Service Person of the Week

Curls are more than a career for Daragh Childs Edens, it's a way of life. Born with a mane of rambunctious red ringlets, she makes it her mission to help others tame their curly locks as a stylist at Lauthr Salon in Petaluma.

"I'm the queen of long, thick, crazy hair. I think we draw to us what we are," she laughs. Edens was selected as this week's Service Person of the Week.

Born and raised in Novato, Edens has been doing hair her whole life, beginning with her own curls before she became a certified stylist. She has worked in Petaluma salons the past eight years, and her customers follow her wherever she lays her scissors. It is the customers who keep Edens coming back to work.

"It's so fun, they really are my friends," she says. "Every six or eight weeks, when they come in, you get to dive back into their lives and catch up with them."

A psychology major in college, Edens has always been fascinated by people. Her salon chair is a place where customers share their highs and lows of life, not unlike a shrink's couch. Most walk away feeling uplifted.

"She makes her clients feel like a million bucks, from her first words of greeting to the finished results," said longtime customer Lynn Schnitzer. "Most of my friends who have curly hair are Daragh's clients, and we all just love her."

When she's not shaping hair, Edens likes to travel with her 11-year-old son, Shamus, and her two Australian shepherds, Jezebel Barbara and Liberty Gertrude.

Edens was nominated for Service Person of the Week along with Susie Betts of Sonoma Portworks and the Petaluma Visitor's Center, Alexis Collins of IHOP, Namiko Morales of Acre Coffee and LeRoy Hairston of Hallie's Diner. It is now up to the readers to decide who will take the title of Service Person of the Year. Voting will open on Feb. 27 at petaluma360.com. The winner will be named in the Argus-Courier and recognized at the 2014 Petaluma Community Awards of Excellence on March 27.