Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Kimm
Hi Jon, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started cutting hair in high school mainly because it was the cheapest way to have my haircut whenever I wanted. My aunt is a cosmetologist and I’ve always had an eye for details in haircuts so this ended up being my path instead of finishing college. The first shop I worked at was the barbershop I would go to weekly to get my haircut whenever I was in college. The camaraderie and conversations of the shop really intrigued me so I ended up hanging out there often. My barber there convinced me to go get my license so I dropped out of college and pursued my license. I worked for and along some great barbers who I learned a lot from. I had the opportunity to manage a shop near Beverly Hills on La Cienega Blvd., this is really where I started to evolve as a barber into an entrepreneur. Eventually I felt I had enough knowledge to try opening a shop of my own so I started my private studio, Grit Los Angeles in February of 2017. After navigating through the pandemic I wanted that camaraderie and conversation I was missing from the barbershop. This drove me to evolve the studio into the Oliver Club Barber Shop.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Lots of financial struggles. Obviously there’s ups and downs but right when things started to seem like they were going smoothly (almost too smoothly) and according to plan, we moved into our new location and had a flood in the shop the first week. We had just completed having the floors grinded and polished so we had to navigate through months of insurance before being able to start repairs. Our first year in the new location was pretty much erased by the flood damage and we had to start everything over again in terms of momentum and marketing.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Oliver Club Barber Shop?
The Oliver Club Barber Shop continues the spirit of a sports club that thrived in the Little Tokyo area a century ago. My great uncle attended the original Oliver Club and later became chairman when they reformed after WWII. During the war, Japanese Americans were sent to concentration camps where enough Olivers formed recreation sports teams and competed as Olivers. We are located down the street from the original club and like its namesake is a place to relax, converse and be yourself.
Offering old fashioned hot lather shaves, beard trimming and bespoke haircuts, the club is reviving barbering traditions and levels of service that go back to the early 20th century.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
The original Oliver Club was established in 1917 by a local school teacher Nellie G Oliver. It was an after school sports clubs to keep the local kids from running in the streets. They reformed in 1961 as a social club chaired by my great uncle, Ets Yoshiyama, focused on providing athletic scholarships for Japanese youths. In 2022 I re-established the Oliver Club as the Oliver Club Barber Shop.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.oliverclub.com
- Instagram: @ocbsla
