Salon

The economy hasn't been kind to Christal Perry's pocketbook, but she's not letting that show in her hair. The private-school teacher's side job as a settlement agent has suffered because fewer people are buying homes, but the Randallstown woman keeps one regular meeting on her schedule - with her stylist, every other week. "It's a luxury I tell myself I deserve," said Perry, 35. But for many customers, the recession is evidenced by roots of a different hue and do-it-yourself treatments.

Isabelle B. Rich, a beauty salon owner who was one of the first African-American women to enlist in the Army, died last week in Birmingham, Ala., of complications from Alzheimer's disease. The former Baltimore resident was 91. Born Isabelle Brown in Baltimore, she was the eldest of four children. She was raised in the Sandtown neighborhood and as a child was nicknamed "Cissy." She had a child when she was in her early teens and named the baby Delores. She quit school after the eighth grade and went to work as housekeeper.

When Natalie Joy Johnson strides on stage at the Hippodrome on Tuesday for the opening night of Legally Blonde: The Musical, she will be channeling inspiration from a rather unlikely spot - the Hair Studio, a lavender-walled salon in an unassuming strip mall in Arbutus. For more than three decades, Johnson's mother and aunt have cut hair at the cozy salon while talking their clients through love, loss and shades of lipstick. As a teenager, Johnson worked here on weekends, sweeping up snipped strands, rinsing perms and answering phones.

Joseph J. Rishel, curator of pre-1900 European painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, drew a near-capacity audience for his talk on the current Mitchell Gallery exhibition The Elegant Salon: European Academic Paintings from the Syracuse University Art Collection. He shared his observations on the paintings displayed from the collection amassed by Annie Walter Arents that was given to Syracuse University in 1949. We had gone to St. John's Mitchell Gallery two days earlier so we could view the collection without the crowds.

The school of tiny, metallic-gray fish chomped away at Michelle Lee's bare feet; some seemed to enjoy her heels and insoles while others jockeyed for the chance to nibble between her toes. "It tickles!" exclaimed the Alexandria, Va., resident between giggles, her jerky motions making splashes in the water-filled glass tank. Her laughter spread among already lively customers at Yvonne Hair, Nail and Tan Salon in Alexandria, where most everyone is getting a kick out of the latest pedicure craze: imported fish that eat away dead skin cells, leaving feet soft and smooth.

Why is it that I can't seem to shake problematic service providers - from my head down to my ... colon? Let's start at the top. Several years ago, I had my hair highlighted at a salon. The stylist said that because my hair was short, she could achieve a nice result by "pulling it through the frosting cap." Unbeknownst to her, another stylist already had used the cap. The bleach bled through the larger holes into an almost geometric, chunky pattern all over my head. In short, I entered the salon as Nancy Pelosi, and I left as Courtney Love.

HOLLYWOOD - Tabatha's Salon Takeover, which premieres tonight at 10, is Bravo's contribution to the growing sub-genre of "whip it" television, in which self-anointed experts, preferably with non-American accents, parachute into crisis situations - a floundering restaurant, a discipline-challenged family - and whip everyone into shape. As the title might indicate, Tabatha's Salon Takeover provides this service for struggling hair salons with hair instead of food and stylist/salon owner Tabatha Coffey in the Gordon Ramsay role.

Padma Salon 3401 Keswick Road, Hampden 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday; 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday 410-243-1717 P adma is the Sanskrit word for lotus, which is the symbol of a new beginning. That's exactly the concept that Kimberly Cincotta and Jennifer Warner were going for when they opened Padma Salon in Hampden on July 11. After 12 years of working together in the salon industry, the Baltimore natives joined forces to create a salon with a soothing and friendly environment.

Geraldine "Gerri" Sielicki, who owned a northern Baltimore County beauty salon and was an early recipient of a stem-cell transplant, died of stroke complications Friday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The Baldwin resident was 60. Born Geraldine Schlosser in Baltimore and raised in Hamilton, she was a 1966 graduate of the Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School, where she studied cosmetology. From 1968 to 1977, she was co-owner of the Fontenblu Salon of Beauty on Harford Road in Parkville.

The Spencer Silver Mansion will hold a Mother's Day Tea catered by the Tea Trolley at 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday at the bed and breakfast, 200 S. Union St., Havre de Grace. Reservations are required. The cost is $27. Information: 800-780-1485. Mother's Day events Saturday, Sunday Ladew Topiary Gardens will hold a Mother's Day Weekend from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and May 11 at 3535 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton. Families can take Mom to see the gardens in their spring finery.