If you have spent any time inside Spokane’s alternative scene, there’s a good chance you already know Sky Deems.
She is the vivid-haired stylist behind Sky’s Hair Haven, the newly recognized Spokane Pride 365 Business of the Month, and, as far as Scene Fever is concerned, Spokane’s reigning scene hair queen.
Long before she was transforming clients in her chair, Sky was the friend dyeing everyone’s hair in bathtubs. Now, at only 22, she has turned that same instinct for experimentation into something much bigger: a space where alternative baddies can feel free.
Sky knows what it feels like to enter a beauty space and immediately sense that you do not belong. She experienced it herself in beauty school, where looking different left her feeling judged rather than celebrated. Sky’s Hair Haven is her answer to that experience.
It is colorful, expressive, proudly queer, and built around the “radical” idea that nobody should have to make themselves smaller to feel beautiful.
For Scene Fever’s very first interview, we spoke with Sky about finding her calling, creating the safe space she once needed, and why the world desperately needs more color.
Tell us a little about yourself and the journey that led you to becoming a hairstylist. How long have you been doing hair?
I’m 22, and I’ve been doing hair for a little over two years! I always wanted to help people in some way, and I love being creative. I was always the friend dyeing my own hair and my friends’ hair in bathtubs. Eventually, I realized this was something I wanted to do!
How would you describe your personal approach to hair, and when did you realize you wanted to specialize in bold colors and alternative styles?
My approach to hair is different for every single client. I want my clients to feel like they can go as little or as long between their appointments as they need because I know life gets busy! I love doing fun hair, of course, but maintaining the integrity of the hair is my number one priority. As someone who has vivid, alternative hair myself, I knew immediately that it was something I wanted to do. I did not feel like there were many options in Spokane for that specific style of hair, and I wanted my clients to feel comfortable.
How does it feel to be recognized as Spokane Pride 365’s Business of the Month?
I felt honored to be Spokane Pride 365’s Business of the Month! There can never be enough safe spaces for the queer community, and I pride myself on making sure my clients feel safe and at home. As a bisexual woman, I love being able to represent the underrepresented.
Creating an inclusive safe space for everyone is clearly central to your work. What does that commitment mean to you, both personally and as a stylist?
This commitment is huge for me. As soon as I started beauty school, I felt like I did not fit in. I felt judged because I was not the same as everyone else. My goal is to make sure everyone who sits in my chair feels beautiful and comfortable because that is the least I can do!
You describe Sky’s Hair Haven as a place where “alternative baddies can feel free.” What does that mean to you?
Creating this space means everything to me. I have worked really hard to get where I am, and I want to bring color back into the world, especially through hair. Why should we all look the same? We shouldn’t! Hair is how I choose to express myself, and I love that it is individual to everyone.
What do you hope your clients feel when they sit in your chair, especially those who may not have always felt comfortable expressing themselves elsewhere?
I hope my clients feel safe, comfortable, and listened to. I make sure to explain the entire process and ask questions so nothing feels too confusing. I know from experience that going to a new stylist can be scary, especially if you have been made to feel judged or uncomfortable simply for being yourself.
What’s next for you and Sky’s Hair Haven?
What’s next for me is to keep going! I have been super focused this year, and by the end of it, I would like to own my own business and take Sky’s Hair Haven to the next level!
Scene Fever Rapid Fire
Sky is the very first person to take on our Scene Fever rapid fire questions, a collection of music, movies, memories, and current obsessions that we will ask every artist and creative who enters our world.
What five albums would you pick if you could only listen to them for the rest of your life? BRAT by Charli xcx, WANT by 3OH!3, Enema of the State by blink-182, The Drug in Me Is You by Falling in Reverse, and American Idiot by Green Day.
What is your favorite concert you’ve ever attended? $uicideboy$.
What was the first CD you ever bought? V by Maroon 5.
What was the soundtrack to your teenage years? Blurryface by Twenty One Pilots.
What is one piece of merch you’ll never get rid of? My My Chemical Romance T-shirt.
What is one movie you think everyone should watch? Easy A.
Who is an artist you think people are sleeping on? Vienna Vienna.
What’s currently giving you Scene Fever? MYSPACE COMING BACK.
