(BARBER) SCHOOL IS IN SESSION. Well, almost. Local barber and Chip's Barbershop owner, Chapin Turner (pictured), is taking his passion to the next level by opening the Eau Claire Barber School at the end of this spring if all goes to plan.

Chapin Turner first opened Chip’s Barbershop back in 2017 – now a staple favorite in the area, earning #1 in this year's Best Of the Chippewa Valley Reader's Poll – more than a decade after he first began learning how to cut and style his own hair at age 13. Now, Chapin is on the way to offering opportunities to others with the same passion for barbering and doing his 13-year-old self-justice by centering education on styling ethnic hair.

Born and raised in Eau Claire, Chapin explained how the opportunity to get a haircut that made him feel confident just wasn’t there, since there weren’t barbers specializing in ethnic hair. “I began teaching myself how to cut at 13, to obtain the look I desired,” Chapin explained. “The more skilled I became, friends and family, started to come to my house for their own cuts.”

In 2009, Chapin gained his barber/cosmetology license, a major milestone for the future entrepreneur. Though the program gave him the tools to begin a professional career, he felt the lack of techniques and education offered around ethnic hair was disappointing.

“As a young adult, I was still struggling with my own identity and the lack of resources and role models who looked like or could relate to me. (That) made it difficult to recognize barbering for the success it could bring me, or how to take advantage of my ability to provide high-quality services to everyone – including minorities like myself,” Chapin said. “I ended up going through a lot more struggle than I should have before I could appreciate what opportunities I could create with my barbering skills.”

Chapin realized he could turn his longtime goal of educating others in barbering – specifically with attention to ethnic hair – into reality when the county offered the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Recovery Assistance Grant Program. Awardees were notified in April of 2022.

It seemed like it was meant to be. The goals of the grant aligned with my mission for the (barber) school; it only felt right to seize the opportunity.

chapin turner

owner of chip's barbershop, founder of eau claire barber college

When he heard about the grant, which his barber school vision qualified for through the second component, he immediately applied. “It seemed like it was meant to be,” Turner said. “The goals of the grant aligned with my mission for the (barber) school; it only felt right to seize the opportunity.”

With two separate components – the first specifically to offer businesses and nonprofits COVID-19 relief and the second to offer funds to businesses and nonprofits working on projects, programs, or efforts that would serve the greater community with recovery from the pandemic – Chapin’s dream of opening a barber school became tangible.

Through the grant program from Eau Claire County, Chapin received $100,000 – the maximum amount offered per grant through the program – to move forward with his proposal of a barber college, right here in Eau Claire. The new school will be named the Eau Claire Barber College and will be located downtown on Graham Avenue.

“The Barber College will be unique to the area, specializing greatly in the cutting techniques for barbering,” he explained. “(But) different from other programs that emphasize cosmetology; potential students will have the benefit of choosing from the various programs that best suit their interests and career goals.”

Turner hopes to open up class enrollment this April, pending state licensing and accreditation. A Wisconsin Barbering license requires 1,000 hours of training, which Turner says future students will satisfy over a 36-week program.

For people interested in learning more or filling out a pre-enrollment application, reach out via email at eauclairebarberschool@gmail.com.

To learn more about Chapin Turner and Chip’s Barbershop, keep up with him on the barbershop’s Facebook page or visit its website.