepreneur, community leader, author, and designer whose work focuses on creating a more intercultural world. As part of the planning process, they toured FRESH, a barbershop in the Camdentown neighborhood of North Minneapolis that White founded and LSE designed.
“Working on The Shop 1500 with Aidan and the St. Olaf leadership team has been an amazing experience,” says LSE designer Sam Ero-Philips. “As a Black-owned firm, we value the experience of having a client who is young, Black, and focused on a clear vision. Personally, I have a long history of doing public art, along with my community engagement and architectural work here at LSE. This project fell nicely into all three categories. I look forward to heading down to Northfield in a few weeks to see the finished product. I’m sure the students are going to love this new space.”
Lloyd emphasizes that the space has been purposely designed to be accessible for all St. Olaf students, and he hopes Oles will use this resource to its full extent. Although he’s graduating this spring and won’t have the opportunity to use the barbershop as a student, Lloyd says it’s rewarding to know that he’s leaving behind a tangible legacy. It’s proof that hard work and perseverance can result in change, he adds.
“Working on The Shop 1500 with Aidan and the St. Olaf leadership team has been an amazing experience. As a Black-owned firm, we value the experience of having a client who is young, Black, and focused on a clear vision.”
DESIGNER Sam Ero-Philips
“Make no mistake, I take great pride in the work we’ve done. In the spirit of inspiring others, though, I would point out that we aren’t the first to see the benefits of providing services on campuses and I hope we aren’t the last,” Lloyd says. He notes that his own inspiration to bring an important service to campus came in part from the free breakfast program and health care services that political activists like Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, and Fred Hampton started more than five decades ago — and that have become ingrained in many schools across the country today.
“I will make myself available to help other institutions that see the value in having a barbershop, and I hope that in the same way I was inspired by the programs established by the Black Panthers, this project can inspire a broader variety of work,” Lloyd adds.
Lloyd and Green’s work with the barbershop was featured in CROWN, a CBS documentary that details the history of Black hair in America, the role that sports and athletes have played in that history, and efforts to pass legislation that prohibits racial discrimination based on hair style or texture. They appeared in the documentary alongside iconic athletes including NBA Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving, three-time Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, 10-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony, six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler, 2021 NCAA Division 1 Women’s Basketball Tournament champion Haley Jones, and many other prominent figures.
“They reached out after they saw our work with the shop and its inclusive nature,” Green noted in a story about the documentary. “Of course we wanted to be a part of something so special and impactful.”
St. Olaf President Susan Rundell Singer says she’s thrilled to support the addition of a permanent space for the barbershop in Buntrock Commons.
“This represents a tangible step toward addressing and promoting the well-being and needs of our campus community,” she says. “I am eager to witness The Shop 1500 become a vital space for building connection and community.”