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

If you would like to appear in our Meet the Owner feature, you can fill in our Q&A here or email claire.pierce@newsquest.co.uk

Here, Jordan Evans, 27, from Wrexham, who co-owns a barbershop in the city with brother Kieran 'Ned' Evans, 24, explains how they went from football careers to male grooming...

Name and address of the business

TRNSFRM

8 Charles Street, Wrexham, LL13 8BT

How many staff do you have, and in what roles?

We have myself and my brother Ned working full time Tuesday to Saturday as fully qualified barbers, offering all types of male hairdressing/barbering and grooming. We also have Tom working with us part-time Thursday, Friday and Saturday as our junior barber, after just finishing his course in college.

When did you open?

We are actually relatively new as a barbershop, opening on October 5, 2022.

Skin fade with heavy texture on top, done by Ned.

Why did you decide to open your own business?

I think since I started my barbering journey five years ago, the aim was always to have my own business and own my own barbershop. I wasn't sure how I was going to get there back then, but I knew I would just from the vision I had.

First and foremost it was learning and progressing my haircuts. Everything else follows naturally I feel when you prioritise the skill first.

Have you always been at this location?

We're a relatively new shop, but I did start my barbering career on the same street a few shops down at a barbers called Esquire. After Esquire, I relocated to within Raw Ink Studio in April 2019, where I established myself trading under 'JevTheBarber', renting a chair and then the bottom floor of the building and so on, until TRNSFRM was born last year.

Interior of TRNSFRM.

Are you local to the area, did you grow up here?

Yes myself and my brother were both born in Wrexham and grew up in Bangor on Dee. I moved away to London when I was 16 for five years or so to play football, then moved back to Wrexham just before I turned 21 in 2016.

Tell us a bit about your barbershop

Myself and Ned co-own TRNSFRM (transform without the vowels). I have fiver years experience myself, with Ned approaching two.

We both come from a footballing background, having both played professionally, so we like to think of the barbershop as a spin off from the changing room/off field banter and environment you get from football at times.

I think the main thing about our barbershop is the atmosphere. First and foremost, you need to give a good haircut to be a successful barber long term. The product is the most important thing, along with the service you're providing whilst presenting that product.

So based on that, we wanted our barbershop to be a comfortable and friendly atmosphere for all our clients, whilst providing the highest quality haircuts/beard trims we can. We spend roughly 45 minutes per appointment with each client, so we get to know our clients and to have a good conversation, as well as doing something we love all day.

Skin fade with modern style quiff, done by Jev.

What services do you provide?

We do all types of male hair, skin fades to long hair and all in between. We also offer beard trims and shape ups to anyone who requires this.

What is your hair/beauty background?

Until I actually began barbering myself, my background in the hair industry is pretty non existent. As I mentioned, I was a footballer until the age of 21, as was my brother at the same time, so going into the barbers to get my haircut most weeks was about as close to a background as I have.

I would say at about 20-years-old, I had a conversation with someone about barbering and almost became obsessed with the idea of owning a barbershop, but that got put on the back burner pretty quickly due to full focus on football.

Fast forward 12 to 24 months, and I found myself in a completely different area of life and booked my barbering course almost on a whim. I say it all the time, but it's one of the best decisions I ever made. Ever since I've started, I've loved every single day going to work, and I'm not sure there's many other things I could do to make me say that.

Kieran 'Ned' Evans (left) and Jordan 'Jev' Evans, outside TRNSFRM.

Did the pandemic affect your business?

Yes absolutely, both good and bad. I remember I'd just passed the two years in experience mark, and was establishing a very good clientele, haircuts were as good as they'd been and I was getting busy.

As soon as lockdown was announced, I initially thought three weeks and we'd be back to it. I was devastated, as I thought all my hard work would be undone. Would I still have a client base to go back to, when will we be back etc? But I stayed positive and my mindset shifted a lot during lockdown.

I was very present on social media during the four months we were closed. I did live demonstrations on Instagram, I cut my own hair and did videos on that. I did a step by step 'home' tutorial on my brother's hair on Instagram, so people could try to replicate it at home.

I was very heavily in contact with my clients throughout lockdown via social media and used it as a platform to constantly keep myself and my business relevant. As soon as we were allowed to return in July 2020, the rush was mental. The two busiest weeks I'd ever had.

I thought it would be two weeks of non stop cuts, then quieten down back to where I was pre lockdown. But it stayed that busy from there onwards. It's given me a massive confident boost, as I'd seemed to gain a lot of clients over lockdown by not even cutting hair, just being present on social media and helping out where I could.

From that point on, I've grown and learned so much, both cutting and business wise, which has put me where I am today.

Classic short back and sides with taper, graduated scissor work on top, done by Ned.

What could set you apart from your competitors?

I would say return on investment for our clients is what separates us. What I mean by that is our clients have trust in us I feel to receive a consistent and reliable service every single time they book an appointment.

I know our barbers will give the best possible haircut they can to their client, as well as very good customer service and a comfortable environment. I have always wanted to build an atmosphere that is more than just someone popping in to get their hair shorter. I want our barbershop to be the best we can possibly be at cutting hair and making people feel comfortable.

Why do loyal customers return?

I think because we go above and beyond as barbers, we're not just someone to make your hair shorter. Male grooming is a huge industry now, and you need to be producing very good haircuts firstly to keep your customers.

No matter how nice you are, if your haircut isn't how the customer wants, it will be difficult to keep them. But a very close second to the haircut, is the service and environment you build for your clients.

Most of my clients I know on a very personal level, and the same them with me. I want them to be able to have a conversation if they want to, to laugh, to open up, to talk about life in general if they need to.

Or if they don't want to talk and just have 45 minutes to themselves, that's fine also. Understanding your client as a person and not just a haircut, I feel, is why we have such brilliant and loyal returning clients.

Skin fade with textured top, done by Jev.

What's next for you and the barbershop?

I think ultimately, the goals we have set for the salon will be achieved through consistently doing what we're doing now. If we keep our standards and experience the same and don't let them drop, we will have Tom working with us full time in the very near future. That's just natural progression in the clientele build up.

Hopefully then we can add a fourth barber to the team, so within 12 months it would be awesome to have four of us in the shop day in day out.

We also have an Academy in the pipeline, which we're hoping to launch very soon, helping the new barbers of today on their barbering journey. We'll look to provide in depth training/sessions to improve their skill set in the male hair industry.

So those two things for now I feel are good goals to have set. But the fact we do something we love every single day, that's the best thing about it all.

What are your opening hours?

Tuesday to Friday 10am-6pm, Saturday 9am-3pm