Setting the Stage for Beauty at Phagans New Clackamas School

Phagans’ Clackamas campus was designed with a movable wall that reveals an elevated stage for student training, hair and beauty shows, and special events. Rolling salon stations can be moved aside to transform the everyday student salon into a flexible event space.

Originally published in 2010 as the campus prepared to open, this article looks back at how the stage was incorporated into the school’s design to showcase student creativity and support hands-on education.

These rolling salon stations, which are at the construction site for the new salon, can be pushed out of the way to make room in front of the new stage at the new Clackamas campus.

The school administrators knew they wanted something special in this new space that would epitomize the way they felt about their students. So the designers included a hidden gem – a stage to highlight the rising stars of cosmetology who graduate from Phagans.

On a regular day in the salon, no one would be able to tell that there among the scissors and mirrors is a full-on stage. But when it is time for select training or special events, the movable wall slides back to reveal an elevated platform, the first stage of its kind at a Phagans school.

The stage was designed as a training platform for students and as a runway for special events such as beauty and hair shows. Since the salon stations occupy the space in front of the stage, we put them on wheels so they could be easily moved to make more room for shows. Hosting events at the new location was intended as a way to give back to the community and help students share their artistic talents.

Today, the Clackamas campus continues to serve students and student-salon guests in Happy Valley. Explore the Clackamas location to learn more about the campus, programs, and student salon.