MELBOURNE CITY HERE I COME FOR FOUR DAYS OF HAIR LOVE, SNIP SNIP…

Warm greetings from the tropical top end of darwin.

I leave this beautiful place on the 19th of June and I’m happy to announce that I’m taking bookings from now until then for four full days of hair cutting in Melbourne on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th of September from a beautiful studio space in Brunswick.

SPREAD THE WORD.

same service except with some added skills I have picked up along the way.

Cuts are $75 for ladies and $60 for my fellas. (cash)

TO MAKE AN APP TIME FOR THOSE FOUR DAYS.

TEXT ME ON: 0423 359 162 OR

EMAIL ME ON: mel.balkan@gmail.com

HERE ARE THE DETAILS ON WHERE TO COME FOR YOUR APP.

ROMMELIK HAIR

141 SYDNEY ROAD BRUNSIWCK, 3056 VIC.

I cant wait to see you, your hair and share stories.

Thank you for your support it never goes un thought of.

Mel Balkan

Fuck those unconvinced minds…

The look of a seemingly surprised face

Whoring my self

Fuck those judging reckless tongues

Is this permission to access ones essence?

The whore decides

Who and when

There is a great paradox between

What this craft does

And what it is perceived to do

Don’t make threats of going elsewhere

There is definitely no substitute for sculptural craft,

There will never be one word to suffice

So please be quite

Japanese steel will splice

Prove one wrong; cut expression into dead texture,

Forming a new silhouette

Positive will determine negative

And induce beauty at the same time

There is no judgment

Just one look

To know what side one sits on

And if it aint on the side

That sees art in this

Creatively crafting transformation

Poetry, art, living, painting, singing, pornography

There is a relation ship between every single artform

Tools of the creator can possess art into being

Manipulating only the outside

Once the follicle has released hair

Working with the medium of what’s been

Given

But embracing what’s been produced

Harmonious balance between science and nature

Transforming insecurity into essence

The canvas is changed every 8 weeks

This is beauty

Dismissing desires of unrealistic expectations

Fuck those easily convinced minds.

But on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Daughters and sons

Learn at university

Using key words like

Self-expression and integrity

Wrong and right don’t have a place in this teacher’s classroom

Above regression

On those days

Channeling the elders of this craft

Past and present

It feels good to know

In this instance

That the teacher is no longer

The one that needs to catch up

Telling your children to take there time

This is university

This is life

This is learning

Moving forward

Only looking forward

Boring face’s were smudged

From the dust created by classrooms

When the decision was made to revolutionize the art of dressing hair.

(To be continued and edited, just a feeler)

Mel Balkan

A HAPPY ENDING?

I had the pleasure of meeting a man recently named Kamal, Kamal is from Iran, before meeting Kamal i could only imagine horrific stories that push people to flee and leave everything they know and love, meeting and having the pleasure of cutting this man’s hair has really pushed me to consider they we look, think and fell about “refugees”

It is everyones responsibility.

to consider and not be so far removed from the shoes of some of these people who face things we can only imagine.

just a little thought and an un-resolved one.

It’s simple and troublesome to think people would have the audacity to be angered at desperation.

on a lighter note meeting this man was a pleasure and a humbling experience.

that is all.

GETTING PAID FOR THE HUSTLE AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE…

So these past few days days have been super creative for me, revisiting my craft with new skills and a youthfulness i have not had in a long while… I have also been loving and enjoying the transformation, connection, insight and change that comes with what i do and the growth within that rather than searching for stuff outside. There are some beautiful humans, sometimes i get to spend time with them, hear there stories and grow just from there willingness and permission for me to express my self on them through my art. What  joy. What a day.

here are some pics from some of those beauties…

TONI AND GUY… THANKS FOR SOME FRESH FUNK.

I’m currently working in a hair salon in Darwin as part of my sabbatical/gap year/trying out community work in the outback.

I’m learning that the reasons why my philosophy for hair/art/business are still the same.

I miss running an underground hairdressing practise, through distance, growth and learning i feel really proud  in me sure but mainly in my incredible clients for there support in the eclectic, personal,  local, organic raw and good straight up hairdressing business of mine.

We had a lot of fun and i feel overwhelmed at how unique and wonderfully challenging it was.

THANK YOU  and i cant wait to fiddle with your hair again.

I’ am back and working within a team environment with structures and time limits, although completely opposite to the kind of art meets hairdressing trend we have created in Melbourne town this is teaching me loads and refining things in me stronger than ever. My skills and passion for people and anything local, underground, rustic, raw and organic will me madder than ever upon return.

Today was a good day, Thank you to Kylie Yarrow, the creative director from label M for doing some educational work with us today. I learnt a few new tricks to add to my bag of goodies.

Loving this harsh yet pretty graduation haircut i did today…yum.

I WANT THIS TO BE BIGGER THAN ME…

I just stumbled across some photos from al old shoot, it was the beginning of a process Kim Kneipp and i wanted to develop and will re-visit this project I’m sure one day.

Basically we were treating the shoot like a live art jam and trying a looser approach, where creativity could happen through story and inspiration from each other. There were aome really great moments and beautiful shots from that day.

Jamie Richardson was the artist playing with Phoebe Jacobs face.

and Jess Grenier who is currently living and loving in Berlin.

and of course yours truly on the hair, I’m still a little obsessed with backward braiding.

hope you enjoy…