Meet the salon owners training future stylists and hosting music gigs

Whether that’s having your hair done while you enjoy a good chat with your stylist or being entertained by the live musicians who perform bi-monthly raising money for charity you’re guaranteed to leave with a smile on your face.

Cheshire is full of hair and beauty salons transforming, treating and pampering their customers so they shine from head to toe with a new-found confidence.

Our feature – Meet The Salon Owner – gives business owners and managers the chance to shine a spotlight on their salon and showcase some of their best work.

Here, husband and wife team Tom and Rae Mann, owners of House of Quirk, tell us how they started in the hairdressing industry, why music is so important to their ethos and brand and how invested they are in future stylists.

If you would like to appear in our Meet The Salon Owner feature, email heidi.summerfield@newsquest.co.uk

What are your full names?

We are Tom and Rae Mann - husband and wife

How old are you?

Rae is 35 and Tom is 37.

What’s the name of the salon/business?

House of Quirk

What’s the address?

49 High Street,

Northwich,

CW9 5DD

Are you the owner/manager?

We co-own the salon together. We have our front of house and house manager Andy who manages our team (and us at times!) along with a host of operations.

How many employees do you have?

We have just recently grown to a mighty team of nine!

When did you open the salon?

We opened up those big old doors six years ago! Wow, that simultaneously feels like yesterday and seven gazillion years ago!

Has it always been in the same location?

This is currently our first and only location as House of Quirk. Keep those peepers peeled for future houses popping up.

Are you local to the area? Did you grow up here?

We have both lived in Wincham which is just on the outskirts of Northwich now for nine years. Tom is originally from the Lake District and Rae grew up in Liverpool. Together we are bringing together the wisdom of the north!

Tell me a bit about your salon/business

We are both super passionate about the hairdressing industry, its creativity, how we can boost people’s sense of being, and training the future humans of hairdressing. Through this, House of Quirk was born.

We have a very strong apprenticeship scheme in place that we call our Fledgling Programme.

Historically hair salons have had a tendency to promote exclusivity whereas we like to promote inclusivity, making people feel comfortable from their first step into the House, to that final hair swing on their way out of the door.

We have a tag line #HairMusicMischief. Music plays a big part at HQ, as Tom has a background in music as does Andy. We host bi-monthly live music events here at the salon under the name ‘The HQ Collective’. These allow us to become part of something special for a couple of reasons - one being that - we are a platform for local, unsigned musicians to showcase their talents without the need for them to promote the gig or have pressures of selling tickets and one hundred per cent of the ticket costs go to charity. The charity changes with each gig and is chosen by the artist that headlines that evening. So far, we have managed to raise more than £10,000.

Our next HQ Collective evening is Sunday, December 10 at the Harlequin Theatre, right here in Northwich town. At Christmas, we host our music event there, rather than at the salon like the others as it makes it more of a special event. Also it increases the capacity, therefore the money we can raise for our charity donation. It also brings more of a community feel and enables us to get bigger bands involved, as there is a full on theatre stage at The Harlequin.

The mischief part of our tag line is self-explanatory – it’s basically an excuse to be daft and help others around us to try not to take life too seriously.

Some of House of Quirk's satisfied clients

What do you do? What services do you provide?

We are both full time stylists working alongside our team. We also train our fledglings a full day each week, too. Tom heads up the cutting side and Rae heads up the colour and technical side. Services wise, our salon literally offers every hair service imaginable, bar perming - we have our reasons. You imagine the hair and we will find a way to provide it. We do love a challenge, too, so come at us! We specialise in creative colouring and cutting - everything from a natural balayage with soft layers to a vividly wild colour creation, with a mullet. As we mentioned earlier, we are passionate about inclusivity - everyone is welcome to visit us at the House. We even have a few kitty pals that like to stop by for a purr and a play!

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Why did you decide to open your own salon?

Mainly for the reasons we’ve mentioned above - to be able to do those things but also we love being a part of a community. Now that it is a salon that we can proudly call our own, we have that power to make a difference, which luckily, Northwich allows us to do by supporting us continuously. So a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us and enabled us to continue on our mission.

What’s your hair and beauty background?

We have always been a part of the hairdressing world!

Rae first - Right from the word ‘go’ I wanted to do hair. I had an after school job at a local salon from the age of 14, as well as working Saturdays. I guess I’m just lucky enough that I could do that and also that I knew what I wanted to do. I went straight from school, landed myself an apprenticeship and trained under my salon at the time, and at Herbert of Liverpool’s Hair School. From there, I’ve always worked for those who offer training and progression. I love to learn and this career offers constant new things to learn and different ways to do things, which enables us to offer our clients the best advice and services and to pass us on our knowledge to our next generation of Quirkers.

Now Tom. I was unsure what I wanted to do but knew I wanted it to be creative. I was looking at graphic design and photography but one day at a carriers convention I saw a stand for a swanky hair salon in town and thought I liked the idea. Getting to be creative while being in a social environment sounded like it wasn’t work and sure enough I loved it. I then continued to work in high end hair salons, eventually meeting my future wife, who I would eventually open House of Quirk with. The rest, as they say, is history.

Why this type of business?

We wanted something a little different from your usual. We feel that our hairdressing business offers a sense of togetherness, a safe space for all – our clients as well as the team. We offer creativity and advice when you don't know what it is you may be looking for. We are a family - a House!

Were you open during the Covid-19 pandemic? How did this affect your business?

We opened in 2017 so we did have a regular client base before closing in the pandemic. Sadly, as we are in an industry that is so close contact, it meant that we had to close, then re-open, close, then open. It was a rollercoaster when we think back to the very short notice and often no notice that we were given in the local lockdowns. It obviously affected those of us in personal care more than others. We can’t lie, it was brutal, but we are still standing! We have an amazing support network that really did try to keep everyone going. The loss is not something we can recover sadly, but we are so glad to be able to still be here, doing what we do.

House of Quirk hosts bi-monthly music gigs

What makes your business different to others in the same area/field? What sets your business apart from your competitors?

We have a real passion for training the next generation in all aspects of hair. We have both always had a real love for hair with a bit of edge, a jagged micro fringe, a pop of blue. This alongside the previously mentioned love for inclusivity and our bimonthly salon music events, make an environment that is made for creative expression.

Why do loyal clients return to your business?

We honestly have no idea with some of the banter that goes on in here! We are lucky enough to have an amazing team, led by our friend and salon manager, Andy. They are all truly great. They carry our passion for a relaxed, friendly and safe place to work, visit and be part of. We just like to do our best - that's all we can do!

What’s next? What do the next few months hold for you and your salon?

After the past few years of uncertainty, we finally feel that we are in a place to be able to get excited, plan ahead, and grow HQ as we intended to!

As we grow our own team through our fledgling programme this takes time to build up. We have recently had two of our Quirkers qualify and become graduate stylists, through our fledgling programme, which is huge for us. They are building up their own clientele and have earned their place on the salon floor.

We currently have two fresh fledgling team members at the beginning of their programme with us and we are super excited to watch them grow. We are now focused on their future as well as planning for the team’s growth - so watch this space.