By Mike Gleason
Milford Daily News, Mass.
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Rachael Rubin’s company called “PARLR” combines photography and salon services — people can come into the salon and get their hair cut or colored, take part in a photo shoot or do both.
FRAMINGHAM
In April, the full-service salon/photography studio PARLR will be celebrating its grand opening in a much larger space in the Saxonville Mills complex.
Business owner Rachael Rubin said she first started the venture in 2010, when she was 19 years old and working out of a Hofstra University dorm room on Long Island. She conducted a photo shoot with her two best friends, and then other people began asking her to do photo shoots for them. She moved up from the dorm room to a fraternity house basement and then to a garage in her hometown, Framingham.
The name, she said, is something of a play on words: “parlor” combined with her initials, RLR.
The company combines photography and salon services — people can come into the salon and get their hair cut or colored, take part in a photo shoot or do both. Rubin said the business believes in pursuing beauty on both the inside and outside, offering Reiki services and working to ensure a positive attitude within the studio.
Beyond providing services to consumers, Rubin said PARLR also helps local business and professionals with branding efforts.
PARLR first opened in the Saxonville Mills years ago, but is moving to a space five times larger and more accessible within the property.
“In the new space, we’ll be opening up a full spa,” she said. “The salon will be doubling in size.”
Rubin said a Youtube channel (youtube.com/projectparlr) is documenting the expansion as it happens.
The change will not just be physical — the re-opening will also reorganize Rubin’s salon (called Beauty Parlr) and photography business (RLR studio) into one brand: PARLR. The initial division, Rubin said, was to avoid confusion between the branches of the business.
Though, growing up, she didn’t think she would stay in Framingham, Rubin said her understanding of the area made it natural to base her business there. She said she wants to make the quality experiences offered in places such as New York and Boston more accessible to people who live in MetroWest.
“I feel like I understand the market very well,” she said. “I feel grateful and really blessed at the tremendous amount of support I’ve received.”
Rubin said, as a young entrepreneur herself, she wished to inspire children to seek out their own dreams.
Information about PARLR:
* Founded: 2010
* Address: 1 Watson Place, Framingham
* Grand reopening: April 4
* Website: www.beautyparlr.com
* Instagram: @beautyparlr, @rlrstudioinc
