SLCKR Community Spotlight: Andy Fischer
What is your favorite part about what you do?
“My favorite part about what I do is the connection to my clients. Especially being in a single chair studio where my appointments are an hour, I can really connect with my clients in a different way, rather than in a big barber shop with a bunch of chairs going. And that's possible too with lots of chairs going, but the connection with people has been a beautiful part of the job.”
What do you strive to curate in your service?
“I strive to curate personalization. So, I don't want to give everybody the same haircut, or give everybody a haircut that they can just find inspiration on TikTok or Instagram. I want somebody to come to me with a problem and I fix it and explain to them what their hair is doing and why it's doing that, and if they want it to do this thing, that they can do that, or I'm cutting it this way to help achieve this. And it's a really unique experience to them, because it's a haircut that isn't just like a one size fits all. So personalizing something that's unique to them.”
You have transitioned into a studio separate from the shop setting. What led you to this decision, and how do you balance the two businesses?
"Born Free Barber was supposed to be a single chair studio anyways, and it just kept growing and growing, which is great. But I realized that I was starting to get really overwhelmed, actually, with the amount of like stimulus that was required to cut hair full time at a barber shop that I also owned, manage barbers, manage the clientele, and do all of the things. And it started to wear me down to the point where I didn't feel like I was catering to my clients the way that I wanted to. Once I started my studio back up, and I started to have the separate spaces, I think my mental health started to actually improve a lot, and I watched [my barbers] thrive as well. And as far as balancing the two spaces I felt a huge improvement in my business ownership when I stopped cutting hair there, because I was able to fully separate. I cut hair in my studio, and I'm solely there for the back end administration stuff for the barber shop. And Gen, who's the manager at Born Free, takes care of a lot, actually all of the day to day operations for Born Free. She like runs that place like a well oiled machine. So she is a huge piece of the puzzle with Born Free. I'm like the last resort problem solver for Born Free, which makes it really easy for me to focus on other things that I need to focus on.”
Is there anything you prefer to a studio setting over a shop setting, and then, on the contrary, anything in particular you miss about the shop setting?
“I miss my barbers and I miss being around them, but I also love the solitude. I think as I get older, I crave solitude and having the choice to go out and do things. But the studio just has a little bit more peace and a slower pace, which I think I just needed. I was 24 when I opened up Born free, and I'm about to turn 31 now, and 24 year old me is a lot different than 31 year old me. And I think we're all a little chaotic in our mid 20s, I definitely was. So I thrived off of that energy, but then I started to just get exhausted. And now I just want to read a book on my lunch in my back room, and then spend an hour with the client in more of a peaceful setting. But I miss my barbers.”
You're a seasoned Barber now, how has your feeling for hair and what you do changed it all over the years?
"My service times have changed. Every client of mine gets at least an hour with me. When I first started cutting hair, like the first barber shop that I worked at in Brooklyn, was no appointments. So they expected you to finish your haircuts in 20 minutes or so, and if you didn't, then you were doing something wrong. So I think that that mentality was really ingrained in my brain in the beginning. And then the first job I worked at in Philly was every 30 minutes, and it was more quantity over quality, but they still expected quality at the same time. So it's funny. You would think that the better you get, the more seasoned barber you are, the faster you could give a good haircut. But I've completely done the opposite of that. I feel like I can give a better haircut if I just take the time, more time to actually do it. And I find that people are also looking for that kind of service as well. People seek me out because they know I'm going to take longer to actually listen to what they want and tailor their haircut to them, rather than just do like an in and out, impersonal cut."
How do you continue to stay inspired in your craft, and any suggestions to those who feel stagnant?
“So I just deleted my Instagram, and you wouldn't think that that would make me feel more inspired, but it completely has. I don't want to compare my work to what other people are doing. I think it's made me more present, and I wake up looking forward to seeing my clients and hearing about what they want, or hearing about the issues they're having with their hair, or hearing about what the next few months in their life look like. Maybe they're really busy, so they want to go a little bit shorter but they want their haircut to last longer, and I look forward to that. And that's what inspires me, doing haircuts and giving haircuts that are tailored to someone's life, rather than what they saw on social media."