You see, I have this idea that Cape Town is all quaint little streets and European-style cafes and parallel parking in spaces that are 5 cm too small for your car. (Actually it wouldn't matter if the spaces were 2 metres bigger than they needed to be... I'm hopeless at parallel parking. I have to drive round and round until I find a space I can drive into from the front).
Yesterday took me to the fabulous Hands Down Distribution, which has headquarters in Kenilworth and a second branch in Bellville, and is an emporium of all things hair, and nails, and tanning... I could have spent an hour or two in the shop just browsing round all the different brands and products.
But instead, I went a little way down the road and found myself at the elegant salon Platinum Hair and Beauty. I had time for a flying visit - just enough time to photograph hairstylist Claudia at work, and to wish I could spend the whole day there!
Then I drove around the corner, down the road... and that was where I found a gigantic mall. The Tyger Valley mall. I parked frontwards in a parking bay in the massive lot... and promptly lost my car! I think I need retraining when I go back to Jo'burg. But anyway... I headed into the mall and immediately found myself in hairdressing mecca. Just look at the beauty of this salon, one of the renowned Tosca Hairdressing chain. Tosca's Kelsey Swanepoel and Vanessa Bryan are posing in this shot.
Then, round the corner, down a corridor... and I found another exquisite hair salon, also part of a large group - the Partners Hair Design salon chain. They have 14 unisex and 8 gents' salons in the Western Cape. Here's what it says on their website: "Just over 30 years ago, carrying a smattering of luggage and rather empty pockets, a young hairdresser from the United Kingdom arrived in South Africa, harbouring an unparalleled determination to succeed in his chosen profession. Armed with his wife’s support (and the funds raised from selling her car!) and all his savings, Lewis Thomas took the first step towards realising his dream when he opened his first hairdressing salon in Cavendish Close, Cape Town, in 1984."
Posing for the photo above are Partners team Kaylyn, Chumisa, Tamson and Daphney. All I can say after such a fabulous morning is... if you are in the Bellville / Tygervalley area of Cape Town, there's no excuse for you not to have awesome hair. None at all!
The rest of the day was spent catching up with industry supporters and suppliers that I am proud to call my friends. Chris Parker from ESP is a business guru and a talented writer who also knows how to code computer software... ESP can get your salon computer system working magic for you!
And then it was off for a meeting in Epping at the bustling headquarters of Modern Hair and Beauty, distributors of renowned hair and beauty brands including Wella, Kadus, Sebastian, Nioxin and Intraceuticals. It was a privilege to sit down with the dynamic MD Chris Stofberg and his marketing team including Nadia, Jaypee and Tiffany. They are absolute rock stars... I meant to take a photo of the team but I didn't, so here's a photo of how I think of them!
And that concludes today's blog... Tune in tomorrow for more!