Last year, Riki Irie agreed to have her head shaved if a fundraising goal was met for a local infant diagnosed with brain cancer. In this photo she sees her shaved head for the first time at Salon Boheme in Astoria as supporters look on behind her.

Runner-up: Hygge Hair Company, Astoria

Honorable mention: Bellisima Salon and Boutique, Astoria

Salon Boheme (1055 Marine Drive) in Astoria is next door to LightBox Photographic Gallery and around the corner from Imogen Gallery. Those galleries exhibit paintings and photography; Salon Boheme is a gallery of fine hairstyling. It is also our readers’ choice for Best Hair Salon.

Kallie Linder’s aunt was a hairdresser, and she recalls visiting the salon. “I loved the smell, the sound, and the people.” By age 11 she had decided to be a hairdresser, too, and to own a salon. “I started right out of high school,” she said.

Linder has been a hairdresser since 1995, and she has owned Salon Boheme for more than 12 years. “I was tired of the status quo,” she said. “It was gossipy. It wasn’t taken seriously. But it’s a real career; you can make a difference. I wanted to empower other hairdressers.”

There are now 11 empowered women working in the spacious, high-ceilinged salon, and the ambience at Salon Boheme is unique. “I have been told by clients that they feel safe here, that they can talk here, and they know we don’t gossip,” she said.

Part of the empowerment is Linder’s belief that “education is the key.”

“We take classes in business, hair color, hair cutting, nails, lash extension, facial, aromatherapy, massage and ethics.”

Linder said the salon is very community-orientated: “We like to do things in the community.” Those things include food drives, toy drives and coat drives. The hairdressers of Salon Boheme fit wigs for cancer patients in cooperation with Columbia Memorial Hospital; they cut hair at Homeless Connect and adopt a family at Christmas.

The dream of an 11-year-old girl has become not only a successful business, but a part of the community and a resource for women, and those they serve have shown their enthusiasm with this award.