Unfortunately, due to the increased levels of transmission of Covid-19 throughout England, more areas have been placed into Tier 4 restrictions, meaning that more barbershops have unfortunately been forced to close as we welcome the new year.
In an announcement made on 30th December, the UK Government Health Secretary Matt Hancock advised that the entire South-East, large parts of the Midlands, North-East and South West would move into the higher Tier, thus forcing closure of all close contact service businesses.
The full list of locations in Tier 4 can be located here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/full-list-of-local-restriction-tiers-by-area
We hope everyone in the affected areas stays safe and hopefully can successfully return to work and reopen their businesses as soon as possible.
A barber from Giffnock, Scotland, went above and beyond for his clients, by opening his shop on Christmas Day.
Tony Mann’s Barber Shop opened up on December 25th, in order to provide clients the opportunity to get a haircut, prior to the impending Scotland-wide lockdown, which meant that all barbershops would require to close as of Boxing Day.
Owner Tony Mann commented, “I wanted to ensure all my loyal customers looked sharp for the next three weeks,” he said. “They have been good to us since we reopened earlier this year, so it’s one way for me to give back. Christmas Day was really the last day that they can get a haircut. We had a lot of people coming in – those who celebrate Christmas and those who don’t. It was humbling to see them before we shut.”
All barbershops in Scotland have now closed due to the ongoing Covid restrictions, with a minimum closure period of three weeks, subject to review in due course.
Following a recent spike in Covid-19 infection rates, the Prime Minister has announced a new ‘Tier 4’ for London and parts of the South East and the East of England.
This will come into force from Sunday 20th December.
Barbershops, salons and beauty parlours can continue to stay open in all Tiers 1-3 elsewhere in England.
In Northern Ireland, all close contact businesses must close on Boxing Day – for what will be a 6-week long lockdown, subject to a review after 4-weeks.
In Wales, all close contact businesses will shut on December 19th as part of a level 4 lockdown which will be reviewed in three weeks.
In Scotland, all beauty salons, hairdressers and barbers must close for three weeks from Boxing Day.
These are concerning times for all barbershops and beauty salons throughout the UK, our thoughts are with each and every one of you at this difficult and challenging time.
Without question one of our most random news stories in 2020, is that McDonald’s in Sweden have opened a barbershop offering one specific cut, the 90’s inspired ‘Golden M’ haircut.
We know it’s a bit of an advertising stunt with a difference, as the so called ‘Golden M’ haircut is essentially a center part, or ‘curtains’ as our team knew from the 90’s… but McDonald’s Sweden allege that the cut is similar to the fast food chain’s famous Golden Arches logo. Who are we to disagree?
Influencer hairstylist Adam Lukacs provided virtual haircut lessons to those fortunate enough to book in digital appointments. Ensuring that ‘clients’ can confirm that they do indeed have the ‘Golden M’ haircut perfected.
Those who took a virtual session, were not only treated to some 90’s inspired haircut lessons, but also, and perhaps most importantly, were treated to a complimentary Big Mac – should their haircuts pass the McDonald’s Golden M Detector digital app.
The Vocational Training Charitable Trust (VTCT) have appointed a new Chair and Vice-Chair for their board of trustees.
Jenny Sworder is the new Chair, following 7 years as a trustee on the board and also previously being the Vice-Chair. Jenny has extensive experience in the Beauty and Retail Industry (over 20 years) with the likes of Fenwick’s stores, the Fragrance Foundation UK and the Cosmetics Executive Women UK.
She takes over from Professor Dr Chris Laws, who is retiring after 10 dedicated years of voluntary service as both a trustee and Chair to VTCT.
On taking up the new role, Jenny said, “I am delighted to take forward the great work that Chris has done for VTCT, over the past ten years. During this time he has helped to steer VTCT to being the wonderful organisation it is today. I look forward to further building upon this and tackling the new challenges within vocational and technical education, ensuring that learners remain at the heart of what we do as a modern and progressive Awarding Organisation.”
Jenny will be joined by Isabel Sutcliffe, the new Vice-Chair of VTCT. We wish them both the very best of luck in the new roles!
Despite the ongoing pandemic causing many high street businesses to close their doors, MR. Barbers has continued to grow from strength to strength. MR. Barbers new finance package offers existing barbershops a complete rebrand and refurbishment package with no upfront fee and monthly repayments of under £300 per month.
This is creating opportunities for barbershops that are struggling to make headway, to come onboard with the MR. family and start afresh. With ongoing support, a brand-new shop fit including chairs, as well as a website, booking app and marketing and social media presence, they do all the hard work to get your shop the recognition and presence it deserves.
Of course, the virus has had its impact on the brand, but the company has looked to set itself apart from the competition by making it the safest place in each town to get your hair cut. With a strict COVID hygiene policies and staff training in place, every haircut continues to reach the high standards expected with the business, whilst delivering it in a completely safe way.
MR. Barbers have three more shops opening over the next 2 months. Shop number 29, MR. Halesowen is opening its doors on December the 5th, shortly followed by MR. Woodbridge opening on the 7th of December. MR. Huntingdon will follow closely behind opening early in the New Year.
The effects of the pandemic are not just physical, people are struggling, and times are hard. MR. Barbers Halesowen is donating all proceeds from their grand opening on December 12th to the Black Country Foodbank. At a time like this, it is now more important than ever to give back to those in need.
In 2019/20 approximately 1.9 million people have used a foodbank in the United Kingdom, around 300,000 more than the previous year. If this wasn’t enough of a strain, new analytics have forecasted a 61% increase in the use of foodbanks in October to December alone. The pressure on foodbanks is immense. Black Country Foodbank is a local charity to Halesowen that helps vulnerable individuals and families in crisis. They provide people with 3 days’ worth of emergency food supplies while a longer solution is developed. This service provides relief and help to those in need at a very difficult time.
British Master Barbers, the alliance created to help qualified and highly skilled barbers across the UK showcase their talent, has selected and announced their finalists for the 2020 Barber of the Year award. There were 118 entrants, whittled down to a final 10 – and the judges will have a very difficult decision to make!
The finalists are: Allan Stone, Baldy, Corneliu Crihan, David Logue, Grant Hackett, Lee Dixon, Mercedes Paginton, Paul Mac, Sarrelle McCann and Shaun Buckingham.
We wish every finalist the very bets of luck for this prestigious competition!
There is some much-needed light relief to be had with Fudge Professional’s second social media miniseries called ‘In Near the Chair’. The YouTube show is hosted by Fudge Professional Global Brand Ambassador, Jonathan Andrews, and the series was created to explore the relationship between a hairdresser and their client.
“Our first episode with Jamie Laing was a great success and when we launched it at the beginning of lockdown, it went down really well. This episode is continuing the theme about the hairdresser and client relationship and once you sit down in that chair, all caution is out the window, and you end up spilling all your secrets, hopes, fears and dreams to the stylist through the mirror in front of you. This time, I’m cutting the hair of TOWIE legend, Pete Wicks and once again, creating excellent TV watching,” explains Jonathan.
The Fudge Professional series of ‘In the Chair’ is all about putting famous faces in the hot seat and asking the questions the public wants to know the answers to – this time Pete Wicks is the man in the chair. “Pete is renowned for his long hair. He hadn’t had it cut for 10 months and it wasn’t really his crowning glory anymore. It was definitely time to tackle it with the scissors,” continues Jonathan.
Creating that tousled look that Pete wears so well takes a little bit of work using the right products to create the natural style that he loves. This was the perfect time for Jonathan to explain to Pete exactly how to use Fudge Professional products in the right way to keep his hair in great condition and sitting exactly how he likes it both during the day and into the evening.
The 20-minute filmed interview was shot in Covid secure conditions that meant not only did the guys don full PPE (Pete was not chuffed with the hazmat suit), but Pete was encouraged to style his own hair using Fudge Professional products. The interview is brilliant viewing with lots of focus on Pete’s serial dating love life, a nod to his new knee-high cowboy boots, his number one fan (spoiler alert… it’s his Mum) how his long hair was a fingers up to those telling him his hair was receding, and that social media haters don’t phase him one bit.
As part of the new ‘Fudge the Rules’ brand ethos, where whatever the world does, Fudge does differently, Pete certainly steps up to the plate with his chequered past and workaholic mindset. “Pete was so easy to chat to, and it was great he was up for a real hair change. I took off six inches and it took him back to his early days on TOWIE, even he admitted the health and feel of his hair was so much better. He dubbed it Preppy Pete! Due to social distancing and filming, plus Pete’s admittance he has no clue how to style his hair, I decided to get Pete to do his own styling, so he knew how to do it at home. We worked with his favourite Fudge Professional Salt Spray and I also introduced him to the new Fudge Professional Matte Hed Mouldable to work with his natural curls and texture,” says Jonathan.
The last word went to Pete in the video: “I’ll be honest, when I came in this morning, I wasn’t feeling too chirpy. I didn’t really trust you (Jonathan) and then you put me in a hazmat suit! It was all looking like a car crash. I’m now sitting here, and I’ve got the perfect hair, using the perfect product, with the perfect hairdresser.” You can’t ask for more than that.
Just two weeks after launching the first business in the Art.Quarter complex, Art.Barbers have had to close its doors until December 2nd following the government’s latest lockdown measures.
After putting years of work into creating not only an iconic venue for Birmingham but the whole of the UK, Jordan Patel opens up raw and uncut in his latest video update, sharing his true worries and fears about the impact Lockdown 2.0 is going to have on his brand.
This video captures the true, intense, and raw feelings of Patel as he transparently discusses his next steps to the Art.Quarter build and how his faith and positivity is his coping mechanism during these unpredictable and testing times.
Art.Quarter is set to become a UK tourist destination as well as a true icon for Birmingham. Promising a safe place for all communities and encouraging creatives, Jordan is building this unique venue to create unity and equality in a city that he feels, still very much suffers from segmentation with backgrounds and religions.
The latest vlog can be viewed below.
Set to launch Spring 2021, the Art.Quarter will be first of it’s kind.
Please visit: https://www.artquarteruk.co.uk for more details.
Normally there’s a real sense of excitement and anticipation as we collect (and launch) each new edition of BarberEVO.
It’s the culmination of all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears – not just from our team producing the publication, but more importantly, from the people we feature, those we are inspired by, and those who provide insight and guidance for so many in the industry.
Our November edition was to be no different.
However, with the tragic news of the passing of our friend Sam Wall, we hope that this edition, which features Sam and several of his closest friends and industry peers doing what they do best, can in some small way, provide the kind of fitting tribute that Sam deserves.
