A new stylist has joined the Orcas salon community.

Emily Lorsung, who has been a hairdresser for 12 years, is now providing services at Mandy’s Hair Haven in Eastsound. She and her family moved to the island this past October, and they have never looked back.

“We will do whatever we can to stay here,” she said.

Lorsung welcomes clients of all ages and offers coloring, cuts and waxing five days a week. Call 360-553-HAIR or 360-376-7376 to book an appointment.

Lorsung moved with her husband Jimmy and their kids Dora, 7, and Levi, 4, from Phoenix, Arizona. When Jimmy, who is a construction worker, decided that laboring in the hot sun was becoming too much, the couple decided to make a change.

They settled on Bend, Oregon, but when researching jobs, the first one that popped up was at West Beach on Orcas.

The couple sold their home and within one month were full-time island residents. In her spare time, Emily likes to hike and be outside.

In early April she helped Orcas High School student Ame Exton with her Locks of Love senior project. Eight island women donated a total of 90 inches of their hair to help cancer patients.

“I was that weird teenager who hated my curly hair – and was always at war with it trying to change it, therefore – always cutting straightening and coloring going through every hair style in the book. So eventually I just grew to love it, and was addicted to it,” Emily said about why she chose hairstyling as her profession.