My Review of Galleria Hair Design & Photo Gallery

Introduction

This ‘review‘ was written back when I first began my website vsatips. I wrote it when I was still trying to figure out what exactly vsatips would be. I’d always intended to write about keeping safe in the cyber-world but I didn’t know that I’d end up spending about an equal amount of time writing ‘how to’ article for about mobile Apple devices. Consequently, it’s been a very long time since I thought about updating this…it’s always the technology things that occupy my daily thoughts. But this post was long overdue for an update and when I finally remembered I decided it was so old that I should completely rewrite this ‘review’ which really is less of a review and more of a glowing letter about something and someone I greatly appreciate and admire :-)

Galleria Hair Salon is one of my favorite places to hang out & relax

One of the main reasons I love spending time at Galleria is because of Pedro. He’s the owner. I should mention that the Galleria I’m referring to is officially known as Galleria Hair Design, located in Mequon Wisconsin. If Pedro lets me, I’ll take a picture of him and add it to this post, but so far my attempts to convince him have failed to yield an image I can share :-/

Maybe that’s because Pedro never really has a lot of time to worry about his own appearance…he’s always so busy keeping all of his clients looking beautiful instead. He’s a husband, father, son, brother, teacher and coworker. He’s the kind of person who takes each of his roles seriously. He’s always looking out for family members, extended family members, friends and clients. Yes, you read that right…even his clients. Anyone who becomes a client of Pedro’s becomes a friend as well. It’s very likely that he’s one of the most thoughtful, insightful and helpful people I’ve ever had the good fortune of meeting. He’s the kind of person who makes our world a better place without even trying…it’s just his nature I think. Not that all this greatness happens without effort on his part.

Pedro probably works harder than anyone I know. It never ceases to amaze me how well he manages all of his roles so beautifully. You never get the sense that he’s in a hurry and needs to get your hair done quickly. Quite the contrary in reality…which is probably what makes the environment at Galleria such a pleasant one to be in.

Despite whatever chaos might be going on in the background of his life, Pedro manages to make the person he’s interacting with at any given moment in time feel as though they are the most important person in the world to him. Seriously…that takes a certain kind of skill few people possess. How could I not love hanging out there?

East Towne Hair Artists Joins Forces with Galleria!

It seemed impossible for things to get any better at Galleria…and then the impossible happened! One day earlier this year as I was preparing to leave foloowining an appointment, 3 people I’d hadn’t seen in a very long time walked through the door bearing smiles and hugs. It seems that my son’s childhood ‘barbers’ had recently closed their local establishment and joined Pedro! I’d had occasion to visit each of them for professional services throughout my boys’ childhoods…and I could not have been more thrilled to reunite!

My boys, being boys, believed East Town Hair to be a ‘barhershop.’ We never corrected that slight misperception because frankly, it made my life much easier! But Carl, Ron and Gina are all well trained in their field with expertise going far beyond impersonating barbers for my boys! Not only that but I’d forgotten how if fun it was hanging out in their establishment because it had been so many years ago! Now I feel doubly blessed with my luck in having their fun and amicable presence joining forces with Pedro’s already pretty perfect hair studio!

You may be thinking to yourself right about now… well, all that’s great and all…but I don’t really need another friend as much as I need a talented, skillful hair person who can work around my crazy schedule and who doesn’t book out their appointments weeks in advance.

It just so happens that’s another thing I love about Pedro! I can usually call to book an appointment for later that same week or weekend. Sometimes even for later that same day. He’s very flexible and works more hours than might seem humanly possible. He does this I think because he cares about his clients. Every single one of his clients is equally important to him. I don’t think in all the years I’ve known Pedro (which is probably going on 10) that I’ve ever known him to take a vacation. The closest thing to it was when he had surgery earlier this year! He delayed that far too long and came back much too soon! FYI…Pedro…believe it or not there are better vacation destinations!

I’ve saved the best thing for last however. The number one thing I love about Pedro is how amazingly talented he is. He doesn’t really appreciate just how extraordinarily talented he really is. I was hit with the realization while writing this that I’ve never stayed with the same hair stylist for so long before! I think it’s because overtime they always seem to lose their creative edge regarding me and my own personal style. But Pedro never has! He keeps me looking as good as can be and keeps coming up with fresh and innovative ideas whenever I ask that of him. That’s a pretty tall order, but is one he fulfills in a way that looks effortless once again…although I know for a fact that it’s not. I think that’s part of the definition of a true artist however…they make it look so easy or so effortless.

Professionally Pedro is licensed at the highest level possible in our state. That too is a feat not many accomplish. When I first started seeing him he was devoting all of his efforts towards making Galleria a wonderful hair salon. Once that was achieved he went back to school to finish his training for instructing. I don’t think he’d even graduated yet when he was quickly offered employment at the premier school in Wisconsin as an instructor (for when he did graduate of course.)

Through the years he’s soldiered on by continuing to juggle family, his Galleria studio and instructing, even though it’s hard, so very time consuming and he rarely has a moment to himself. And even though he really doesn’t need to anymore. Galleria is thriving and he could take more time for himself…but he feels I think, that he wants to give back while he can and he never would want to inconvenience his clients.

Anyone who has the good fortune of knowing Pedro, working with him or receiving professional services from him knows how genuinely privileged they really are. There’s never any attrition at his studio…just growth and a sense of excitement about what the future holds. What more could you ask for in a hair studio?

One day several years ago during a visit to Galleria and while I was waiting for my hair treatment to process, I shot some photos of my beautiful surroundings. I absolutely love the environment that Pedro’s created! These photos don’t really do it justice. Hopefully you can gain from them just a little bit of a sense of how inviting and restorative the environment is at Galleria Hair Design.