Rock Paper Salon brings hip, urban space to Medina
Photos by Sue Cook – Rock Paper Salon moved in August 2013 from Pearl Street to its new space at 409 Main St.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
MEDINA – Downtown Medina has evolved into a place where new businesses strive to be considered cool and unique. Fitting in comfortably among these shops is Rock Paper Salon.
Owner Yvonne Flores opened three years ago in Medina and moved into the downtown in August. Rock Paper offers more than hair cuts. Besides a full-service salon, her shop is home to a clothing and accessory boutique called [resurrection] that sells repurposed clothing for both men and women. Flores refers to it as “buy.sell.trade.”
“The shop symbolizes a place of rejuvenation and transformation,” she said.
A Buffalo native, she says her love of styling hair comes from her mother, but her choice to open in Medina came because of her husband. He was a Medina native and she fell in love with the area and wanted to bring in a touch of Buffalo. Fashion is also a passion of hers, which prompted her to open the boutique portion of the business.
“I was a sales rep for many years for a dentistry company,” she said. “I wasn’t happy with my job though, so when dentistry sales began to move online, I went back to school for hair. It was the perfect opportunity. Knowing the foundation of what business is about from my former job helped.”
Casey Coleman is one of Flores’ customers. Coleman first went to Flores for help fixing a botched highlighting job from another salon. Ever since, she returns to Rock Paper for all her hair appointments.
“She’s an artist,” Coleman said. “I come from Rochester to visit my family here in Medina and at the same time I make an appointment to come see Yvonne.”
The accessories in the boutique receive a unique display to showcase each item.
The [resurrection] boutique offers specially selected clothing that focuses on trendy current fashion.
The salon captures a hipster aesthetic through the use of furniture being given a second life.
Flores offers coffee and tea to clients during their services as well. She is the sole stylist for the salon, ensuring quality, consistent service to all her customers.
“I just drop off the kids at my mom’s, come do some shopping, get my hair done, and leave looking fabulous,” Williamsville resident Megan Hungerford said. “This is such a fresh spot for this area.”
The [resurrection] boutique in the back portion of the space offers sophisticated clothing purchased by three professional shoppers. The clothing runs up to a size 14 with some exceptions if something particularly awesome is found. The items are unlike anything sold in stores and fit the fashion-forward, trendy vibe that many associate with upscale city looks.
“You have to grab it or it’s gone,” said employee Megan Fuller.
Besides being individually purchased, the merchandise is sometimes changed out for other reasons.
“We change the clothing out to remain seasonal and on trend,” Fuller said. “This is not a thrift store. This is much more sophisticated.”
Rock Paper Salon was one of the stops on Saturday’s Wine About Winter event in Medina, which was a sell-out with 750 patrons. Many of them told Flores her shop felt like a super chic space found in a city.
“This is an urban sanctuary,” Flores said. “The space caters to a lifestyle that craves creativity, edginess, and a progressive attitude.”
Rock Paper also thinks green by repurposing as much as possible. A significant portion of the shop includes restored furniture, antiques such as counter trays for salon products, and even upcycled crates and palettes for displays and storage. The salon itself uses mostly Davines hair products, which are sustainable and natural and also come in sustainable packaging.
On top of that Rock Paper participates in a program in California that takes hair clippings from the floors of salons nationwide and creates carpet-like material out of them to use for cleaning up oil spills.
“It’s just another way to repurpose and get use out of something that would normally go to the trash,” Flores said.
The shop is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (716) 553-0900 or check the business’ facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Rock-Paper/210920982273409.
