Beaux Cheveux’s “old world” style had served the salon well for 16 years in the Curtis Building, but owners Julie Brendel and Susan Jennings were ready for a change. “We wanted to remodel, but you just can’t do that while you’re working,” Brendel says. So when Jennings’ son-in-law Adam Kunkel — a vice president with Evansville-based design-build firm The Kunkel Group known for Downtown redevelopment — turned them onto an available space in the revamped Walker Building Downtown, it piqued their interest.
Brendel admits she didn’t immediately catch the vision, but the salon’s sleek lines, chrome detail, juxtaposition of black and white, and modern glass boutique chandelier say otherwise. Brendel, who moved to Evansville from Los Angeles at age 16 when her parents divorced (her mother was originally from the area) has maintained ties to L.A. Several family members are “in the business” — her father Gene Weed was the former vice president of Dick Clark productions, and her brother Kent Weed owns the company that produces Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares. These connections and hard work have enabled her to repeatedly style celebrities such as Halle Berry and John Travolta for the Golden Globe Awards, Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, The Academy of Country Music awards, and more.
Jennings, co-owner of Beaux Cheveux (which means “beautiful hair” in French and is pronounced “boe shuhvoo”), also has styled for the country music awards and various TV and print ads. Featured next to the salon’s manicure table is the “wall of fame,” an artistic collage of photographs, some autographed and others featuring the stylists at their side, of stars such as Michael Jackson, Goldie Hawn, and Barbara Bush.
The duo’s passion for L.A. style drives the design of the salon’s new location and the list of services: lay-down shampoos on custom-made shampoo beds in the Lather Lounge, the reasonably priced boutique stocked with new items from L.A. every six weeks and the Yume (pronounced “yoomay”). This treatment is a 60-minute slice of fully reclined heaven that includes a shampoo; scalp, neck, and shoulder massage; hair and scalp treatment; and hand and foot massage — all in a private room and set to Japanese music and the soothing sound of a babbling brook. It’s one of four Yume beds in the country.
For more information, visit www.beauxcheveuxdayspa.com.
