VASHON, Wash. — On Vashon Island, Tara Morgan has found a calling.
"Vashon Island is about 12 miles long, and part of my job as the mobile barber is to literally explore the island by bike," said Morgan, the hard-pedaling house-calling hairdresser behind C'Mon Barber.
Morgan started her business during the pandemic and it's thriving because what could be more convenient for her clients?
She hopped off her bike in front of the Strange family, waved a big hello, and carried her 30-pound kit up to the deck of the house.
"I get to see people kind of in their natural environment and enjoy their view right along with them," Morgan said.
Out came the clippers as Morgan started on Chadwick Strange's hair.
"So usually when I do these haircuts it's a spectator sport," Morgan said. "A lot of the family likes to sit around on the deck and we just talk and get to know each other."
Morgan was the first to cut the hair of Huxley Strange, the family's 2-year-old son.
"Man he went from one to 12 in like 10 minutes," said Huxley's mom Kaitlin Strange. "It was amazing and emotional."
There's something very intimate about a haircut, especially one done at home. In her first year in business, during the pandemic, Morgan met many fellow islanders.
"It was wonderful to have someone who is safe that I could meet with on my porch and get my hair cut, so it was fantastic," artist Brian Fisher said. "It is fantastic."
With gas on the island well above $6 a gallon, biking just made good business sense to Morgan.
"I put a lot of miles on the bike last year," she said.
Now, thanks to a family loan, Morgan has refurbished an old van turning it into a full-service salon she calls Mickey, after her late father.
"He was a super dapper guy," she said. "He had great hair."
This is a new career for Morgan, who has also been a teacher, a coach, a radio DJ and a fundraiser for nonprofits.
"Becoming a barber is kind of a hybrid of all those things," she said. "It's a little bit of coaching and everybody knows it's a little bit of therapy. It's all about connections and it has also got this creative part that I didn't expect.
"And the big thing I didn't realize is that when a person gets a great haircut, they come into themselves. They see themselves and they maybe even reveal themselves."
Chadwick Strange was happy with his haircut.
"Oh I feel so much better," he said.
Morgan asked Huxley if he was ready for a haircut.
"No," was the answer.
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