{"id":11709,"date":"2023-07-27T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/?p=11709"},"modified":"2023-07-30T08:24:05","modified_gmt":"2023-07-30T15:24:05","slug":"taking-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/2023\/07\/27\/taking-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"
If everything had gone according to plan, Birdcage Beauty Parlour might not be here today.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy husband is very much a go-getter, and he bought me a birdcage chandelier,\u201d says Monique Ursich, owner and lead stylist of the salon. She\u2019d gone back and forth for years on opening her own business, preferring to take her time before making major decisions. \u201cIt was five years earlier than I planned, but my husband pushed me,\u201d she says, gesturing to the golden birdcage now hanging at center stage of her shop. The rest was history. \u201cWe found a space, and we built the salon in 30 days.\u201d<\/p>\n When she says built, she means it. From floor to ceiling, the space was completely remodeled by Monique and her family in the span of one month during the spring of 2018. \u201cMy daughter laid the floors \u2014 I think she was 10 [years old] at the time,\u201d Monique recalls. And the furniture? \u201cWe found it all in a week. We went all over the city, even as far as Laguna Niguel,\u201d she says. The salon\u2019s carefully mismatched vanities and stylist workstations prove her story, and the result is a rustic yet bright atmosphere that warmly captures both the past and the present. It\u2019s just like Monique intended. \u201cHave you seen Steel Magnolias<\/i>?\u201d she asks. \u201cThat\u2019s what I was going for. I wanted a place that was very much a hangout, where people relaxed and talked and supported each other.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the speedy opening, it took her a long time to get here. It wasn\u2019t always obvious to Monique that hair was her passion. The first hint came in the \u201890s, when she was a teenager bleaching her friends\u2019 bangs. \u201cWe all wanted that bright front streak, so we used somebody’s facial hair bleach kit,\u201d she laughs. \u201cI think that was the first time I got into color.\u201d Still, after graduating from San Pedro High School, she decided to study English at Long Beach State in hopes of becoming a teacher. But it slowly became clear that she liked her side job, doing makeup, more than the prospect of teaching. She pivoted, and she graduated from Aveda Beauty School not long after college.<\/p>\n Like many San Pedro natives, after finishing school, she left her hometown and worked as a stylist for salons in Long Beach and Redondo Beach. Little by little, she mastered the basics of hair and more. At the retro-themed parlor The Avenue, she learned to create the classic yet challenging hairstyles of decades past. \u201cI did beehives, birdcages, and so much more, but victory rolls were my favorite,\u201d she says. It was also here that her vision for the future took shape. \u201cAt The Avenue, I really saw how I\u2019d like a shop to be,\u201d she explains. \u201cThe owner was very kind and made it like a family, and I absolutely loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n