STLO Barber Studio in Northlake, Wānaka is built around a deliberately simple idea: slow down, take one client at a time, and do the cut properly. The name — pronounced es-tee-lo — comes from the Spanish word estilo, meaning style, though the studio reads it its own way: less about trends, more about how a cut feels, how it grows out, and how well it fits you.
Behind the chair is a barber who trained in Spain and spent years cutting across the UK and Dunedin before landing in Wānaka. The booking model carries that experience: you choose a time, not a type, with 30, 45 or 60 minute slots depending on the cut, the detail involved, or how long it's been. No tiers, no rushed jobs, no double bookings — one slot, one cut at a time.
Services cover haircuts, shaves, beards and skin care, each tailored rather than templated — a tidy-up, a fresh fade, or a full cut and beard trim. STLO also comes to you for shoots, weddings, events and group sessions, with custom wedding packages available for every budget.
STLO Barber Studio sits at 2/64 Mount Linton Avenue in Northlake, Wānaka, and it runs on a deliberately simple idea: slow down, take one client at a time, and do the cut properly. In a town that lives at the pace of the mountains around it, the studio has built its whole way of working around that same rhythm.
The name sets the tone. STLO — pronounced es-tee-lo — comes from the Spanish word estilo, meaning style. But as the studio is quick to explain, this isn't about trends. It's about how a cut feels, how it grows out over the weeks that follow, and how well it fits the person wearing it.
The barber behind STLO started out in Spain, then spent years cutting across the UK and Dunedin before landing in Wānaka, where the studio took shape. That path shows up in how the place works: everything at STLO is done with intention, and the setup exists precisely to slow things down.
The clearest expression of that is the booking model. At STLO you choose a time, not a type. Appointments run in 30, 45 or 60 minute slots, depending on the cut, the detail involved, or how long it's been since your last visit. There are no tiers of service, no double bookings and no rushed jobs — one slot, one cut at a time, with no short cuts.
For clients, that translates into a haircut that isn't hurried at the edges: time for the detail work, and a result meant to still look right weeks later. The studio's stated aim is cuts that grow out well, feel intentional and make you feel like you.
The service list covers the core of good barbering: haircuts, shaves, beards and skin care, with every service tailored rather than templated. A tidy-up between full cuts, a fresh fade, or a complete cut and beard trim — the slot you book is the time you get, and the work is shaped to your hair rather than to a fixed formula. Skin care rounds out the list, treated with the same tailored approach.
That tailoring extends past the chair, too. Got something a little different in mind — a shoot, a wedding, a group that all needs sorting at once? STLO packs up and comes to you, with the gear and experience to bring the studio along. Custom wedding packages are available for every budget, and anyone wondering whether their event fits is invited simply to reach out and ask.
The studio is easy to picture: glass doors with a black STLO sign above, and — on a clear Wānaka day — snow-capped mountains reflected in the entrance. Inside, it's a compact, considered space with barber chairs set against simple shelving and cabinetry, built around focusing on the person in the seat rather than a queue outside. There is no queue; that's the point.
STLO Barber Studio is at 2/64 Mount Linton Avenue, Northlake, Wānaka 9382. Questions before booking are welcomed — whether it's about a regular cut, an event or a group session, the studio describes itself as always keen to chat. Reach out by email at [email protected] or by phone on 022 189 0216, and follow along on Instagram and Facebook for what's happening in the chair.
For anyone in Wānaka after a haircut treated as craft rather than conveyor belt — cut by a barber who trained in Spain and worked across the UK and Dunedin — STLO is the rare studio where the clock is on your side.