Elfin pixie. Creative blunderbuss. Deep canon nerd. Fracking adorable.
Owner / Barber Educator
ABOUT: Hailing from Chicago before bopping about North America in the most random smattering of professions imaginable (serving, barbering, IT marketing, art school, military and so much more), Natalie is what might be considered Beardsgaard OG, one half of the married pair of founders, and the original barber of the bunch. Think of this one as the business tentacle of Beardsgaard. Although she has mostly stepped back from the chair to make room for the future barbers of the shop, she is still working hard to give all our beloved clients even more of what they love about Beardsgaard.
FAVORITE THINGS: All of the hot caffeinated liquids, writing, photography, cooking, baking, knitting really nice/creepy things, DIY, avoiding unexpected social interaction, animals of all sorts, reading, fantasy (and sci-fi too), becoming a walking IMDB, obsessive organization and categorization, rainbow-color-coded Excel spreadsheets, being an elf, grammar.
FANDOMS: Tolkien for LIFE, A Song of Ice and Fire (or Game of Thrones for HBO fans), The Wheel of Time, Gaiman, Sondheim (knows every word and beat of Into the Woods from the Broadway days), Palahniuk, Tom Waits, Battlestar, Ga….la….vaaaaaaant! Doctor Who, Supernatural, Sherlock (hell, SuperWhoLock!) The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, and every breath Joss Whedon takes.
Blademaiden’s Portfolio
SPECIALTIES: These days this awkward little gremlin pixie creature flits about the edges and dark corners of the shop, attending to the myriad tasks of running the business, creating content for the blog, social media and YouTube channels, bringing all of the hair education she can find into the shop, and formulating and making the products of our house brand, River Peak Apothecary.
Even with the chairs on the floor of the barbershop full of barbers, Blademaiden still cuts hair, although these days it is usually for educational and editorial purposes, which means she sometimes needs very specific/super shaggy heads. For reasons. When those occasions occur, you’ll always see it on the Beardsgaard Facebook and/or Instagram pages, or her own IG. Check out her portfolio below.
Peaky Lewis
The Style: Rocked out and ready for the dance / Pomp shaped with a ton of texture on top, a neat blend on the ... ~ Read Moar!
BeardFyre
The Style: Basically a Game of Thrones character / Many techniques to get to generally even on a beard of all of the textures Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
The Commitmentphobe Part V
The Style: A young fella who knows exactly what he wants...until the next cut / One year to the day since the last time we ... ~ Read Moar!
Honor Roll
The Style: Super simple but never basic, and versatile as can be / The Gaard cut is this magical cut that looks neat and ... ~ Read Moar!
Dwarfhartt
The Style: That guy in the waiting room who is so furry and you really hope he's your next and then he is / ... ~ Read Moar!
Beardy Pomp
The Style: Beardsmith's longest running client, and one he has apparently not been able to photograph in a non-blurry fashion all these years until ... ~ Read Moar!
Wicked Rascal
The Style: Rarely does a barber get so luxurious a head, on which they can do anything. Even better when that head is for ... ~ Read Moar!
Cookin’
The Style: Straight up badass barber, because he literally is one / Properly aggressive Scumbag Boogie with some perky tips Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Sunny Side
The Style: Annie Lennox all the way / A pompadour is not just a man's game Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Got That Mojo Werkin
The Style: Dreamy hair makes for dreamy pomps / With very light patches over the ears, we kept some extra side coverage on this one, ... ~ Read Moar!
Tru Greaser
The Style: While perfectly suitable in the boardroom, Reuzel haircuts are really worn best with these sorts of work clothes / Having been accustomed to ... ~ Read Moar!
Lather & Fade
The Style: The perfect combo of badass and not trying too hard / Hairlines and textures be damned, you can still have a nice ... ~ Read Moar!
Spiritbrook Scumbag
The Style: Cut one week before our woodsy Spiritbrook shoot, this is the real life to the photo shoot fantasy / More beard than hair, ... ~ Read Moar!
A Bumpy Ride
The Style: So, what's easy to fit under a helmet? / A short and simple pompadour on quite curly hair from one of Blademaiden's ... ~ Read Moar!
The Commitmentphobe Part III
The Style: Part III of a grow out from an impetuous trendy cut from a young fella who has a brand new idea each ... ~ Read Moar!
Flat Top For Gryffindor
The Style: Short on the sides and off the face - check! / With simple instructions and hair that was cut super short in the ... ~ Read Moar!
Indiana Pomp
The Style: Devil-may-care adventurer / A pompadour is one of the most versatile haircuts around, especially if you tend toward waves and/or cowlicks Suggested ... ~ Read Moar!
A Little Off the Sides
The Style: What a difference a few minutes on the sides makes / When an even-all-over haircut grows out, it doesn't take much to ... ~ Read Moar!
Ginger Lincoln
The Style: Modern barbering the old-timey way / An Executive Contour on a ton of soft and slippery hair, and beard with a heaping ... ~ Read Moar!
Not Ready for this Jelly
The Style: When you're blessed with floppy waves, might as well treat them to a proper greasing / A Pomp/Quiff hybrid on hair that had ... ~ Read Moar!
Mr. Hearthstone
The Style: This outdoorsman usually doesn't do it up so hard, but for on-stage education purposes, might as well go all out / A very ... ~ Read Moar!
Prohibition Curls
The Style: Straight out of the 20s / A classic style, slightly modified to let those perfect curls pile on top of each other Suggested ... ~ Read Moar!
Cartoon Contour
The Style: Straight out of Silicon Valley / Perfectly groomed professional on top, refuses to fully adult on the bottom - it's the Beardsgaard way ... ~ Read Moar!
Mr Hearthstone
The Style: Ruggedly outdoorsy working type, but you wouldn't know it from the hair / A clean but not too short Executive Contour with a ... ~ Read Moar!
Executive Hagrid Part II
The Style: Hagrid all business proper / Just a nice, clean Executive Contour and an absolutely massive beard from one of Blademaiden's Reuzel classes Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Ollie’s Contour
The Style: College town fella with a grownup lifestyle /A before and after simple pomp from one of Blademaiden's Reuzel classes Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
The-Commitmentphobe Part II
The Style: From one trendy haircut we totally advised against to whatever thing this young fella wanted that week /An in-betweener cut reconnecting an ... ~ Read Moar!
Scumtastic Pomp
The Style: Slicked and shaped to perfection / A before and after simple pomp from one of Blademaiden's Reuzel classes Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Contoured Cleanup
The Style: Curves so curvy they look like a sculpture / A cleanup that takes a proper art teacher look and goes full school board ... ~ Read Moar!
The Commitmentphobe
The Style: From one trendy haircut we totally advised against to whatever thing this young fella wanted that week /An in-betweener cut reconnecting an ... ~ Read Moar!
The Pomp of Knifey Spooney
The Style: Reformed tattooed, bearded muppet / Former business neighbor/owner of Fallen Star Tattoos, now a world famous traveling artist with great hair and ... ~ Read Moar!
Curvy Contour
The Style: Surfer dude turned business mogul / A common sculptural endeavor in which we take absolutely nothing off the front hairline, and shape the rest into ... ~ Read Moar!
Business Beard
The Style: Beefy mountain man goes to the office / A short contour that works with considerable front cowlicks, and a beard that's full ... ~ Read Moar!
Plastic Pomp
The Style: A head of hair so solid you seem near a Ken doll - including the super handsome part / This is a head ... ~ Read Moar!
Blue Steel in Living Color
The Style: A look that can stop throwing stars in mid-air / A pomp and beard on the growth path Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
New Fro, New Man
The Style: A slimmed down crown of curls crafted into a tall and proud proper pomp / When a style change is in order, we ... ~ Read Moar!
Hurt Looker
The Style: All natural Gordon Gecko / A simple and solid pompadour disguised as a business cut Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Punk Holly Part II
The Style: A Jimmy Neutron/Buddy Holly/Johnny Bravo mashup with a dash of ramen noodles / The coolest quiff on the planet Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Jesus Waves
The Style: Waves so high they get you a little closer to your proverbial maker / Even when cutting off hardly anything, a little shaping ... ~ Read Moar!
Clean Waves
The Style: When you want to look properly businessey, but still rock the trends a little bit / Short and easy but still classic for the ... ~ Read Moar!
Little Scumbro
The Style: When you know you're not going to be seeing your barber for many months /A cut short and aggressive enough to make it ... ~ Read Moar!
Rapunzel Pomp
The Style: Everything gloriously old school a barber can possibly throw into a haircut / Long, properly squared pomp with fenders AND a DA, waves ... ~ Read Moar!
Slim Scumbag Contour
The Style: Clean and classic / A classic contoured Scumbag Boogie-type thing / Blademaiden's first cut of the marathon 5-day interview to be a Reuzel Scumbassador ... ~ Read Moar!
Bossman Hogg
The Style: A cross between a Harley fanatic and a Wildling / A beard that's as large as possible (everywhere except the mustache), but ... ~ Read Moar!
Executive Trinity
The Style: A bit of Trinity's hair from the Matrix mixed with an Executive Contour with a soft and easy style / Short and clean on ... ~ Read Moar!
Han Chewie
The Style: The hair of a post-mullet Han Solo, with the face fuzz of Chewie / That elusive "no product" hair look that moves like wheat ... ~ Read Moar!
Executive Hagrid
The Style: Business on the top, literal giant on the bottom / A well-groomed, parted, tapered business cut is an excellent way to keep a ... ~ Read Moar!
Wavegaard
The Style: The simplest of haircuts, perfectly tailored for each head / Short but not too short on the sides, the look of a part without ... ~ Read Moar!
Basterd Hunter
The Style: A little Basterds era Brad Pitt action / Came in all shaggy, just cleaned up the sides...magic Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Beard Mountain
The Style: Full-on Dwarven warrior / A beard that's as large as possible but still regal and well-maintained Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Hairy Carey
The Style: A friendly face creature that everyone wants to pet / The loose afro of the face Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Ginger SNAP!
The Style: A wild head of hair, well-tamed / About as short as we can go on a dense head of loose curls Suggested ... ~ Read Moar!
Cut of the Week / Toolshed
Every day there are all sorts of haircuts walking out of our doors, some simple everyday cuts, and some a bit more dapper, and ... ~ Read Moar!
Cut of the Week / Animal Style
Every day there are all sorts of haircuts walking out of our doors, some simple everyday cuts, and some a bit more dapper, and ... ~ Read Moar!
Tool Shed
The Style: Modern-day biker Viking / Super clean, well-blended, square, masculine shapes all around Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Animal Style
The Style: So clean you look like an Animal House villain / The classic with all the details just right Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Basterd Prospector
The Style: A little Basterds era Brad Pitt action on top with a mid-1800s gold rush miner on the bottom / A rough and wild ... ~ Read Moar!
Long Top Pomp
The Style: Just a good old push it all back kind of deal / A pomp that's just about a disconnected slickback Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Prohibition Seafarer
The Style: That thing that was immensely popular in the Macklemore era / This kind of cut always grows out...interesting...he made us do it, ... ~ Read Moar!
Biker Pomp
The Style: Keeping it tight on the bike / A pomp/beard combo of an actively biker-friendly length Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Spectacled Shelby
The Style: A Blinder-inspired Arthur Shelby slickback / Sort of a pomp with a bit of rough and tumble in the blend Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Dwarf Beard
The Style: Union Dwarf / A beard that's full and structured, a little stylized but not fussy Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Pomp Perfection
The Style: Just a pomp, looking pretty as a picture / A very tricky head of hair that finally found a cut it likes ... ~ Read Moar!
Grease Monkey
The Style: A rough and well-greased grease monkey pompadour / Growing out a very choppy short cut to a pomp Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Scumbag Soccer
The Style: A Scumbag Boogie that's as at home on the field as the street / Tight and lean pomp shape with lean crown Suggested ... ~ Read Moar!
The Tennant
The Style: David Tennant's iconically ruffleable Doctor Who hair / A bit spiky, a bit choppy, gravity-defying fun Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Short Stuff Means Business
The Style: A miniature version of Jon Hamm's impeccable classic side part style / A neat, tapered Executive Contour, sized down Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Dad Draper
The Style: Blademaiden's dad, looking dapper af / A neatly tapered business cut with a part Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Deep Wave Basterd
The Style: Brad Pitt's alternatingly rough and smooth Inglorious Basterds style / A rough blended Executive Contour Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
The Engineer
The Style: Ruler straight and perfectly square as this Industrial Designer likes it / A bit Executive Contour, a bit Scumbag Boogie, all crisp as ... ~ Read Moar!
Prominent Pomp
The Style: Lean and exaggerated pomp proportions / A well-executed pomp on a near-impossible to tame head Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Scumbag of Thrones
The Style: Slick street style on top, epic fantasy on the bottom / Scumbag Boogie lean for the haircut with a full but structured ... ~ Read Moar!
Executive Prep
The Style: Incredibly stiff, thick, straight hair, tamed / An Executive Contour works on damn near everybody Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Gin Runner
The Style: A cut that looks fly as hell without trying too hard / Slickback smooth Suggested Products: ... ~ Read Moar!
Gaardfection
The Style: Our signature, the haircut version of a perfectly tailored suit / The Gaard, a cut that looks like a side part with far ... ~ Read Moar!
The Link
The Style: A wee rapscallion that may require a little green costume, sword, and princess to rescue / Sort of a spiky little mohawk thing ... ~ Read Moar!
Hard Edge Prep
The Style: When you need to male a smooth transition from the classroom to the mosh pit / An aggressively short Executive Contour, sometimes called ... ~ Read Moar!
Scumbag Boy Scout
The Style: Hip young teacher that could totally be mistaken for a student / A Scumbag Boogie with a bit of curl on top, ... ~ Read Moar!
Executive Lumberjack
The Style: Boardroom on the top, lumberjack on the bottom / Even on hair far finer than it looks here, an Executive Contour works on ... ~ Read Moar!