Changing faces: His Place

On the surface there may be few changes at His Place in Orewa since Lee Chivell took over a couple of months ago, apart from Elvis being on permanent high rotation.

Lee has been a barber for 27 years, the last four of which he has been cutting hair at His Place. He’s been there since Bradley Horton first opened the barbers and has seen it grow to the stage where three barbers are kept busy six days a week.

Lee says it takes just 15 minutes to create a great cut that “makes you feel like a new man”.

He says while children and young men come in for the latest sharp cut – as worn by sportsmen, movie stars or musicians – men of all ages like having their hair cut with other men.

League player Shaun Johnson is a regular customer, coming in every two weeks to have his hair cut by Lee.

The popularity of big beards has also had an impact on the business, with master shaver Tim Cox making this his speciality.

Along with the cool sounds of Elvis, there is an Xbox for the kids and a big screen TV with snowboarding and other sports videos. Lee plans to soon put Sky Sports in front of the cutting stations. He has also extended the opening hours, which are now 8am–6pm Monday to Friday and 9am–4pm on Saturday.

Apart from that, he does not plan to tinker too much with what is obviously a successful formula, but does hope to open another branch in due course.

Lee says that finding the right staff is the only hindrance to expanding the business, as there is a lack of professional training for barbers.

He is hoping to take on some apprentices to help remedy this.

“Cutting men’s hair is a completely different skill from hairdressing for women,” he says. “It requires clipper skills, scissor over comb techniques and knowing the correct way to taper and cut a man’s hairstyle.”

Trendy cuts require regular maintenance and the use of the right products, but Lee says that men are prepared to put that effort in to look good.

And while creating those looks is satisfying, Lee says his favourite part of being a barber is meeting people.

“I love the interaction and hearing what people are doing. The cut is what it’s all about, but a great rapport and experience is just as important.”