Residents voted the Renee Feldman Studio Evanston’s Best Salon for 2026. The Daily talked to the salon’s owner and a few regular clients about what makes the business a cut above the rest.
RUBY DOWLING: On a Friday morning in February, Evanston’s Ashland Arts business district is waking up. Birds chirp from leafless tree branches, cars hum by as they drive south on Green Bay Road and the Metra rumbles past.
Though the workday doesn’t start for a few hours yet, the lights are already on in 7th Ward Resident Renee Feldman’s eponymous hair and nail salon, voted Best Salon for The Daily’s 2026 edition of Best of Evanston. The Renee Feldman Studio inhabits a renovated attorney’s office, and while some parts of the old space — like the north-facing exposed brick wall the salon’s mirrors now hang on — remain the same, it is otherwise transformed into a boutiquey, four-station salon.
RENEE FELDMAN: I’ve been in Evanston for 14 years. I moved here when my kids were six months old, and I opened the salon as — it was sort of my “COVID pivot,” where I was doing backyard haircuts for families because people were scared to leave the house. And before vaccines, people weren’t really leaving the community, so I was cutting everyone’s hair in their backyard. I built a clientele pretty quickly, and one thing led to another and I ended up buying this lovely building.
RUBY DOWLING: Though the Renee Feldman Studio is a post-COVID-19 addition to Evanston’s small business ecosystem, its owner is no stranger to the hairdressing business. She has over 25 years of hairdressing experience, and operated a location — then called the Renee Feldman Salon — in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood before downsizing and relocating post-pandemic.
Now, Feldman’s ties to Evanston extend beyond her residency. Clients like salon regular, lifelong 7th Ward resident Michael Cassidy come to her not only seeking her expertise, but also the welcoming sense of community her studio provides.
MICHAEL CASSIDY: I met Renee because her twin daughters and my youngest daughter went to the same elementary school. And so we really started kind of more from a community perspective.
The thing about Renee, and maybe I’m spoiled at this, and maybe her clients see it the same way, but she and her team get a chance to know and meet us. And so, right now, in this discussion, I’ve kind of got my hair slicked back for work, and a tie on, but usually my hair is kind of wild. And so I like how Renee has found a way to style my hair to my personality, which is not an easy thing to do.
RUBY DOWLING: In addition to standard salon services like men’s and women’s haircut and color, the Renee Feldman Studio recently expanded its offerings to include manicures and pedicures. While the expansion — run by the Salon’s nail technician, Liz Mier — has been a great success, Feldman says she has no plans at this time to grow her business further.
RENEE FELDMAN: I’ve been in business for a really long time, and I understand and respect what it means to grow a business. And for the first time ever in my life, I am staying the size that I am.
It’s definitely a choice. I don’t want to take on more than I can handle, and right now I’m really happy with the size of my business.
RUBY DOWLING: Feldman also serves on Evanston’s Economic Development Committee. Her clients cited her dedication to building community, whether through her volunteer work for the city or the atmosphere in the salon, as a driving force of their patronage.
SACHA KRASNEY: Renee and Liz are just so fun to be with too, as people. I like having conversations with them, and we often laugh a lot. It’s a really good experience. Plus, I love my hair, and Renee really listens to what you’re looking for.
RUBY DOWLING: That was Sacha Krasney, a 5th Ward resident and regular client of the Renee Feldman Studio since a friend referred her just over a year ago. She said Feldman helped her commit to the transition from bleaching her hair blonde back to her natural color.
SACHA KRASNEY: Well, I wanted to do the transition, but I was really nervous. I’d been going blonde for about six years, and I loved it, but my hair was totally drying out and not very healthy.
So I was really nervous, but, you know, it actually turned out so great, and I’ve loved it.
And she really listens to you when you’re talking about what you do and don’t like. So it was much easier than I expected.
[music]
RUBY DOWLING: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Ruby Dowling. This is a special story for Best of Evanston, highlighting the winner of the “Best Salon” category. This episode was reported and produced by me, Ruby Dowling
The Audio Editor is also me, Ruby Dowling. The Multimedia Managing Editors are Femi Horrall, Yong-Yu Huang and Jonah McClure. The Editor in Chief is Emily Lichty.
Follow us on X and Instagram @thedailynu.
Email: [email protected]
X: @rubywright0
Related Stories:
— Best Salon: Renee Feldman Studio’s community focus makes it a cut above the rest
— Father-son duo brings haircuts, community to new Skokie barbershop
