{"id":387557,"date":"2026-09-01T21:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T21:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/387557\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T21:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T21:26:14","slug":"hairpeace-at-30-resident-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/387557\/","title":{"rendered":"HairPeace at 30 \u2013 Resident News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Still making the cut<\/p>\n

Thirty years in business is measured in more than calendars. It is measured in haircuts, conversations, changing styles, loyal clients, growing friendships and, in Bruce Musser\u2019s case, a whole lot of hair.<\/p>\n

On Sept. 18, HairPeace Salon celebrates 30 years in Jacksonville. Trends have come and gone, and the salon has changed addresses, but Musser\u2019s love for his craft \u2013 and for the people who helped build HairPeace \u2013 has remained constant.<\/p>\n

Musser launched his career in the \u201990s, when short hair was in and stylists often created with a limited arsenal of products.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started, we had mousse, gel and water, and you had to do whatever you could do,\u201d Musser said. \u201cWe had to be really clever.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also had a goal: own a salon by age 26. A client convinced him to buy a house first.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said, \u2018You need to buy a house while you\u2019re still employed. It\u2019s harder to get a loan once you become self-employed,\u2019\u201d Musser recalled.<\/p>\n

The dream was delayed, not derailed. HairPeace opened on Lomax Street in Riverside on Sept. 18, 1996, and remained there for 20 years.<\/p>\n

\"BruceBruce Musser at HairPeace\u2019s Lomax Street location in 1999.<\/p>\n

\"HairPeaceHairPeace Salon owner Bruce Musser marks 30 years of style, creativity and community in Riverside this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really loved it,\u201d he said. \u201cI was really serious about being part of that community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Musser was learning to trust himself as a business owner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a lot of confidence in what I could do for you behind the chair,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t have enough confidence in myself as a business owner. So I stayed there out of a lack of confidence, and I stayed there until it was time to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Lomax building was sold, the Oak Street location was not yet ready. Musser found temporary chairs for three stylists and improvised.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had supplies in the back of this [Oak Street] building; we had a TV tray for our laptop, which was our front desk, and I sat in my car and took phone calls through the car using my laptop connected to the Wi-Fi at European Street Caf\u00e9,\u201d Musser recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of fun,\u201d Musser said. \u201cI learned to be more confident in myself, and I learned to be adaptive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, HairPeace operates from two buildings on Oak Street, with 28 stylists. Melody Choate, who has been there for 14 years, began assisting Musser out of hair school and is now a National Artist and Educator with Goldwell.<\/p>\n

\"BruceBruce Musser, Scott Tatum, Melody Choate and the HairPeace team in 2012.<\/p>\n

\"BruceBruce Musser, Scott Tatum and Melody Choate at HairPeace\u2019s Lomax Street location in 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of Bruce\u2019s encouragement and constant state of evolution and growth, I have been able to flourish in any and every way that I desire. Hair Peace is a representation of a supportive, solid community that adapts to allow the best in you to shine,\u201d Choate said.<\/p>\n

Choate continued: \u201cBruce built a salon culture; a feeling of belonging and comfort when you walk in the door. There is a stylist for every type of client who truly wants the best for you and your hair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott Tatum sees that commitment to staff, clients and quality as central to HairPeace\u2019s longevity.<\/p>\n

\"BruceBruce Musser, Scott Tatum, Melody Choate and Savanna Stivers celebrate HairPeace\u2019s new location.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a salon to reach 30 years and going strong says a lot about the hard work and devotion Bruce has committed to his business and staff,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cFrom the talent he hires to the quality of work that he and all the staff at HairPeace deliver. Putting clients first and making sure they are comfortable and expectations are met.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Musser, growth has never taken him away from where it began: behind the chair.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love, I love cutting hair, I just absolutely love it,\u201d Musser said. \u201c\u2026I\u2019ve been doing this for 36 years, and I don\u2019t want to ever forget that this is special or needed. This person sitting in my chair, it\u2019s more about them than it\u2019s about me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Five years ago, his team surprised him for HairPeace\u2019s 25th anniversary. This time, Musser wants the celebration to be about them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just so filled and uplifted,\u201d Musser recalled. \u201cAnd here we are five years later, and they\u2019ve shown me how important it is that we acknowledge and celebrate. They did it for me, so now I\u2019m going to do it for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thirty years later, Musser is doing what he loves, surrounded by people who helped turn a stylist\u2019s dream into something bigger than a salon. The celebration belongs to all of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Still making the cut Thirty years in business is measured in more than calendars. It is measured in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-387557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}