3 minute read
CUTTING CHEMICALS
Sustainably stylish
The TAW salon team are washing traditional chemical practices right out of their hair.
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WWW.THOMASTAW.COM
Opening during a global pandemic has been a snip for Thomas and Natalie, the partnership behind TAW hair salon at 68 The Pantiles. In fact, as champions of natural products and innovative new systems, it’s the less than green standards of the industry that are proving to be their biggest challenge.
“We found the shop in January 2020, so right before the pandemic kicked in, which is never a good time for a close contact business! We didn’t realise the shop was in quite a state of disrepair, so we embarked on peeling back the layers of time and history. As we started work, we found hidden things buried behind the walls, wooden panelling, mirrors and signs, so we incorporated them into the design. Rather than ripping it out and modernising, we wanted to retain those features. It used to be an old bakery, and there was a fire here in the early 1900s, so a lot of what we were removing was black and charred with soot!
The Pantiles is such a historic area, we wanted to keep the things that we found, but
THOMAS AND NATALIE
REFURBISHED THEIR
SALON THEMSELVES. modernise in the way that we work. For example, we have a plasma generator, which gives us a clean air system in the shop.
During the renovation, we worked the new way of operating into the design - we were able to space things out without having to retrofit, making things more comfortable for our clients and having them feel they are in a safe environment.
I had my own salon in London for 10 years, and was Creative Director at Aveda before that. With TAW we’re currently around 9 months behind schedule with everything that’s happened, but now as we’re coming out of Covid, we’re seeing a really good response.
The Pantiles are a little bit like a seaside town, in the summer you can’t move down here! And there are so many new businesses, when we opened I think there were 9 empty units, and now there are 4, and there’s a new Michelin star restaurant opening next door to us! It’s nice to see it being regenerated. The new development has helped as well.
There’s definitely a community spirit, and we’re all friends - we entered into the Christmas window display competition, but didn’t win! Everyone’s been very helpful and accomodating, and we’ve really been welcomed into the arms of the place.
It’s a real hub, and such an atmosphere, and in the winter it quietens down. That’s something we want to develop, using that time for new campaigns and new work. We do a lot of photoshoots, and Natalie does makeup.
Our ethos is based on renewable and sustainable resources, we try and use chemical free products and we’re concious of our carbon footprint. It’s not a matter of greenwashing, we care about the planet.
We’re essentially plastic free, and all of the products we use are plant-based, even our hair colour, so it doesn’t contain chemicals you associate with carcinogens. Even our gowns and our towels are compostable!
We’re 99% waste free, and everything else we recycle. We support local communities who supply our essential oils, so it’s about giving something back. We wanted to bring something a bit different, something that we know people want, and combine that with an honest and intelligent approach to the work that we do. We want to protect the skin and look after the scalp as well as making people’s hair look good. We’re polluting the planet with rubbish in the ocean and plastic that we can’t dispose of, and we want to work with things that aren’t dangerous to people.
We have to look at the future of our industry, it’s our shared responsibility. Any little part is going to contribute to the greater good.” ■
www.thomastaw.com
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Contact: sarah-jane@tunbridge wellstogether.co.uk
