Danka Panka: Your 2 in 1 Hair Salon & Artisan Gift Shop

Danka Panka will be a store like none you've visited before.

One part hair salon, one part artisan gift shop, this unique business is the brain child of husband and wife team, Dana Menussi and Dan Sharp.

"We always had a dream to open a store," said Sharp on a recent morning at the future home of Danka Panka at 519 Court St. "We are consummate shoppers. We love the tactile experience of shopping."

Menussi and Sharp are veterans of the fashion world -- she is a photographer and he is a hair dresser. When they finally decided to take the plunge and open their own business, they each brought their own experiences and passions to the table.

The front half of the store will be Menussi's shop, where items both large and small, including jewelry, art and homewares, all from artists, will be sold.

"The goal is not to sell things that are super mass produced," said Sharp, adding that they will sell the work of artists "making stuff that we love."

In the back half of the store, Sharp, who first trained at Vidal Sassoon in Chicago, will cut hair for both men and women. Between each station there will be dividers or partitions, for privacy.

"If i'm in a hair salon I don't want people looking at me!" he said, laughing. "We'd like the place to be very relaxed."

And the prices will be comparable to other local salons, said Sharp.

While customers can either shop, or get their hair colored, the idea is they'll do both, said Sharp.

And what about the name, Danka Panka?

It's Menussi's mother's nickname for her daughter, Sharp said.

"After we'd already signed the lease, we thought, 'What are we gonna call it?'"

Then Menussi received an email from her mother in Israel, and Danka Panka was on the screen right in front of their faces.

Sharp and Menussi are in the process of moving their family from Windsor Terrace to Carroll Gardens, a neighborhood Sharp says they love.

"We decided it was really all about Carroll Gardens for us," he said. "We actively made the move to be here and we're super psyched."

"This part of Court Street is about to explode," he added.

Indeed, Kim Ima's at 521 Court St. later this summer. Danka Panka opens next month.

Sharp says he believes the neighborhood will enjoy and appreciate the shop.

"We're bringing our design aesthetic and lifestyle ideals to a neighborhood filled with people like us," he said.

The hope is for Danka Panka to be a community place, where people can shop and get their haircut, but also hang out on the large back deck, or have a coffee and a cupcake from Ima's business next door.

"This is about spending time in your community," he said. "We want our daughters to know their neighbors. This is important."