a legacy of beauty
The story of Azalea Jane goes back long before we dreamed ourselves onto this scene. Named for our founder’s grandmother, “Memaw” was a force of nature; sharply smart, irreverent, and fiercely loving. Not a drop of blood between them, she showed that family could be what you make it. She worked hard to create opportunities for her granddaughters and and offered radical acceptance and unyielding advocacy. She was queen of a jovial court: an open and encouraging environment which fostered curiosity and creative expression. Her lessons on feminine wisdom, empowered beauty, resilience, and the revolutionary healing power of consistency, community, and the cultivation of joy were her legacy. The vibrancy, vitality, sass and flare with which she lived her life made aging aspirational, instilling reverence and value for of people and places with history. Her light hearted nature, embodied grace, and rich spiritual connection inspired us to chose the hummingbird as a symbolic reminder to trust our essential goodness to lead us in the right direction and our wings to carry us where if we seek sweetness, we will find it.
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Janie Beth Mayo (Scarbrough) aka “Memaw"
Such an influence cultivated an eye for the delightful and a desire to preserve and cherish beauty often otherwise overlooked. Over the two decades she has been a hairstylist, Andi Scarbrough has consistently gravitated toward the company of matriarchs, establishing business in two Los Angeles salons that had both been beauty shops for over 50 years.
Andi Scarbrough with sister and grandfather , 1992
It’s not surprise then, when the universe nudged her into her next endeavor, that Andi should meet Nancy Oja, a salon owner of over 40 years and founder of Northwest Hairlines in Corvallis, Oregon. Nancy was looking towards a well earned retirement, but was hesitant to let go of a space that had held so much family over the years. Nancy had opened this salon with her partner Valarie, after already spending 12 years together at another location, who was with her in the business until 1999 when her loved ones lost her to cancer. Since then, Nancy has hosted a space for an incredible long running flow of life and beauty. Some of the team working in beauty better than 55 years, she hosted a kind of generational wealth, with 3 sets of mothers and daughters working under the same roof at one time. She had stayed until nearly all of the team had retired. Still a fully booked stylist, Nancy didn’t want to let the place go, especially if was to stop being a salon, but she was ready to move on into the next season of her life. Then, one evening, she got a message from Andi.
Nancy and Valarie at the opening of Northwest Hairlines, 1992
The place was special, Andi could tell just by looking at it in pictures. The detail with which it had been intentionally created and cared for was evident, but as soon as she set foot in it, she felt it. The comfortable confidence and sweet ease in the space had that deeply familiar essence that felt well-loved and historied. It was one of those kind of places; the kind that have magic baked into the woodwork. In Japan, the same teapot is used to brew one kind of tea over and over again until even water in the container would carry the essence of the leaf. In this same way, these walls had held so much beauty and community, anything that came through here would be flavored with that same magic. Built in 1926, the building had been the first home improvement store in Corvallis. Later it would be a Valley Bible office, and a birthing center. “One stylist came in and said she had to work here because her daughter was born in that corner!” Nancy told Andi. Both felt the kind of “good feelings” that let them know this was a right-fit, and while this was a big step for everyone involved, there was a thrill was in the air. “We were jumpers!” nancy told her, speaking of the aircraft mural on the salon wall and the pun of “hairlines” in the salon name. After striking out from twenty years of success in Los Angeles to live her dream in the Oregon woods, Andi was not afraid to leap. The space was ready to begin it’s next incarnation as Azalea Jane, part of which meant honoring the legacy of it’s rich relationships and history by carrying on the work of bringing beauty into the lives of all who entered.
It made sense that part of the building's history was as a birthing center, since Azalea Jane was something like the surprise baby we always wanted, but weren’t quite expecting. Andi knew that her studies at Oregon State in Religion and Sociology would likely culminate in the actualization of the theories she’d been exploring in the classroom and testing and developing in the beauty industry for the last 22 years, but she could never have imagined it unfolding like this. Here was the opportunity of her career: a space teeming with history, seeped in loving care, and ready to be brought into its next several decades of beauty and service. But wow! what an undertaking. After releasing creative control of her business in Los Angeles to her salon partner there, Andi enjoying what she called her own “grandmother” privileges in no longer being a primary caretaker. Yet, here we are again, at the baby-fresh start of a new creative endeavor, perhaps wiser and clearer sighted the value of creating a legacy of her own: a sustainable venue for the creation and preservation of beauty traditions.
Experience has given us tools to do things differently, more gently, and with ease. A gradual transfer of ownership would allow Nancy and her long-standing loyal clientele a natural transitional phase, preserving the rich history of her craft and community contributions with a "legacy chair”: a space where her wisdom and presence would always be valued and welcome.
Andi & Nancy celebrating August, 2023
Andi will begin seeing clients in September of 2023, working along side Nancy while she concludes her work in Los Angeles and the salon space undergoes renovations. We’ll be working intentionally to preserve the essence of what has been a piece of Corvallis hits since 1926 and a steady presence in the Corvallis beauty community for decades. Azalea Jane will be ready to debut in early 2024, though we hope to be open for events before the end of the year. Certainly each time you visit, whether in person, on social media, or here, there will be new and exciting updates! We hope you’ve enjoyed sharing our story, and we hope you’ll follow along as we walk with on on this next leg of helping this special place come into its new season of beauty.
help us build the dream
The sky is the limit for the vision of what this space could provide, not only for the team who works here and the community we serve, but also as a template for integrated holistic beauty + community care. We are working to build a legacy that outlasts us all-- but we need your help to make it happen.
The actualized vision of Azalea Jane would be to create a kind of secular temple: a non-religious organization equipped to effect meaningful social changes in participate in providing community partnerships. We hope to have the means to supply resources like traditional salon services and supplies for those in need, accessible wellness events, establishing ongoing partnerships with local organizations.
Additionally, we’ll be completing continued trainings, certifications, and credentialing for our team, and opening a space for other beauty professionals and service-based independent providers across many industries not otherwise served through existing education structures. If you have a program you’d like us to consider, one like to offer, or concept you’d like to explore together, let us know!
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We understand that rugged individualism, while noble, is ultimately unsustainable and will not create the interdependent cooperative systems we seek to build. It takes community to do that, so we are inviting you, our community, to be part of the process. We are currently fundraising in order to exploring the steps necessary to be become a b-corp and/or create a nonprofit branch of this venture. While we’d be very grateful for any financial contributions you may be inclined to make, we’d welcome in-kind donations of professional or services fess. A review on google and/or yelp sharing your positive experiences is also a meaningful contribution. Thank you for being part of our story.