Back to their roots: Eds’ rebrand is a Bramhall-Brazil fusion

12 Aug 2020

Our local businesses have been on a rollercoaster ride this year, and while the twists and turns have been terrifying at times, our favourite Brazilian hairdressers Eds have emerged the other side of lockdown with an updated brand, a renewed skillset and abounding gratitude for the community – oh, and their very own product line, too!

Back in March, we received the news that no-one could have foreseen: non-essential businesses needed to close with immediate effect. What ensued was a period of uncertainty for many businesses – Eds included. Labelled under the hospitality industry, Eds had to close, and for a time the future was unclear.

Ed Mascarenhas – Ed’s Hair

Up until March, the business had gone from strength to strength, and the team was excited to unveil Eds’ new branding to the world. After years with a functional logo, owners Mike and Ed had thought long and hard about revamping their branding to be more representative, settling on the final designs in January. Cue Covid-19 and those plans were put on hold – albeit temporarily.

“At times during lockdown, I would go and sit in the salon – even though it was empty – just to be in that environment,” Ed says.

“It was like someone pressed the reset button on our business.”

Unable to work, Ed and Mike threw themselves wholeheartedly into community endeavours, joining Helping Hands Bramhall and assisting with food runs to collect donations for Chelwood Food Bank.

Mike Messenger – Ed’s Hair

After a few weeks of solely giving their time to the community, the pair gathered up every ounce of the positivity they’re so well known for and decided to reassess how the business could do things differently during downtime. They formulated a plan of action to use lockdown as a unique opportunity to learn, grow and upskill.

As well as checking in with the team on weekly team Zoom calls, Eds invested in a raft of training – everything from barbicide and close contact courses to tutorials from the best names in the business, such as world-renowned, award-winning hairdresser Vivienne MacKinder.

Although the future of the salon wasn’t a given, Eds were still hopeful their business would re-open – even if there was no date in sight. They set up a pledge system, giving customers the option of purchasing a voucher to use towards their services when – and if – the salon reopened, and were bowled over by the response

Mike said:

“It was extremely heart-warming to see how much money came in on the pledge system, and how quickly, in spite of there being no assurances about salons reopening.”

Fast forward to July and the news that many businesses could re-open was announced at last. Finally, the new signage – designed and made locally – was lifted into place: a striking new logo representing the Brazilian fire in Ed’s veins and the fusion of community that is so dear to the couple’s hearts. Eds were able to open their doors once more, much to their – and our – delight, with a whole host of precautions in place to protect everyone – customers as well as staff.

Even before the full lockdown was announced, Mike and Ed had invested heavily in safety measures, including gallons of hand sanitiser and even a special sink that could be positioned at the door. There’s a barrier on entry to keep visitors at a safe distance and screens to separate customers during treatments, too. “We wanted to bring the risk of cross-infection right down,” says Mike.

The salon also asked customers to wear masks before the rule became mandatory, which brings the risk of cross-infection down from 35% to less than 1%. “Hairdressers were allowed to open up before many other non-essential businesses and we felt a responsibility to our sector to do our best in setting high standards for our industry. In this way, we knew other businesses would soon be able to re-open, too,” Mike added.

When the salon opened, the waiting list had grown to more than 850 strong. Currently booked up until the end of September, Ed says the flurry of bookings has been like Christmas – and it’ll be happening again in a few months!

Supply shortages also gave the pair the incentive they needed to bring another dream to fruition: the creation of their very own line of Brazilian blow-dry maintenance products, which will be used in the salon and available to purchase for use at home from September.

“Lockdown hasn’t been easy but we would do it all again, because it has represented such a positive opportunity for us,” says Ed. “Our message is one of enormous gratitude to the Bramhall community, and we urge everyone to embrace our businesses and invest in the local economy.”

By way of thanks, Eds is giving away 100 coffees in their very own branded disposable cups, in partnership with another lovely local business, Plumcake Café. Will you get lucky? Book in and see!