Trimming traditions

HE IS

Keeping the men of Costa Mesa clean cut

A FAMILY SHOP

With a vintage barber chair and station set up in the glass window

next to the red, white and blue barber pole along Broadway and the

smell of Bay Rum marinating throughout the shop, Mark Miller can’t

help but feel proud about the recent step he’s taken to create the

barber shop dream he’s longed to come true.

As of July 1, the 41-year-old Costa Mesa resident opened the

Miller Barber and Family Barber Shop, welcoming men and boys of all

ages to enter into a family-oriented world of old school hair cuts,

traditional shaves and, most importantly, generational camaraderie.

Considering Costa Mesa his “turf,” Miller aims to establish the

family-oriented atmosphere he cherished during his 41-year residency in the city.

“I grew up on the Westside and never thought I’d be living on the

Eastside,” Miller said. “But things here have changed so much and I’m

just glad to be a part of it.”

With old photographs of Costa Mesa and other Southern California

cities in the 1930s hanging on a wall in his shop, Miller has

welcomed the challenge of bringing back the concept of family into

barbering.

“I want the kids to know there’s more than Supercuts,” he said.

“Barbering is a tradition that’s vanishing and I don’t want it to go

away.”

The idea of barbering as a career resulted when Miller’s friends

sought him out during the punk rock era of the late 1970s looking to sport the new style.

After 15 years in the motion picture industry, Miller started to

develop his barbering craft. Obtaining his barber’s license in the

mid-1980s and developing his skill with multi-cultural hair and

styles, Miller finally decided to take the next step.

He opened up his own barber shop.

“These were my stomping grounds,” he said. “I feel like the

luckiest guy in the world.”

BOYS CLUB

And Miller’s 9-year-old son, Dylan, is just as proud.

“It’s cool,” Dylan said. “I can spend time with him and my friends

can come by.”

By creating a safe atmosphere accommodating and welcoming to

everyone, Miller believes that he will not only achieve his goals but

will make each one a success.

“It’s more of a guy place where you can go and feel more

comfortable and hear the old man stories,” said longtime friend and

recent customer Derek Weiman. “It’s nice because compared to other

barber shops it’s more of a hands on thing.”

Having attracted more than 64 new clients since he opened, Miller

has already taken steps to make each one of them feel at home every

time they walk through his doors and sit in one the four chairs.

After taking a photograph of each freshly cut client seating in

the 1897 barber chair in front of the barber pole Miller plans on

placing each photo on the wall so that his clients will feel like

they’re a part of something, something he’s happy to provide.

“I love it,” he said. “I love being a barber.”

-- Story by Christine Carrillo, photo by Crystal Lauderdale