North Canton Salon Owner Who 'Fostered' Outside Stylists Gets 'Adopted' by Them

After working alongside two fellow hairdressers for a few weeks, Mark Marchino couldn't see himself working without their company in his North Canton salon — a place that, without his friends, lacked constant chatter and action.

The foster dad had who hit a roadblock when moving into their new Canton salon. He invited them into the Mark Angelus Salon until their move.

The new joke, he said, is that they've now "adopted" him. He's closed his North Canton salon and now works with the two stylists to whom he had lent a hand — Tim Rypien and Kurt Frentzel — in their new digs in Canton.

"I loved my little space, my little 'plain and simple,'" Marchino said. "But I truly missed the camaraderie between all of us, the practical jokes between all of us, the conversations — just everything that should be part of a salon."

Marchino talked inside the Salon @ Belden Place, 4150 Belden Village St. NW, Suite 110, across from Westfield Belden Village Shopping Center, and gushed about the new location and working with Rypien and Frentzel, whom he formed a strong friendship with.

The men make up a team of 10 stylists, joined by an aesthetician, a nail tech and a "reservationist" who books appointments. The salon boasts of three cutting rooms, a reception area, a wash house and two rooms for manicures and pedicures and skin care and massages.

"This is different," Marchino said, surrounded by artwork and purple and yellow walls. "It's new and exciting. . . . It is full of life."

The stylists turned a psychologist's office into a hip, relaxing Paul Mitchel salon. They're agog over the new look, especially the all-natural wood in the counter tops, created by local artist Clark McGill.

Reservationist Ronni Marcinkowey, also known as the salon's "hair traffic controller," created much of the artwork adorning the walls.

"Look at it; it's just a place you won't find in Stark County," Marchino said.

There, "it's all about guest experience," Frentzel said. And Marchino, who also came from a Paul Mitchel salon, only complements the team.

"We love having Mark here," he said. "We enjoyed working with him over at his place. He's just a great asset to our team."

It wasn't a difficult decision to bring Marchino in, he said.

"It was kind of a no-brainer, like 'Yeah, come on. We'll make room. Whether we have it or not, we'll make room.'"