It is impossible to walk two blocks without stumbling upon an art gallery in Williamsburg. In fact, a quick search in Yelp.com for “art galleries” in the north side of Williamsburg alone brings up over 700 relevant matches. An art gallery with a twist however, is a rare find. Manetamed, which combines a hair salon, an art gallery, and a bookstore, first opened its doors last June at North Seventh and Havemeyer streets. According to its website, it aims to be a setting for “art viewing, hair cutting, and live discussion.”
Manetamed is owned by Magdalena Ryczko, who is originally from Poland and immigrated to the United States 20 years ago. Things just seemed to have fallen into place for Ryczko with her career in hair; her current business was initially based upon suggestions from friends, which she built upon and brought to fruition. “For some reason, I didn’t really think twice,” says Ryczko of her entry into the field, which began when she pursued professional studies in hair cutting and styling. With regard to the art gallery part of her business, it began when another friend “suggested using the space to show art, and I thought, ‘why not?’ so she curated the first show―so she got the ball rolling on that end and it’s been working out.” The bookstore called The Bookmark@Manetamed was also an unplanned addition, beginning after Mario Morales responded to Ryczko’s advertisement for her basement space. “I love the current set-up,” says Morales, who runs the bookstore, “we get great traffic from Magdalena’s customers who would come downstairs to browse as they wait for their turn.”
Ryczko’s clientele consists mainly of male professionals with a handful of female customers. She prefers it that way as she feels she works better with shorter hair. “I love the way she does my hair, and I am very particular,” says Chuck Haberl, who has been a loyal customer of Ryczko since her store opened. “I was attracted by her gallery as I walked by one day and decided to give her a try, and I was pleasantly surprised,” Haberl says, “she has an awesome place with an amazing vibe, and I really enjoy coming here every time. The art really adds to the experience.”
One of the artists with a significant number of works displayed at Manetamed is Jamie McCarty. McCarty went to school at Parsons in New York, and does paintings in addition to designing clothing. A few photographs of her women’s clothing collection, her Williamsburg inspired t-shirt prints, and canvas paintings adorn the walls, windows, and shelves of Manetamed. “My art is tongue and cheek, and there is not a profound explanation for each piece of my art. They express who I am and what I am inspired by,” says McCarty about her art. She explains that she decided to showcase her art at Manetamed because “nothing here clashes with my works, and it also has a great atmosphere where you can just come hang and feel really comfortable.”
Ryczko charges 30 percent commission for any art pieces sold and 50 percent for any art pieces curated by anyone else other than herself. A big plus for artists showing their art at Manetamed is that the venue does not charge a display fee, as do most other galleries. On top of that, artists also like “showing their art at random places,” Ryczko says.
Moving forward, Ryczko wants to open up more stores. Next in line will be a second store in Bushwick, but she also has her sights set for San Francisco and possibly even Paris. Before all that can happen, however, she has to overcome some huge obstacles, and one of the toughest challenges is finding great hairstylists for men. “There’s a lot of good hair cutters that do women…but people who cut stylish men’s hair is really hard to find,” Ryczko says. Williamsburg’s crowd is very diverse, and although men have different hair lengths, Ryczko quips that most barbers tend to do hair in a “standard way.” When she cuts a man’s hair, she thinks about whether she would “want to date that person” or “would want to talk to that person at a bar.” Once she can find talented and reliable employees, however, she can begin working on her plans for expansion.
Audio Clip:
Please click here to listen to an audio clip of an interview with owner of Manetamed, Magdalena Ryczko.
Photographs:
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| Store front of Manetamed at North Seventh and Havemeyer streets. Manetamed opened last June and is both a barber and an art gallery. It also houses a bookstore, The Bookmark@Manetamed, in its basement. Photograph taken on April 15, 2012. |
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| Owner Magdalena Ryczko giving customer Chuck Haberl a haircut. Artwork from various artists adorn the walls of her barber shop. |
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Located in the basement of Manetamed is The Bookmark@Manetamed, owned by Mario Morales. |
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| Owner Magdalena Ryczko poses with her pet dog, Dolce. |
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| Manetamed features artwork from a variety of artists and in different media, including canvas paintings and t-shirts from local artist Jamie McCarty. |
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| Jamie McCarty’s canvas paintings of skulls at Manetamed. McCarty says her art is “tongue and cheek,” and expresses who she is and what she is inspired by. She says that she has no pretensions of profound explanations for her artwork. |
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| Williamsburg inspired unisex t-shirts and tank tops designed by Jamie McCarty for sale at Manetamed. Prices range from $45 to $65. |
