
Arthur Rubinoff, 43, reopened the storefront doors on Columbus Avenue in Manhattan.
΄΄ Coming Soon΄΄, says the sign on the door ΄΄ NYC Barber Museum Shop.΄΄
Inside the place was still under renovation, but already Mr. Rubinoff's signature decor - with all the grace of Versailles - was evident in the 6 hanging chandeliers and elaborately gilded corners.
``This is all gold-plated, 24-karat,'' said Mr. Rubinoff, owner of the Reamir barbershop chain and founder of the New York City Barber Museum, which will open its doors in mid-June.
``I'm doing it as a tribute to the barbers of the world, and to show that barbering is an art,'' said Mr. Rubinoff, adding that the museum on Columbus Avenue between 73rd and 74th Streets will also serve as a barbershop.
Visitors will be able to get a haircut and observe the exhibits (antique and vintage barber equipment, from chairs to falsettos).
The space will have functional hair and grooming stations, set up with antique chairs and vintage mirrors.
Mr. Rubinoff stated that he intends to have a place only for his ΄΄ special clients ΄΄, and he will reserve the rest for guest barbers that he will invite every two weeks.
΄΄ I want to make changes, like a comedy, to bring in fresh talent from California, Arizona - I have barbers from Moscow too,΄΄ he said. ΄΄ These days, people want to try new hands.΄΄

Vintage barber equipment (Levi Mandel for The New York Times)
Visitors who aren't interested in getting a haircut won't have to pay to enter the museum, he said: ``Maybe I'll ask for a donation but the museum's purpose is not the money,'' adding that the shop will also draw people to his barbershop. Nevertheless, it will probably be difficult for the landlord to make the 7.250$ of rent.
``Even if it doesn't work out, I'm fine with it,'' said Mr. Rubinoff, who runs his business with his wife, Marina.
The project is part promotion, and part ΄΄ ode to the history of Barbering,΄΄
``I don't even have a high school diploma, but I'm a fourth-generation barber and I've spent my whole life in barbershops,'' said Mr. Rubinoff, who owns another shop a block north of the museum and lives nearby.
His apartment has become a showcase for the museum's pieces, which include a 1901 Koken barber chair as well as barber poles of many sizes and styles. His collection also includes old hair dryers and shaving cream containers.
Mr. Rubinoff said he grew up in Fergana, a city in Uzbekistan, where he spent his childhood in his father's barber shop -- ``the first barber shop in Uzbekistan.'' He was 14 when his family immigrated to the United States and they settled in Forest Hills, Queens, among other places. He started cutting hair in his father's shop in Astoria and dropped out of Forest Hills High School to work full time.
He said his father enjoyed collecting old barber equipment. When I was little, I would ask him, ``Why are you buying this junk?'' and he would say, ``One day I want to open a museum'' - almost as a joke.''
Mr. Rubinoff said that after his father's death in 2003, he changed his last name from Babadzhanov to Rubinoff, which sounded more Western and was more commercial. He decided to open a museum and began collecting any antiques he could find.
``I'm doing it as a tribute to barbers around the world, and to show that barbering is an art,'' Mr. Rubinoff told Levi Mandel of the New York Times.

In the early 90s, Mr. Rubinoff began designing jewelry for famous clients in the Hip-Hop scene, including Chris Rock and Tupac Shaku, for whom he designed a signature ring. Rubinoff has pictures of himself and the two men hanging in all of his stores.
He owned a jewelry store in the 90s, but after two robberies he decided it was safer to cut hair. Calling himself ΄΄The barber to the stars΄΄, he hired PR firms and organized nightly events with famous and well-known guests, while at the same time he created a line of cosmetics and hair products.
In 2012, Mr Rubinoff was arrested for an undeclared gun he kept in a safe at his home in Forest Hills - he claims he was set up by an acquaintance who had been tasked with storing various items in his garage, including the safe .
He ended up serving a 20-month prison sentence, where he continued to cut hair and learn new styles while working as the prison barber in exchange for cigarettes and stamps.
Inside the museum, he showed us where he will set up a souvenir stand selling handmade accessories of his own design inspired by the barber shop.
As he talked about his creations, Mr. Rubinoff showed us a gold pair of scissors of his own design, encrusted with diamonds.
΄΄Golden scissors and combs will be used on customers who will have the '21st Century Cut' costing 118$, ΄΄we'll offer them champagne and black caviar on crackers,΄΄he said. ΄΄ It's all in the plan.΄΄
SOURCE: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/04/nyregion/barbering-is-an-art.html