The Story Behind
Jeff Eggert, Founder
I didn’t come from this industry. But the thing I came here to build had nothing to do with hair.
Before opening 1924, I spent nearly three decades in senior leadership with premium brands like Snap-on Tools and Reynolds Packaging. I managed teams, ran operations, and had a front-row seat to what separates good organizations from genuinely great ones.
The answer was never a strategy or a system. It was always the environment — whether talented people felt supported, challenged, and valued. Those workplaces were uncommon. But when they existed, people showed up differently. They cared more. They stayed longer. The work was better.
That’s what I set out to build when my wife Cathy and I founded 1924 in 2015 — then known as 18|8 Fine Men’s Salon, before we rebranded in 2023.
I wasn’t looking to open just another salon. I wanted to build a place where skilled professionals could do their best work and build careers worth being proud of.
Cathy brought something equally important to this business. As a nurse, she thinks in terms of genuine care — attentiveness, empathy, seeing the person in front of you. Her mother spent more than 50 years as a hairstylist, so the idea of building real, lasting relationships with clients wasn’t abstract to her. It was something she grew up watching.
Together, we built 1924 around a belief that the client experience begins with the team. When people feel supported and genuinely valued, clients feel the difference the moment they walk in.
WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN PRACTICE
Servant leadership
My job is to remove obstacles, not create them.
High standards, no ego
We hold each other to excellence — with respect.
Real investment in people
We coach, teach, and make space for careers to grow.
Culture by design
The right environment doesn’t happen by accident.
Nothing makes me prouder than watching someone on our team buy a home, start a family, or grow into work they find genuinely meaningful. That’s what this is for.
If any of that resonates — whether you’re someone considering 1924 for the first time or a professional thinking about what the next chapter of your career looks like — I hope this gives you a real sense of who we are and what we’re building here.
For the clients who’ve trusted us over the years: that same care is what you feel every time you’re in our chair. The two things have never been separate.
Visit Us in Barrington, Illinois
1924 Fine Men’s Salon is located in Barrington, Illinois, and proudly serves clients from throughout the northwest suburbs — including Lake Zurich, South Barrington, Inverness, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Cary, Crystal Lake, and surrounding communities.
If you’re ready for a grooming experience that’s been built around you, we’d be honored to earn your chair.
