Charles Rose is the founder of Crate Cheshire, a barbershop and grooming brand with three salons and a VTCT training academy. Over the last five years, Charles has built a brand centred around the needs of the community, which has led to its extraordinary success. 

ELEVATING THE EXPERIENCE 

A barbershop has traditionally been a quick one stop shop for men’s cuts but I recognised that men were craving a better salon experience. On opening my first salon, we were hit with a lot of ‘not another hairdresser’ comments, but I was not disheartened and instead saw this as an opportunity to give the town something very special. I knew we were different and could offer a novel and innovative approach to gentleman’s hairdressing. We knew the needs of male clients were not being met and saw this as a great opportunity. 

I also knew that clients won’t move to a salon that looks and sounds like all the rest and so we had to offer a different experience, we had to offer a switch of pace, switch in energy and a different thought process. A process that led us to create an inclusive salon brand, which offers barbering for every gender, in a salon like environment with appointments and consultations for all of our services. 

LIFTING COMMUNITY SPIRITS…AND BEER AND WINE 

We wanted to create a true hub of the community while also supporting salon revenue. Because of this, we introduced a fully licensed bar to the salon. This is not only a great use of space, but a different element to the traditional salon model. 

We host regular events, including live music, DJ sets and guest artists and this has been a huge talking point within our salons and has really brought the community together. Clients love the opportunity to enjoy our bar area for a drink before or after their appointment, meeting up with family or friends or attending our live music events. We have created a great vibe in the salon. 

SHORT CHAT AND SIDES 

Prioritising the mental health and wellbeing of our team and the community, we have set up a mental health group called ‘Short Chat and Sides’ after completing mental health training with the Lions Barber Collective. Having the opportunity to give back to the community that supports us is a good feeling. As well as this, we regularly partner with local charities in order to provide free haircuts to the local homeless people and Ukrainian refugees. 

EDUCATING CHESHIRE 

During lockdown, I was able to reflect and think about the future of Crate Cheshire. I recognised that we, like the industry, were facing a recruitment crisis and I looked at ways we could address this. I decided to open a VTCT accredited Academy to create our own pipeline of talent and give local young people the opportunity to pursue a career in barbering. 

I mentored two members of my team to become qualified assessors and I trained as an IQA so that we can offer NVQ Level 2 qualifications and apprenticeships. Our academy was launched after the first lockdown and we started with offering four students an intense barbering course, resulting in an NVQ qualification. We were in a position at the end of the first course to offer some of those students employment. We have since gone on to train a further 10 students. 

HAIR IS HAIR 

We have over recent years been transitioning into gender neutral short hair specialists and have created a diverse and inclusive salon for all genders. I have hairdressers and barbers working together in my team and blending the two skills into one has been instinctive. As the demand from female clients for short hairstyling steadily increased, we understood we needed to adapt. My team enjoy the diversity that offering gender neutral styles and a gender neutral experience bring. The salons offer a safe place where my team and our clients love to be.