Book a slot
A client with fresh long waves after a Saturday blowout in her Evanston kitchen
Saturday blowout · Evanston

Evanston & the North Shore

The salon chair, in your kitchen.

Blowouts, cuts, color and event hair with Marla, who spent twelve years behind a salon chair and now brings the whole salon to your door.

Marla curling a client’s hair in her living room
Soft curls · living room
An event updo finished with a navy velvet bow
Event updo, velvet bow
The portable salon set up in a sunny kitchen
The salon, unpacked

Blowout $75 · event updo $140 · $100 holds your FridayBook a slot

  • ★ 5.0212 reviews on Google
  • 12 yearsbehind a salon chair
  • 1 at a timenever more than six a day
  • LicensedIllinois cosmetologist

How it works

An hour of salon, then it’s your kitchen again.

  1. The night beforeA text from me

    I confirm the time and ask where the best light is. You don’t have to tidy.

  2. When I arriveTen minutes to set up

    Drop cloth down, chair by the window, my shampoo basin on its back. One outlet is all I need.

  3. In the chairYour hour, not my schedule

    One client at a time and never more than six a day, so nobody is rushed out of the chair.

  4. Before I goSwept and packed

    Every hair off the floor, the basin drained, the chair back where it was. It’s like I was never there.

Marla washing a client’s hair in a portable shampoo basin on a kitchen chair
A real wash, at your kitchen chair
Marla’s portable salon laid out on a navy drop cloth: dryer, brushes, irons, clips and towels

What comes in the case

  • A real shampoo basin that fits any chair
  • Two dryers and a hood for sets
  • Round brushes in five sizes
  • Irons, wands and rollers
  • Color mixed fresh in your kitchen
  • Fresh towels, a cape and the drop cloth
Marla Novak in a kitchen doorway with her dryer case and a navy apron

About Marla

Hi, I’m Marla. I used to be the one you drove to.

For twelve years I worked the second chair by the window at a salon on Central Street. I knew whose kids were in college and who took her coffee black, and I loved it.

Then in the winter of 2022 Mrs. Abernathy broke her hip. She was 81 and hadn’t missed her Tuesday set in nine years. So on my day off I put a round brush, a towel and a borrowed hood dryer in my car and set her hair in her sunroom. Within a month three of her neighbors had asked if I could come to them too.

Now it’s the whole salon in one rolling case. New moms who can’t leave the nap. People getting over a surgery. Busy families who would rather not lose a Saturday to the drive. What I believe hasn’t changed: a good blowout is mostly a good wash, and you get a better one when nobody is waiting for your chair.

Marla

Marla pulling her rolling salon case up the porch steps of a shingled house in autumn
Tuesday, 8:55 AM, Wilmette
  • 2010first chair, Central Street
  • 2022first kitchen, Mrs. Abernathy’s
  • 1,400+house calls since

Lately, at yours

A few kitchens, living rooms and sunrooms.

  • Saturday blowout, big and bouncy, Wilmette

    Saturday blowout, big and bouncyWilmette · October

  • Gala ponytail, navy velvet ribbon, Glencoe

    Gala ponytail, navy velvet ribbonGlencoe · September

  • The silver set, for Mrs. Abernathy, Evanston

    The silver set, for Mrs. AbernathyEvanston · Every other Tuesday

  • Single process, warm chestnut, Skokie

    Single process, warm chestnutSkokie · August

  • Two sisters, two low twists, Winnetka

    Two sisters, two low twistsWinnetka · June

  • A chin-length bob, grown out no more, Evanston

    A chin-length bob, grown out no moreEvanston · October

5.0 from 212 neighbors.

“I had a five-week-old and hadn’t washed my hair properly since the hospital. Marla did it while the baby napped in the next room.”

Priya · Evanston

“My mother is 88 and hasn’t missed a Tuesday set in two years. Marla brings the hood dryer and stays for the coffee.”

Ellen · Wilmette

“Event updo in my own bathroom, an hour before the gala, and it held through dessert and the drive home.”

Dana · Glencoe

“She swept better than I do. I found zero hairs. Zero.”

Mike · Winnetka

Where I drive

Evanston, and up the shore.

From the lake in Evanston to Highland Park, and a few blocks west of Green Bay Road. Further than that, text me and we’ll see.

  • Evanston and WilmetteNo travel fee
  • Skokie, Kenilworth and Winnetka$10
  • Glencoe and Northfield$15
  • Highland Park$20
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Evanston to Highland Park Free in Evanston and Wilmette, then $10 to $20 Open the map

Questions

Before I ring the bell.

What do I need to have ready?

A chair, an outlet and a spot near a sink if we’re doing color. I bring everything else, including the basin for the wash, towels and the drop cloth.

How does the deposit work?

Blowouts and sets hold with $25, cuts and color with $50, and $100 holds an event slot, which on Fridays go fast. It comes off the total, and you pay the rest by card when I’m done.

Can you do more than one person?

Yes, as long as we book the time. Back-to-back blowouts for you and your sister, or a mom and daughter before a party, each at the listed price and one travel fee.

Do you do color at home? Won’t it stain?

I’ve done hundreds of kitchens and haven’t left a mark yet. Everything sits on the drop cloth, and I rinse at my basin, not your sink.

What if I need to cancel?

Text me 24 hours ahead and your deposit moves to a new time. Sick kids and snowstorms always count.

Do you do weddings?

Wedding guests and moms of the bride, yes. For the bride herself I’ll send you to a friend who does bridal only. I’d rather do the Friday dinner perfectly.

Book a slot

Pick your time. I’ll bring the chair.

Weekdays from 8 to 5:30, Saturdays until 2. Fridays fill first, with dinners and galas, so $100 holds your Friday event slot. Blowouts hold with $25.

I text you the night before. You pay the rest by card when I’m done.

  1. 1Service
  2. 2Day and time
  3. 3Details
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