There are not many people who can say going to work each day is a dream come true but Nyasha Mwenye can.
The 24-year-old is the owner of Newcastle salon House of Ace and has styled the hair of celebrities ranging from Newcastle United footballers to Geordie Shore stars. The Waterloo Street business specalises in Afro-Caribbean hair and has a team of skilled stylists that attract clients from as far as London and Edinburgh.
And it's a life-long ambition come to life for owner Nyasha who said her motivation for the business was inspired by her struggle as a child to find a salon in Newcastle that could do her hair. Taking matters into her own hands, she learned how to braid her hair at the age of just 14 and she soon began to get requests from friends and family to do theirs too.
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After learning the basics of cutting and colouring, she spent years working in barbershops and salons across Newcastle where she styled the hair of current and former Newcastle United players including Jamaal Lascelles, Christian Atsu and Dwight Gayle.
And it wasn't long before word of her hairdressing talent spread around the Newcastle dressing room, earning her more Premier League clients.
"Jamaal Lascelles needed his hair done and when I did his hair he told the rest of the players so I did the hair of a couple of Newcastle United footballers and from there it was just a snowball effect," Nyasha Mwenye said.
In February last year, she decided to open her own salon and has attracted even more celebrity clients including Geordie Shore star Chloe Ferry.
"Opening this salon has been a dream come true for me as I want to add more diversity and variety to the community," she said.
"Growing up, I often felt isolated and alone as I didn't have anyone who understood my hair or my culture. With my salon, I hope to offer children and young people in the community something I didn't have growing up."
Nyasha stressed that while the salon caters for everyone, clients with Afro-Caribbean hair have been delighted to have a dedicated salon in Newcastle city centre.
"Clients have told me they hated their hair growing up because it is not as manageable or easy to style," she said.
"I have had clients that said they have been turned away from other salons because the stylists don't know how to manage their hair. Not having a safe space where you can go and get treated and made to feel beautiful is something that bothered me growing up.
"The salon caters for everyone. We do hair, nails and lashes so it is a big beauty salon that I have not seen anywhere else."
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