Sunset Clipps in Ocean Beach is a historical landmark having been everything from a garage to a religious institution in its time.
“This was the Sacred Heart Church of Ocean Beach, you are on holy ground,” said Jason Bullard, hair stylist/owner at 4804 Santa Monica Ave., across from OB Library on the corner of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard.
Bullard is celebrating his 10th anniversary at the quaint property this year, which looks like a single-family home from the front.
“This (building pedigree) goes back 50 years because I bought it off someone, Ron Pilcher, who had it for 44 years,” said Bullard noting, “And Ron bought it off someone who’d had it for 13 years. And before that, this was a Model T garage owned by an eye doctor who, once the church moved, built a couple of apartments for his relations in the back.”
Of how he acquired Sunset Clipps, Bullard noted he had been studying to be an interior designer when he was convinced to alter his career trajectory, becoming a hair stylist instead. He ended up working at another hair studio in OB when he learned the space owned by Pilcher, whom he described as a no-holds-barred “old-school guy,” was becoming available because Pilcher was moving.
“Everybody wanted this spot, this was like a golden corner,” said Bullard adding, “Finally, one day I walked in and I felt right at home. I said, ‘This is a cool place.’ It wasn’t the look. It was the feeling you had of leaving the big bad world when you came in. There was just something magical.”
Asked if hair styling in OB is qualitatively different than elsewhere, Bullard replied: “Yes because the people here are unwound. After a couple of months, they are going to come in and go, ‘What’s up Jason?’ They are (then) wearing their flip-flops, their collars are a little looser, and they just want a cut. And then, after a while, I don’t think anybody is even paying attention to the haircut anymore. Now it’s just, ‘Hey, how was your trip?’”
Bullard’s self-described, laid-back Sunset Clipps hair salon offers a wide variety of services at reasonable rates. Of his operations, Bullard said, “We do both men and women here.”
Bullard noted Sunset Clipps will also take walk-ins. “You could walk in and somebody would accommodate you,” he pointed out while adding, “But the easiest, most efficient way is to make an appointment online.”
At sunsetclipps.com, the company implores prospective clients to “create an all-new you” describing the business as “a unique barbershop/hair salon hybrid designed around your comfort.” Sunset Clipps even has a section for kids of all ages replete with a popcorn machine, PlayStation, and plenty of cartoons.
Bullard favors having employees “who are veterans,” adding, “And if they’re not – they’re going to become veterans. Sometimes, that’s how you learn.”
The next 10 years at Sunset Clipps will begin soon with a remodel by Bullard of his iconic hair-cutting space reflecting changing tastes in a beach community renowned for changing with the times – while not being changed by them.
SUNSET CLIPPS
Where: 4804 Santa Monica Ave.
Hours: Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sundays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Info: sunsetclipps.com.
