Carlisle hairdressers named the best in the county

The Gentry Barber Tattoo Lounge, located in the city’s Junction Street, received the honour at the recent 2021 English Business Awards.

Discussing the award win, co-owner Jade Fisher said: “It feels fabulous, of course. It shows that with hard work and dedication you can achieve whatever you want. Cumbria which is a massive place with plenty of towns and a lot of hairdressers. Considering there’s so many in the industry and to be named the best is amazing.”

This hairdressers and barbers also have a tattoo studio in their premises. Opening in 2011, the business offers a number of different packages to suit customer needs.

The awards are divided into each area of the country. Businesses are under consideration each year after organisers firstly check to see if they’ve been nominated in the last 12 months. This normally happens when someone has entered a business’ name into the nominate pages of the awards website under whichever area they located in.

People can nominate or vote for any business in Cumbria all year round by entering the details by filling out a nomination form online or by text.

Like most business owners, the pandemic played its part in The Gentry’s affairs. Jade continued: “For us, we celebrated our 15th anniversary in July and we’re quite established, we’re a family-owned business. It was obviously a scary time for everyone, whether businesses are self-employed like ourselves or if you’re getting furloughed. Thankfully for us, the Government supported us, and we just had to adapt and thrive as and when you can and continue to work hard.”

Mrs Fisher finished by sharing her gratitude to The Gentry’s loyal customers. She said: “There’s enough heads in Cumbria for all hairdressers to thrive and do well in the industry and there’s a lot of talented barbers in Carlisle alone. The fact that people are coming to us every week or two weeks and help us progress and pay our bills, I couldn’t ask for more. It’s amazing.”