<< more about PAUL NEINAST
One and a half years later, Neinast joined the
staff at Stuart's Beauty Salon in Inwood Village with conditions for his own
private room and quickly had bookings a month in advance. He became the salon's
manager after one year. Neinast began night courses in business and advertising
at Southern Methodist University to prepare for the day when he could open his
own salon. When Stuart Catshall decided to sell his business, Neinast accepted
the Gazebo's offer to be its salon manager. Neinast began to be restless. For
the most part, he was disillusioned with the state of beauty salons. It was a
time when faddish clip joints eclipsed glamour parlors. After training with
Vidal Sassoon in San Francisco, Neinast considered the offers from Sassoon and
the hair and makeup departments on Hollywood's MGM and Paramount Pictures sets,
but wanted more freedom of expression. During his decision time, two good
friends gave him a friendly push to pursue his aspiration.
In the Spring of 1978, Cathy and John Schoellkopf asked Neinast if they could
finance a salon for him. He politely refused, asking them to only co-sign the
note. On November 1, 1978, he opened his shop doors in Snyder Plaza, a small
shopping village in Dallas' affluent Park Cities neighborhood. He was 25 years
old. In no time, he was booked three months in advance. Cathy Schoellkopf helped
with the bookkeeping. In just two years, he paid off his five-year loan and
gained a solid reputation for innovative hairstyling techniques and superb
individualized service.
For two and a half years, from 1985 to 1988, Neinast split his time between
Dallas and La Joya, California, for working at the lavish Beautyworks salon at
Capriccio. His goal was to bring the success of his Dallas salon to a community
that had been deprived of a full-service beauty salon, working with celebrities,
business executives, and homemakers alike, giving everyone the same care and
attention.
