A Perth hair salon frequented by local Olympic gold medallist Eve Muirhead has proved it is also a curling star after clinching a Best New Hair Salon award.
F&K Hair Lounge on Auld Bond Road received the prestigious accolade at the Scotlands Business Awards - one of the biggest business competitions in the country.
Owner Glen Fettes and his team attended the glamorous awards ceremony in person, held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Glasgow at the end of last month.
The team were nominated for their outstanding service by members of the public before the awards group sent a secret shopper to the salon to try the gold standard treatment for themselves.
The local salon adds the national recognition to their Best New Hair Salon Award won at the Perth and Kinross Business Awards, held at Huntingtower Hotel near Perth in November.
The win outlines the hard work from Glen and his team who opened three years ago this month, with the majority of its operating time under the cloud of COVID restrictions and lockdowns.
But a delighted Glen said his team were ecstatic when their salon’s name was announced as the winner.
“They were absolutely buzzing,” he said.
“Leah didn’t think we would win it but I just had a feeling we would.
“The last couple of years there is not an awful lot of team bonding things, so it is nice to get out with them again.
“I think what made it even better is that I have had so much history in that ceremony room in the way of competitions.
“In the past I have won things in there and lost things in there so it is quite nice to go back in and win.”
He added: “We only had a year of a run at it before COVID hit.
“Then through COVID we all had to get jobs elsewhere and that is when I had to work at a slaughterhouse.
“So everybody on the team has pulled together to make that happen and I am really chuffed with that.
“Well done to the team.”
Glen said his salon is enjoying a fruitful period since restrictions lifted.
“I am busy all the time. I am booked for six weeks constantly,” he added.
“You do go into Perth and there is a hardship there so when people are spending their money you have to make sure they are enjoying it.
“If people are giving their hard-earned cash to you, make it worthwhile to them.
“That is what I am reiterating to my team constantly.
“They have got to walk out of here buzzing and that is the most important thing to me. That is what gives us that edge and there is a lot of competition out there now.”
And the award-winning salon owner also got to celebrate with a medal round his neck when Blair Atholl’s Winter Olympic curling champion Eve Muirhead visited for a snip.
He said: “We had Eve Muirhead in recently and it was the second time she has been in since she came back.
“She gets her hair done every couple weeks or so.
“It is some medal she has got by the way.
“I have got a few pictures of her in the salon with her and her medal.
“And too right I got to try it on! It has some weight on it!”
