Even though I grew up in the Supercuts era, I still felt a pang of nostalgia when I walked into Crewners, Dan Dixon’s one-chair barber shop at San Jose’s San Pedro Square Market.
Everywhere, the modern was juxtaposed with the vintage. A black-and-white Frank Sinatra croons with Dean Martin from a flat-screen TV. An antique candlestick telephone sits in a building that provides free Wi-Fi.
And the centerpiece is a 1931 barber chair made by the famed Theo A. Kochs Co. in Chicago. Dixon found the chair online — it had been used in Chicago for years and eventually made its way to Los Angeles — and asked Rick Dale of the History Channel’s “American Restoration” to work his magic on it. The result is a stunning vision of black leather and polished nickel, a far cry from the state it was in when Dixon got it.
The chair is symbolic of what Dixon is trying to do with Crewners: It’s more stylish than old-fashioned.
Dixon, 43, wasn’t around for the Rat Pack days, but he’s always loved nostalgia. And he does a good job capturing that 1960s swagger with both the shop and his services, which include the lost art of the straight-razor shave.
The first merchant to sign a lease in the San Pedro Square Market, Dixon is one of the few open at this point (and the only one not serving food or drinks). But he sees a lot of potential in the market and his business. After all, everybody needs a haircut sometime.
BIG GIVERS: More than 700 people attended the Philanthropy Day awards luncheon, held by the Silicon Valley chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara.
Bob Grimm — who was instrumental in the creation of the Tech Museum and San Jose’s Downtown College Prep — was honored as Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year, though it’s been said that his hands-on approach makes him more of a “philanteer,” a hybrid of a philanthropist and a volunteer.
Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser honors went to Leah Toeniskoetter, the new director of SPUR in San Jose, who was nominated by Valley Medical Center Foundation. Outstanding Grantmaking awards were presented to El Camino Hospital, Sequoia Healthcare District, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Pacific Autism Center for Education’s Youth Leadership Committee was lauded as the year’s outstanding philanthropic youth organization.
“This is a salute to those who make the charitable engine work. They literally give it the gas,” said Emmett Carson, CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. “Their role will only be more important as government faces further cutbacks.”
LIKELY STORY: I was surprised not to see VMC Foundation Executive Director Chris Wilder at Philanthropy Day. After all, he’ll be chairman of the event next year and served as co-chairman of this year’s selection committee. Judy Cosgrove of the VMC Foundation explained that Wilder was surprised not to be there, too. He’s been on vacation in France and expected to make it back to Silicon Valley in time for the awards, but his flight was delayed. So the poor guy was stuck in Paris an extra night.
CLEANING UP: Dr. Chynna Bantug, pediatrics chief for Kaiser Permanente San Jose, will spend Tuesday morning washing the paws of Potter the Otter, the 15-foot tall balloon at the Children’s Discovery Museum downtown.
About 100 students from Rocketship Si Se Puede Academy will be on hand to see the 10:30 a.m. demonstration of proper hand-washing techniques, which should come in handy during the flu season.
BIRTHDAY BASH: Don’t forget that History San Jose will be celebrating the city’s 234th birthday Sunday at the Peralta Adobe, now part of the San Pedro Square Market. The Founders’ Candle will be lit during a 1 p.m. ceremony honoring the city’s early settlers, and birthday cake and sparkling cider will be served at 3 p.m. Tours of the Peralta Adobe and the nearby Fallon House will be available for $8 ($5 for students and seniors).
Contact Sal Pizarro at spizarro@mercurynews.com or 408-627-0940. Follow him at www.facebook.com/mercurynews.aroundtown and www.twitter.com/spizarro.
Contact Sal Pizarro at spizarro@mercurynews.com or 408-627-0940.
