Meet Laura Dembski of Miss Laura’s in Jamaica Plain

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Dembski.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I opened my shop April Fool’s day in 1998… I had looked for an existing beauty parlor to run for years when a client asked me if I would take on a new customer as her shop was closing, sooo- I went over on my lunch break and bought the shop that was closing. It had been started by 2 women in 1936, resold to 2 other ladies in the 60’s and was now on the chopping block. I had walked by it many times, with its beautiful satellite lamps in the window- I used to gaze with admiration at this old gal. After a few phone calls, I had bought this shop. I slowly transformed it the goal was striving to bring it backwards to be a truly vintage shop (it was quite pink and brown and last renovated in the 80’s). I hired an employee from the old shop and she helped me with the “weekly ladies”. I merged the old with the new in a neighborhood I loved to become Miss Laura’s. We care for men, women and kids, 80 year old ladies weekly sets while also creating modern cuts and colors for the hep cats of JP. I’ve always relied on growing this business by good work- going word of mouth, by giving back to my local’s in need and by the odd draw of this style shop. We grew and grew. I never enjoyed working in a traditional salon, so I wanted to feel like the old beauty parlors, my shop feels like you’re in your weird great auntie’s house, my staff works together well and my reception is charming and helpful. 2018 is my 20th year in business and I am looking forward to great things in the future!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It took me a while to find the right space, I visited many of the existing shops in JP and had gotten close but never succeeded- this did allow me to meet some great folks who later sold me their vintage equipment which helped me combine a few of my most loved things! I also had a couple of kids which changed how I did business and made things a little bumpy. Mostly, moving away for almost 2 years almost killed what I had grown, the shop won a wonderful award and then I moved to Scotland and tried to run it from afar. Things didn’t go so well for the business, I learned a ton from the experience. I’ve been back now 10 years and am still working hard on my shop, wondering what’s coming next as JP is changing crazy fast these days.

Please tell us about Miss Laura’s.
I run the oldest continuously running beauty parlor in Jamaica Plain, possibly Boston! We specialize in vintage hair dos and wigs, mostly for special occasions but we pride ourselves on being a neighborhood shop. I think we also continually strive to be able to care for all types of people from all walks of life. We are straight talkers who help you get what you want without draining your bank account. We are great at adapting modern and vintage to meet our customer’s needs. My most recent education was taking a vintage hair art class, learning how to create mourning jewelry with hair and wire and gluey stuff, at the Mutter Museum for their Woven Strands exhibit. We love to explore and I have had a wonderfully diverse growth in my industry. I have done hair for funeral parlors, museums, plays, movies and my neighbors and friends in JP for the last 30 years.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have gone into the math/sciences or to art school!! Haha, maybe accounting??

Nah- I think for the business I wish I could have focused on the shop during the time I was living in Scotland, it was an important time as I had a second business that was growing and to have made that become a wonderful sister shop would have been a dream come true! I think for my personal life, it was the right thing to do so I have had to learn to slow down and was humbled by the experience.

Pricing:

• Cuts start at $30 for a junior stylist.
• Colors start at $50.
• Hairdo’s start at $25.

Contact Info:

• Address: 46 South St.
  Jamaica Plain MA
  02130
• Phone: 617-524-4243
• Email: misslaurasbeautyculture@gmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Miss-Lauras-171664120279/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MissLaurasHair
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/miss-lauras-at-cla-mar-jamaica-plain

Image Credit:
Laura Dembski
Kristin Johnson

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