Stylist leaves Vegas to escape recession
Scott Risk Hair Studio has joined University North Park
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Buzz up!BY JENNIFER PALMER
Published: May 7, 2009
NORMAN — After leaving Las Vegas, hairstylist Scott Risk could have opened a studio anywhere.




A friend and a Money magazine article declaring Norman as one of the best cities in which to live convinced him to make Norman his home.

He opened Scott Risk Hair Studio in the University North Park shopping center in November.

It has become the place for a haircut, he said.

Risk said people come from Dallas, fly from Florida and make the trek from Las Vegas to have hair clipped at his studio. Norman residents also are embracing his studio.

Dallas lost out
As the economic recession hit Las Vegas — hard — Risk knew he had to leave.
"I didn’t want to stay in the No. 1 recessed state,” Risk said of Nevada.

But he was leaning more toward Dallas than anywhere in Oklahoma despite the good things his friend Marilee Latham was telling him. Eventually, he checked out the town for himself and decided to stay. Latham now manages his studio and works as a personal stylist.


Wine or beer?
Clients are offered wine or beer at the studio, which features weightless, suspended hair dryers and fun, red chairs. A woman’s haircut costs $45 to $75.

Risk, a hairstylist for 10 years, is working on other endeavors, as well: His own hair care line and a brand of trendy, ergonomic shoes for stylists. He also has been booked for appearances on two upcoming reality television shows.

He and Latham chose University North Park for the studio because it is a new development with a modern appeal.

At a glance
New stores
→Academy Sports and Outdoors just announced it will join the shopping center in a new building south of Kohl’s.

→$1 Jewelry Galore will open its 17th store at University North Park in a few months. The Van Buren, Ark.-based business also has stores in Tulsa and Moore, and an Oklahoma City store will open soon at NW 23 and Pennsylvania Avenue.

→Campus Ragz, a sportswear store, also will open in about two months.

→Dots opened its first Oklahoma store at University Town Center, the shopping area anchored by Kohl’s just north of University North Park. The retailer sells inexpensive women’s clothes — dresses for $20 or less, tops for $5, etc.

→Rue 21 also recently joined the center next to Dots.

Source: Sooner Investment Commercial &

Investment Real Estate in Oklahoma City

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Tenants sound far from the upscale tenants first promised. $1 Jewelry, Rue 21?