Since 2018, Jacob Davey and Christian Parfitt have been running Jacob’s Park Street in Bristol, where they have aimed to offer a service far beyond that of your average barbershop.
Delivering both haircuts and second-hand clothes, the duo wanted to use Jacob’s as a platform to further push their passion for style and sustainability. They first began the venture in Somerset, where Christian and Jacob previously owned several other barbershops, but since settling in Bristol they decided to continue utilising their business for greater initiatives.
That is why they have started to offer free haircuts on Wednesdays, as part of their latest apprenticeship scheme. They believe it will serve as a great advantage for both the public and their colleagues in training.
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Jacob said: “We take on apprentices in our shop and it is a scheme for them to train and for those who can’t afford a haircut or don't like paying the normal prices. It’s for anyone that wants to generally help our young trainees learn and progress in their career- it’s a great opportunity.
“We have trainees coming up and the more trainees we get in the future, there'll be more opportunities, not just on a certain day, but also an option on our website that people can book in for a free haircut that is supervised by a member of staff.”
Jacob states that through his own journey navigating the industry and ultimately progressing his way to the top of the managerial ladder, he is optimistic that through consistency and hard work, his trainees can enhance their skills through applying their learning in real life.
He said: “For someone like myself who started off in the industry being an apprentice, the fastest and best you are going to learn in this sort of practical industry is by simply being practical and hands on.
“You need the experience and you need to get the haircuts to progress, while dealing with customers not just in a way of just cutting hair, but also how to speak and interact with clients. There are loads of ways that this will benefit our students.”
With the scheme taking off earlier this year, Jacob has emphasised that the company has implemented necessary precautions before every free haircut. He said: “Our barbers, before they cut hair for the public, are given training through our hair models or from book work where we set the basics on what to do.
“When the guys start cutting hair for the public, they already are supervised and pre-planned so we can train on how to cut the hair requested in advance. When a customer books a haircut online, they’ll give a brief description on what they want and we’ll do a consultation with the client when they come in store, so we can find out exactly what it is they want to get.
“Then, the haircut itself will be supervised by a qualified member of our team the whole way through to give the customer security, but also the barber more comfortable. We hope by this, we can offer members of the public the best service we can.”
Jacob stated that since the scheme’s launch, it has been lauded with ‘really good reception’, which has motivated the team to provide additional opportunities for young apprentices to learn in the best ways necessary for the career paths chosen.
He said: “It’s only been a recent thing as it’s been going on for a little while, as we struggled to get as many customers as possible. We want to get to a stage where our trainees have no problem getting customers and we can give members of the public a place to go where they can get their haircut and feel safe.
“Our plan in the near future is to open up an academy ourselves. At the minute, we’re just doing an apprenticeship scheme that allows students to go to their first-choice college or a training academy provided by other people.
“We’re looking to start our own academy and therefore, allow lots more students to have an even more accessible place where they can start their barbering career. We want to give people the same opportunity we had when we were younger.”
As the traineeship scheme has no plans to end, Jacob and his team are eagerly looking ahead to what they anticipate will be a brighter future. From a new branch store opening in Bedminster to working on an environmentalism project, Jacob is keen to continue expanding, while rewarding the people who have been integral to the company's success from the very start.
He said: “We’ve got a lot of exciting things coming up - we’ve partnered up with a company called Wonderland that are going to be offsetting our carbon footprint and allowing us to plant trees in the local fields that they provide for us.
“We’ve got a new store opening [on North Street] where we’re having an opening weekend at the end of March where we’re going to be giving away discounts and different prizes throughout the weekend.
“It’s a really exciting time to be in the company. It’s been a real struggle and a lot of work has gone into it- now we’re really enjoying what we’ve become.
“We can’t wait for the future now.”
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