Kinfolk Beauty Supply store opens in Eureka

On Jan. 7 Eureka welcomed Kinfolk Beauty Supply store into the neighborhood, located at 318 W. Harris St. The store offers a wide variety of human and synthetic wigs, clip-ins, braiding hair, hair dyes, makeup, styling tools, everyday essentials and more.

Owner Rochelle Burgess grew up in New York and started her career in the restaurant industry as a chef in various fine dining restaurants and was a contestant on Food Network’s Chopped, a competitive cooking show. About three years ago, she moved to Humboldt after quitting her job due to stress and exhaustion.

Living in Humboldt, she quickly realized the limited resources available for people of color with diverse hair textures and styles. When creating Kinfolk Beauty Supply, she wanted to fill in the gaps in the community and create an environment that values and recognizes everyone’s needs.

“When customers enter, we want them to feel like they can breath, like shedding a layer they only grow when they leave home,” Rochelle Burgess said. “When you walk through the doors, you’re getting an experience tailored to you.”

To create the logo, Rochelle Burgess took inspiration from Adinkra, which are symbols originated from Ghana that represent concepts and wisdom. She used a duafe, a symbol of a wooden hair brush that represents beauty and femininity. This symbol is linked to the traditional wooden combs used by the Akan people that became generational heirlooms that carried stories and histories of the women that owned them. The hair grooming sessions were a space for community amongst the Akan women and is a piece of history and human connection Rochelle Burgess wanted to highlight.

When Rochelle Burgess moved to Humboldt, she struggled to find someone who could do her hair and a local beauty store that offered the supplies she needed to do her hair at home. Rochelle Burgess believes in the importance of having a store anyone can walk into and see the products available instead of ordering online, where they aren’t certain about what they are buying.

Struck with the idea to create her own space that puts those frustrations at ease, Rochelle Burgess hopes people in Humboldt will feel confident in what they are purchasing and the way they express themselves through their hair.

“The hope is that people view this as a safe space, a place to explore themselves in a different way,” Rochelle Burgess said. “Whether experimenting with one of our 64 shades of hair dye or regaining power that is sometimes put on the back burner when dealing with hair loss, to just having a sounding board for ideas.”

As someone who grew up in Humboldt, Rochelle Burgess’ husband, Bill Burgess, acknowledges the need for a local store like Kinfolk Beauty Supply and has seen the way its impacted community members who have walked through the doors.

“What we found out was that people who grew up here, who didn’t have these resources, they would come in, and we’ve had elders in the community start weeping because they haven’t had the opportunity to interact with a place like this,” Bill Burgess said.

From firsthand experience, Rochelle Burgess understands the empowerment that comes with self-expression through hair and the wide spectrum of people’s needs and desires.

“Whether you’re in for trying out something wild, or if you want to keep it professional, we have all the tools to help that flourish and blossom and add a great price point,” Rochelle Burgess said.

Providing a comfortable atmosphere is Rochelle Burgess’ biggest goal and compares her hope for Kinfolk Beauty Supply to be “like going to that friend’s house whose fridge you can go into and it’s not weird.” She also wants to offer the resources to make every individual feel the most confident in their skin.

“A large portion of society likes to pretend that looks don’t matter, but it does. In some cases it can be the reason you do or don’t get what you want in life,” Rochelle Burgess said. “I want people to get everything they want in life and to look good while doing so, confidence is key.”

Kinfolk Beauty Supply is open Tuesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 318 W. Harris St., Eureka, CA 95503.