There鈥檚 a barber shop at the bottom of one of Exeter鈥檚 independent streets which is doing things differently.
The Roots Foundation, which opened its doors in 2017, was the 海角视频鈥檚 first vegan barber shop.
And there鈥檚 so much more going on here 鈥 they鈥檙e a barber shop, yes 鈥 but not as you know it.
It鈥檚 a space that is free of constraint in many senses 鈥 everyone is welcome through Roots鈥 New Bridge Street doors.
Barbering is often thought of as a male dominated industry, but here, anyone and everyone can come and get their hair cut.
The phrase adopted by business owners Luke Burgon and PJ Shepherd is 鈥減ositivity, inclusivity and compassion鈥. They don鈥檛 like to put labels on things, and that鈥檚 reflected in the space.
The shop itself has a relaxed, hip vibe 鈥 its simplistic design with clean white walls, reclaimed woods and vivid green plants spotted around make it a space you want to spend time in.
This isn鈥檛 a place to rush through a haircut or a shave, it鈥檚 a whole experience 鈥 from the freshly prepared coffee to the zine library where you can come in, have a drink and a browse.
The Roots Foundation is also used as a social space 鈥 where events such as live music and theatre performances have taken place.
Customer service is top notch and effortless. Simple things, like the fact the pair have created their own coffee, show the dedication to a vision that is far beyond the constraints of what you鈥檇 usually expect from a barber shop.
We went down to the Roots Foundation to find out more from Luke, 37 and PJ, 35.
How did you meet and how did the Roots Foundation begin?
Luke: 鈥淲e worked together in a barbers around three, four years ago. We鈥檇 always discuss where we鈥檇 like to work 鈥 unfortunately where we were working wasn鈥檛 the place that fitted either of our ethics 鈥 although they were very different, they had some common things in line.
鈥淚t just came to the point that the place we would have liked to work didn鈥檛 exist, at least in Exeter. That brought us to a conversation of 鈥榳hy can鈥檛 we do something ourselves?鈥 It naturally led on from there.
PJ: 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 really fit in where we worked 鈥 it didn鈥檛 feel like we could really be ourselves, which was not a nice feeling. We thought yeah, let鈥檚 create somewhere we can be ourselves and help other people feel like themselves. It happened organically and made sense 鈥 it wasn鈥檛 a life long dream. But I鈥檓 super glad we did it.鈥
PJ has been cutting hair for four years, and Luke 17. It鈥檚 their first time running a business, and they both agreed that the learning curve has been steep.
PJ: 鈥淲ithout friends and family we wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do it. I need to give a shout out to my partner鈥檚 old man.
鈥淗e helped so much with building the shop and is who the coffee is named after 鈥 The Saviour.鈥
Was this your vision for the shop?
Luke: It鈥檚 fairly close, we wanted to use as much reclaimed materials as possible. Sometimes you can only get a limited amount of stuff for some things but most of it is reclaimed.
鈥淲e wanted the mirrors to be rustic, so off we go and find reclaimed wood. That helped shape it.
鈥淭he thing about the space is a lot of people come in and say 鈥榶ou can put pictures up here and there鈥 but we want a clean space without tons in it.
鈥淲e鈥檇 like one more barber and that鈥檚 kind of it. If you were driven by money you could fit easily another four [chairs] in here and not even think about it whereas for us that compromises the feel of the shop.
鈥淚t was a real big thing for us to make a neutral space without being bland. There鈥檚 no imagery on the walls of either aggressively macho stuff or either side.鈥
PJ: 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want to create a space that was overtly masculine or feminine, we just wanted to create a space that felt good generally. Being welcoming was really something very important to us.
鈥淎 lot of barber shops aren鈥檛 very welcoming 鈥 even if not consciously 鈥 to a certain type of person or gender.
鈥淲e wanted a space that was welcoming for everybody regardless of age, gender, background or whatever music you like to listen to on a Saturday night, we don鈥檛 mind.鈥
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You鈥檙e not a 鈥榗onventional鈥 barber shop鈥
PJ: 鈥淎re we a barbers shop? Yes. Are we a traditional barber shop? Definitely not. It鈥檚 a barber shop in terms of the experience 鈥 we don鈥檛 wash hair, dye hair, don鈥檛 do balyage or more typical salon services like that, we really just focus on giving you a good cut.
"We're not a traditional barbershop in that we cater for all genders.
鈥淚 think that is reflected when you walk in 鈥 it doesn鈥檛 feel like a traditional barber shop, and we鈥檙e proud of not being traditional.鈥
But you are the 海角视频鈥檚 first vegan barber shop
Luke: 鈥淎fter looking into it we realised no one else had done it. We didn鈥檛 push it because we knew that, we just thought 鈥榝lipping hell there鈥檚 isn鈥檛 actually something like this鈥, which is always nice.鈥
PJ: 鈥淚t was like, if we can make the whole shop vegan then why wouldn鈥檛 we?
鈥淎s a business that鈥檚 what we do, if we have events everything will be vegan. Our chairs are leather free, our products are completely animal free and they are also entirely handmade and natural.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that is a big part of our business and ethos 鈥 vegan, natural and handmade. It means we only work with small producers so we know the names of all the people who put this stuff in the jars for us 鈥 that鈥檚 really great and we really love that.
鈥淓ven if you鈥檙e not vegan and by no means all of our customers are, who wants animal products in their hair?鈥
What鈥檚 your ethos?
PJ: 鈥淭he sentence we always come back to is that we stand for positivity, inclusivity and compassion. That鈥檚 the ethos that drives The Roots Foundation.鈥
Luke: 鈥淭he ethos is be nice to people. What鈥檚 important to me is creating a space where everyone feels comfortable. Everything is important to me but that鈥檚 a big thing.鈥
What else goes on at The Roots Foundation?
PJ: 鈥淲e are a social space as well. We鈥檝e had film screenings in the past, theatre, live music 鈥 we鈥檝e got some awesome live music coming up soon.
鈥淸The space] is not just for events, it鈥檚 day to day as well 鈥 you can always come in and use the Wi-Fi, we always have a coffee on.
鈥淚t鈥檚 included in your cut but if you just want to come in and have a drink there鈥檚 a donation pot where you can just chuck some change in and help yourself.
鈥淲e also have a small zine library where you can browse everything for free to read in the shop or it鈥檚 cheap to take away. We have a small record distro as well 鈥 we sell a select number of vinyl from our friends at Specialist Subject Records.鈥
What are your thoughts on Exeter and its independent community?
PJ: 鈥淭here are a couple of streets in Exeter known as indie streets and they really harness that energy that comes from independent people doing things out of passion. We love the indie business community.
鈥淛ust on this street there鈥檚 so much good stuff 鈥 the amount of shout outs I could give on this street is phenomenal. And all different stuff 鈥 there鈥檚 great places to eat and drink on this street, great places to buy cool clothes, great places to get your bike fixed.
鈥淓xeter in general 鈥 given its size which is not that big 鈥 I think it has a very cool creative feel to it, at least in some areas. If you were to just quickly pass through Exeter and go to the High Street you might not realise it. But if you just search a little bit, there鈥檚 tons of gems in Exeter. We are constantly inspired by the creativity of other indies around us.鈥
What does the future hold for The Roots Foundation?
Luke: 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much [in terms of plans] we鈥檙e not actively looking but the intention is to have a fourth barber. Following on from that we鈥檝e got a lot of things we want to do 鈥 more events, more things to include the community. Its going to be exciting. 2020 will be really interesting.鈥
To find out more about The Roots Foundation and to book an appointment or see their upcoming events, click here.
