KITCHENER
Keven Francis is one of those lucky few people who always knew what he wanted to do with his life.
No career counselling for him, no agonizing over help-wanted ads or college curriculums. No quitting one job to try another. He was born to cut hair.
To Francis, the scalp is a canvas, the scissors are his paint brush, and his technique is "art on the head."
With his scissors and clipper, he can make the sides or the back of the scalp look like a Vincent Van Gogh painting, with swirls and curves and broad, wavy lines.
Elaborate designs, however, are the exception rather than the rule -- they're something that young people are more inclined to go for, says Francis, who owns Diverse Hair Salon in downtown Kitchener.
Though he caters to all, the heart of his business is serving black or dark-skinned male customers who have short curly hair.
Making a closely shorn mane look good is tougher than cutting long hair, Francis says.
"With short hair, you can see the mistakes more easily."
He's an expert at "fading," or blending different lengths of hair as he moves down the scalp.
As he speaks, Francis works on a young male who has opted for a cut that leaves about two centimetres of hair on top, with a gradual tapering down the sides and back.
Francis, 29, started cutting hair at 16 in the basement of his parents' Cambridge home.
"My brother was my first customer," he says with a hearty laugh. After that, he began cutting the hair of friends.
"I was always interested in hair. I critiqued it," he says.
Francis realized early on he could make a living as a barber, but he wanted a foundation in business first. After graduating from Galt Collegiate, he enrolled in a two-year business management program at George Brown College in Toronto.
He then spent 18 months at the Abola College of Hairstyling in Toronto and apprenticed at a downtown Toronto shop where his customers sometimes included star athletes like Shannon Stewart of the Blue Jays.
After earning his haircutting licence, he returned to Waterloo Region and used his savings to open Diverse in 2000. With few shops in the area catering to men of colour, he wanted a central location. He wound up on Frederick Street, next door to Frederick's Restaurant at Frederick and Duke streets.
He designed his shop himself, giving it the look of a hip, modern gathering place where customers can sit at tables, browse through magazines, shoot the breeze or watch TV.
The first six months were tough. He stared out the floor-to-ceiling window at pedestrians who met his gaze, then quickly looked away.
Gradually, customers began to drift in, but Francis didn't take a day off for six years. Today, he has one part-time employee and is busy enough that a message in the shop warns customers to: "give yourself one hour of time on Fridays and Saturdays." He doesn't book appointments.
For marketing, Diverse relies on word of mouth, but it has also helped sponsor plays, plus events held by Link Magazine, which caters to African and Caribbean-Canadians.
Married with three kids under 10, Francis says he's happy to keep doing what he's doing.
"Bigger isn't always better. I have a family. I want to spend time with them."
chowitt@therecord.com
Diverse Hair Salon
60 Frederick St., Kitchener
Owner: Keven Francis
Phone: 519-568-8360
