Evolving style

It’s hard not to be inspired while running the first business to open (to the public) in Meriam Park. As Danielle Dietz watches the new Chico neighborhood grow around her, she envisions Da Capo Style House as a constantly evolving community spot. Its main function is as a salon, but Dietz also plans to host art shows, classes (i.e., makeup and styling tutorials, paint-and-sips and daddy-daughter hairstyle dates) and set up a retail area. Dietz, a first-time business owner, opened up shop on June 1, after working at Dimensions Salon for about a decade. Her team is a tight-knit group of stylists, some of whom have known and worked with one another for 10 years. So far, business has been great, she says: Some days Da Capo brings in 40 to 50 clients. Check out the salon’s grand opening event on Sept. 20 from 6-10 p.m., with live music, hors d’oeuvres, wine and raffle prizes at 1925 Market Place, Unit 130. Go to vagaro.com/dacapostylehouse, call 715-7183 or walk in to make an appointment.

Why did you become a stylist?

I realized quickly that school did not come natural to me, but creating things did. Hair, to us, is a functional piece of temporary art.

What services do you offer?

Fun fact: Da Capo actually translates into “starting from the top.” So all services here [are] neck up, pretty much. So we do makeup, special event styles and, more importantly, we’re hair professionals. So all of us do cutting, all of us do coloring, and we all try to find our niche of what we like to do most and then fill our time with that.

What do you love about what you do?

There’s not any two days that are ever the same. And you get people that come in here that say they need a haircut, and really they need an emotional support hour. You have to [stand] there and pretend like you’re cutting their hair so that they can talk (laughs). And they always leave with a new style or something like that. I guess just helping people got me here, too.

What’s it like being among the first businesses in Meriam Park?

I had one meeting with the developer, [Dan Gonzales], out here and he said, “skylight” and “tall ceilings” and “walkable community,” and I was pretty much sold. We see eye-to-eye, too. Everybody out here in Meriam Park has, like, a very creative vision. There’s nothing cut-and-paste, nothing’s being repeated. We’re really fortunate to be the first one here, in that case—we get to build our business based upon what’s happening around us, which I think is really fun. I know that there’s a coffee shop going in next door and people might be walking by. It’s encouraged us to really [be] like, we need more retail, we need more of a shop.

What do you want people to know about Da Capo?

I try to create an atmosphere where anybody can feel comfortable coming in, and just create a space where it’s fun to hang out for a couple of hours.