A new barber shop has opened in the middle of a side street in the city centre. Meta Barbers has taken over an empty property in Hounds Gate, transforming it into a new stylish salon.
The shop was formerly the Peppers Hairdressing salon which was placed on the market earlier this year. It is unclear how long the business had been vacant prior to this with some locals suggesting it may have been closed for two years.
Michal 'Mikey' Wojtysiak from The Meadows is the founder of Meta Barbers. After a long career in hairdressing, it was a long-term dream to open his own barbershop. Mikey moved to Nottingham eight years ago from Poland.
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"I've been working in the city centre for about eight years now. I was a manager for four years then I moved to my friend's shop but I always wanted to have a barbershop here. I've always loved the city," he said.
"I've been looking for a really nice place in town then I found Pepper's salon. I saw an article in the Nottingham Post which is actually when I found the place. This is exactly the place I was looking for as it's an old school building which I wanted that sort of style but with a modern fresh twist."
The shop which was a dark green has been given a stylish makeover in navy blue with white lettering. The decor is also navy with brown leather sofas and bright circular white lights with plants dotted on the shop floor. The extensive work on the interior started in November with most of the interior needing to be ripped out and reworked.
Mikey highlighted that while the salon was kitted out with many hairdressing features, he worked tirelessly for three months to prepare it. Although he did opt to keep some of the traditional styling features such as the wooden panels.
"When I got the keys, everything was exactly as Peppers looked like before so I agreed with the landlord that I could renovate it exactly as I wanted. So we started building to the idea I had in my mind and I did it all from scratch over exactly over three months."
He added: "The only thing I left was the wooden panels on the walls. I really liked them and it matched the style that I have now. I didn't want to destroy everything when I started as the place had a really good vibe before."
Meta opened in early December and joins a number of small businesses on the street including Effy Coffee Shop and Silver Lining ear piercing. There is also Wraps and Wings takeaway and restaurant and Biscuit and Brew tea house on the same street.
The street is just off Wheeler Gate which is undergoing a transformation that it is hoped will bring more footfall into the area. Several shops have been renovated and restored to their former glory with the hopes of new businesses taking over and bringing life back into the city centre street. This could mean that there is an increase in shoppers who may venture onto Hounds Gate.
For now, it's just Mikey working in the salon but he hopes that, eventually, he will be able to bring new barbers into the business. Although he is conscious that this may have to wait until after Christmas as it's a notoriously difficult time of the year for recruitment.
"At the moment, I'm just working by myself but I will definitely look for more barbers as I have three more chairs. In the future, I can expand it to six or more if things go well. But it's a difficult moment to look for people because if you want good barbers then they are all fully booked," he explained.
"No one wants to move to a new place at this time of year. It can take a long time to let your clients know where you are moving to. This is why I decided to start working by myself and then start to look for another person or two."
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