Byron Brings Beauty to Idyllwild

Byron Mejia is the proprietor of Halcyon Beauty and Design, upstairs in
the Courtyard. Halcyon has several definitions that Byron found resonated with what he likes to create for himself and his clients. “It means calm, just chill, it also means nostalgia, the word came out in
the late 1800s.” Halcyon days are also prosperous and carefree.
“Everyone who knows me knows that that word is me.”

The business incorporates three of Mejia’s activities: hair and skin
care, interior design, and special events. All involve transformations
for events like weddings, conferences, or parties. A home or other space
is transformed temporarily into a dream environment for a single day;
with interior design a home or business gets a deeper and more lasting
new identity, and personal care clients have a chance to adjust their
appearance in an ongoing way.

He is licensed as a barber, cosmetologist, and esthetician. He cuts,
styles, colors, and perms. Coloring is his favorite. “That is what has
made me popular here”. Fitting into the crowded local market, Mejia
notes that “There are six salons here, a lot of talent.” Before opening
his own salon, he checked out all the others in town to understand what
was already on offer. He says he has “built a niche here by offering
services that are elevated, in a space that is elevated. It’s all
boutique care, no two formulas are the same.” He considers all his work
“collaborative;” lots of talking, research, looking at pictures, keeping
a book for each client’s look. No tourists, no walk-ins, appointment
only. The place is a “one chair shop,” so you “don’t ever share your
appointment with other people.”

Mejia shared the important dates in his business journey. “1/1/21 I
moved here [to Idyllwild,] 4/4/21 I finished my house, 7/4/21 I secured
this lease, 12/23/21 I finished all the design, and then we had a flood,
I had to start all over again. It was done in June the following year.”

During the second build-out Byron returned to doing hair in clients’
homes, a model many entrepreneurs used during the pandemic. “That’s how
I built it at first. I didn’t have a space and I was working at a salon
in the desert.” Going into homes leads to interior design, he can do a
client’s living space what he does for their hair and face. “Design for
me is like breathing, I’m always doing it.”

Byron’s back story includes a 20-year department store career that
culminated as Southern California Creative Director for Macy’s, one of
the company’s five creative directors nationwide. “I built new stores,
designed fixtures, windows, and mannequins. I traveled the country.” He
started at the bottom, dressing mannequins at Robinson’s May in
Riverside. “I told my boss’s boss ‘I don’t want to do this forever.’ She
said ‘OK. There’s a fast-track program, if you’re interested it’s going
to be hard, you’ll have to give up a lot of your life.’ I did it.”

Around six years ago the traveling life lost its charm. “It got to a
point where it wasn’t fun. Right when I turned 36 something said ‘You
gotta go, it’s not working.’ I left. My husband had one requirement. He
said ‘I get that you’re a creative, if you do acquire another skill it
needs to be consumable and marketable.’ Being a Creative Director is not
consumable, it a corporate skill.” Mejia considers the experience with
Macy’s as being essentially a business degree. “It’s why I was able to
do this.”

Cosmetology was the most creative option he found. “I work with my
hands.” His Macy’s gig was very physical, a lot running around, climbing
ladders, and “hair is physical.” Working in the desert he also helped
owners design salons, using his previous skills, and preparing himself
for Halcyon.

The salon puts Mejia’s design skill, his eye for unity and detail, on
display. Light pine wood paneling, warm recessed downlighting, a simple
color scheme, and an inviting couch welcome visitors. Though
uncluttered, there are still lots of little touches, and much that
clients can take home; candles and holders, robes, pillows, and towels,
and of course hair products.

The workplace is an extension of his home environment, a home he calls
his “Halcyon House.” Beyond a palette of materials and colors, “It’s
more of a lifestyle, what I’m trying to do is reinforce the lifestyle
that I live. I put it into my work, I put it into my clients, my
products. It’s easy, its relaxed. It’s kind of non-temporal, it could
just as easily be 20 years ago as twenty years in the future. That’s my
approach to design.” His design services range from full renovations to
helping clients choose art or textiles to complete a vision. He helps
them sort through dizzying choices, “I’m very decisive.”

Mejia’s move to Idyllwild began with a celebrations. “During Covid,
summer of 2020, I was out of school, only doing design work. Salons kept
closing and opening up. I had just finished a project and I wanted to
celebrate. My husband said “I think there’s a town on top of the
mountain, I drove my motorcycle through it, like ten years ago. Maybe
it’s still there.” I was like “Yeah, no, there’s no town up there. I go
up the tram like three times a week, there’s just a restaurant at the
top.” I had no idea any of this was here. We made a bet, we drove up.
Sure enough, there is a whole town. Immediately, I picked up on the
creative energy. We came up three more times during that summer. The
final time, on my birthday in September, we spent the weekend, and on
the way home I decided. I said, “Just so you know, we’re buying a house
here.” I’m very tenacious, when I want something, I will make it
happen.” Byron grew up in Illinois and was a little hesitant to live in
snow again but notes that our winters are nothing like the Midwest’s.

Mejias is not just about aesthetics, he thinks about the people around
him. “Everything I do here is meant to drive connection to the
community…I want to uplift my community, to pour into it. I am a
Soroptimist, the first male [local] member.” Incoming Idyllwild
Soroptimist president Alex Cameron confirmed that the organization’s
membership is non-discriminatory and added that Mejia is “awesome.”

Design and philanthropy go together for Mejia. “I’m here, I want to be
here, I want this place to know that I care, and I want to serve the
people who don’t necessarily have a voice. There’s what we think of
Idyllwild, and there’s what Idyllwild actually is. I serve the real
Idyllwild.”

For more information visit: www.Hhalcyonbeautydesign.com