Clem and Odette Cilluffo, who have lived in Onalaska for about three years, had already been operating a mobile barber shop and esthetician clinic doing “tips for clips” for about six months when they decided to open a permanent location.
They are now a month into having a brick-and-mortar storefront for their business, O&C Barber and Esthetician.
The Chronicle visited the new barber shop on Wednesday, Feb. 5, to talk to the couple about their new business, located at 3716 Jackson Highway just north of Jackson Highway’s intersection with state Route 508.
Also at that address is a new mobile coffee stand offering a variety of coffee, tea and mixed drinks — Mobile Mermaid Espresso.
O&C Barber and Esthetician
“We’ve already had clients from as far east as Randle and as far west as Pe Ell,” Clem said.
As they approach 20 years of marriage, Clem and Odette decided to move to Onalaska from Riverside, California, and to change their careers a bit.
An U.S. Army veteran who then spent 22 years working for a railroad company, Clem began cutting hair as a hobby in 2017, giving trims to his fellow coworkers, friends and family.
“Once I got up here, I was working welding for a fabrication company, and kinda missed barbering, so I went and got a license and took it on full time,” Clem said.
Prior to being an esthetician, Odette was working with special needs students at their local school district in California.
“We came up here, and I was gonna just stay home, and then he decided to do this barbering thing. He was like, ‘You should cut hair, we should open a business,’” Odette said. “And I’m like, ‘I don’t want to cut hair.’”
The barber school Clem got his license at also offered esthetician licensing, and he suggested she look into it.
“I was like, ‘I don’t even know what all that entails.’ It ended up being all about skin. I ended up taking the class. I ended up loving it, and I’m an esthetician now,” Odette added.
Estheticians can provide a variety of skincare treatments ranging from cleansing and exfoliation masking to LED light therapy, scrubs, wraps and waxing to improve skin’s appearance.
The couple couldn’t be happier with their new professions.
“It’s almost like not even having to go to work,” Clem said.
“We just hang out all day,” Odette added.
Though they have O&C’s new location set up, once a month the couple still operates their mobile barber shop and esthetician clinic with a visit to the Twin Cities Senior Center by the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds.
“We run tips for clips, where we basically just give haircuts and facials for whatever they can afford,” Clem said.
“Basically like a donation. They love it, and we’ve come to love them. They’re great. You can’t beat seniors,” Odette said.
Currently, O&C Barber and Esthetician is closed on Tuesday and open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Hours may change in the future.
For more information, call O&C at 360-742-2885 or message the business on its Facebook page at https://tinyurl.com/cp9ke7ry.
Mobile Mermaid Espresso
Those who visit O&C Barber and Esthetician — Thursday through Sunday, at least — can also pick up a cup of coffee, tea or their favorite coffee or tea mixed drink thanks to the Mobile Mermaid Espresso, owned by Stephanie Rouse.
The coffee stand also offers online ordering. Rouse will walk customers’ drinks out to them in their cars so they don’t have to get out.
She loves both making drinks and mermaids, and her new business allows her to combine the two.
While Rouse is originally from Idaho, her husband hails from Winlock, and the couple now resides in nearby Toledo.
“I still do mobile events as well. Like this Saturday, I’ll be at the Winlock High School district wrestling match,” Rouse said.
She started running Mobile Mermaid around a year ago in April, first only being mobile and going to local events on weekends.
“I had always wanted to run a coffee business, and with all of the small town events, none of them had coffee, so I was like, ‘Let’s try this out,’” Rouse added.
From the Packwood Flea Market to Winlock Egg Days to the Lavender Festival, Rouse has brought the Mobile Mermaid.
“At the beginning of the year, we decided to try it full time, and Clem and Odie were nice enough to let me park here,” she said.
Currently, Mobile Mermaid Espresso is open at 3716 Jackson Highway from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, unless Rouse is at a local event such as this weekend’s district wrestling match in Winlock.
The business is also still available for booking at local events.
For more information, call Mobile Mermaid at 360-520-9127, visit the business’s website at https://www.mobilemermaid.biz/ or follow it on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mobilemermaidespresso or Instagram at @mobilemermaidespresso.
