The H-factor (From The Northern Echo)

The H-factor

10:52am Friday 19th March 2010 in

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In its first two years, Hobson & Holmes has become an award-winning business with a growing reputation. Deborah Johnson visits the Darlington salon and meets founder Andrew Hobson.

IT’S the first thing you notice when you step inside. It’s hard to miss. Some may say it’s garish, others that it’s beautiful, but the wallpaper is undeniably striking. The sea of female faces set against a deep maroon backdrop has become such a talking point it’s almost come to define Hobson & Holmes, and leaves you in no doubt that you’ve entered a salon that dares to be different.

The brave choice of design speaks volumes about the salon, on Darlington’s West Park, and tells you that attention to detail and standing out from the crowd are all-important.

It’s a theme that’s continued throughout – the vibrating chairs at the sinks, tea served in funky Villeroy and Boch mugs...

And that difference has definitely not gone unnoticed. From its location on the outskirts of Darlington, it attracts clients from the length and breadth of the North-East, and the waiting list for an appointment can be extensive. If you want a consultation with creative director and co-owner Nick Holmes, you can expect to wait six weeks.

Aside from the endorsement of having a large and loyal client base barely two years after it was opened in November 2007, the awards have been plentiful.

In its first year, the business won the Young Entrepreneur and overall Best New Business accolades at the Tees Valley Best New Business Awards, and last year came second out of 1,000 entrants in the British Hairdressing Awards’ best new salon category.

Hobson & Holmes’ product range also reflects the esteem in which it is already held. As well as using staple products from brands including Dermalogica, the salon has been hand-picked by New York-based Bumble and Bumble to be the only stockist of its products in the North-East.

The concept of a salon was initially Andrew’s idea, and after moving to West Park, he met hairdresser Nick, who had a strong reputation through working at Saks managing the group’s salons in Darlington and Hexham. Andrew is the business brain of the operation, and all things creative are left to Nick: it’s a partnership that works well.

“It was very scary starting a business, but thankfully we did, and everything gelled, and now we’re seeing the rewards,” says Andrew.

After spending an afternoon at Hobson & Holmes, I did find it hard to find any complaints. The staff, perhaps unusually for a bustling salon, are all particularly friendly.

My first appointment was for a Dermalogica face treatment, which lasted for an hour and 15 minutes. The salon’s treatment rooms are spacious and nicely designed, and therapist Sarah explained the procedure thoroughly before she started.

The attention and excellent service I was given during my visit to Hobson & Holmes is key in making and maintaining the reputation it has deservedly built up, and after such excellent feedback during its two years in business, Andrew admits expansion of the brand may not be too far away.

In the longer term, franchising the brand will be something they will be looking at. “We want to be able to give the opportunity to existing staff to help establish the franchises, and help us develop the business and take it forward,” says Andrew.

“Everything has gone well so far, and long may it continue. We’ve got a great client base and our reputation is very strong already, which does make us confident in what lies ahead.”

And with such an elegant salon and dynamic attitude, Hobson & Holmes have every reason to be.

■ Hobson & Holmes, 6 Tillage Green, West Park, Darlington, DL2 2GL.

Tel: 01325-350727.

hobsonandholmes.co.uk

From empty space to creative marketplace

ASHOP set to revolutionise the way we feed our consumer appetites has “popped up” to help reinvigorate a town centre. The Designers’ Marketplace has moved into an empty unit in Middlesbrough for just two months, selling an array of rapidly-changing stock.

The “pop-up shop”, opposite the town hall, will showcase the cream of creative talent from across the region and beyond. The ability to rent space in the unit a week at a time has attracted established names from across the country who will set out their stalls alongside fledgling designers.

The eclectic mix of jewellery, textiles, clothing, revamped furniture, art, and accessories is the brainchild of Helen Stevens who graduated in textiles and surface design from Cleveland College of Art and Design in 2002.

After launching Chicadee, her ownlabel offering original screen print designs, the 29-year-old from Nunthorpe, in Middlesbrough, decided to set up a creative group for people who wanted to promote their talents in the North-East. Helen lectured at the college for six years before leaving her job at the end of last year to devote all her time to her new venture.

The Designers’ Marketplace, which has held several one-off fairs across the region, is now giving its sellers an ever bigger shop window, supported by Middlesbrough Council “For people who don’t want to, or are unable to move away from home this has given them the opportunity to set up a business and pursue their creativity in the region,” she says.

“When you leave college or university and start a business there is a feeling that you have to move away to make a success of it. I created the Designers’ Marketplace as a platform for people in the area to get themselves out there.

Running alongside the shop is an exhibition space with a changing timetable. Former students can have their portfolios of work sold for them until Saturday, April 24, and several artists will be in residence until the end of April.

The “pop-up” shop movement is one of the ways being used to breathe life back into desolate high streets which have suffered from credit crunch and internet shopping.

The decline of Britain’s high streets has resulted in one in five shops standing empty across town centres in the North-East. The North-East has been particularly badly hit at 14 per cent with Middlesbrough ranked at 20.1 per cent, Stockton at 19.18 per cent, Newcastle at 16.66 per cent, Redcar at 15.95 per cent, Bishop Auckland at 12.44 per cent, Darlington at 12.34 per cent, Durham City at 11.05 per cent and Northallerton at 4.45 per cent.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, says: “Brits now do a lot more shopping over the web, so we’re seeing a fundamental reshaping of high streets. The next government will need to balance cuts in spending with ideas for reinvigorating regions that have suffered from years of under-investment. We must encourage councils to make it easier for people to convert shops and people must accept that we won’t go back to the high streets of yesteryear.”

“This is exactly the type of shop we hoped to see opening when we joined the innovative We Are Open movement to make use of empty shops,”

says Councillor Dave Budd, Executive Member for Regeneration and Economic Development at Middlesbrough Council. “Projects such as this help support the creative industries and bring some of the void buildings in Middlesbrough back to life.”

■ The Designer Marketplace, 95 to 97 Albert Road, Middlesbrough, is open Monday 12pm to 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm.