Tristan on Michael
I was working at Fish in Soho, and Michael used to come in and get his hair cut with somebody else. Once, as he was about to leave, I told him he should book in with me next time if he wanted a decent haircut! It became a friendship that grew over about 10 years and eventually (once I’d grown up, basically!), we decided that it was a good idea to get together. I wasn’t considering coming to the countryside or anything like that, but I had a skill set and Michael had a skill set, and together, we felt we could be unstoppable.
Character-wise, we’re absolutely opposite, but morally, we’re on the same page. Michael is a classic Scorpio – there’s a sting in the tail. I’d say Michael is stubborn, but he thinks before he speaks, and he’s much more measured and less emotional than I am. That’s an advantage though, as he’s Front of House and understands all about clients’ needs. As a role, that part is so important.
Michael’s a really nice guy, but he’s also able to take the hard line. When it comes to the salon floor, I know how it needs to be from the service and the practical point of view. I’m consulted on everything, but we have our areas of expertise, and we stick to them. We set out the vision for Tristan Eves right at the beginning, and our values are completely aligned. Michael is like my agent and my manager. My phone used to ring all the time – now his rings instead! Running the salon is an ongoing thing; it’s a living, breathing entity and so we do speak about it all the time. For 15 years, we’ve literally lived and worked together, so it’s inevitable that work life and home life blur, but we’ve learnt over the years about balance.
Trust is the most important thing I’d say in a partnership. We’re married, so we’ve got a legally binding trust thing going on, but you’ve got to trust the person that you’re in business with. You’ve got to have the same moral compass too, or at least be able to agree on the important things. The plan for the future is to grow. We’ve established ourselves in this first 10 years, and now this next 10 years is about improving the quality to an astounding level. We’re extending the salon and building on the superstar service, combined with the brilliant, perfect hair we’re already known for. We believe perfection is achieved by changing often. The salon never stays the same; it’s always growing and improving. It’s a modernist way of looking at things, moving with the times and not getting stuck in the rough – that’s how you move forwards and become bigger and better.
Michael on Tristan
My first impression of Tristan was that he had an awful lot of energy and charisma. It was the early days of Tristan’s hair career when we met, and I was working in advertising. So, while Tristan’s career was taking off with session work and celebrities, I was involved in big advertising campaigns. It was all part of that life in Soho at the time.
I was a single dad and needed to be home more for my son, so shortly after we met, I had stopped full-time work in London. I was doing some consultancy work from home in Sussex, and as my son became more settled, I didn’t really relish the thought of commuting back up to London. Starting the salon just all came together at the right time. It made more sense to focus on getting the salon off the ground, and it was quite a straightforward transition. I’d spent my whole career in advertising, managing the creative process and the creative teams, so in many ways it’s not very different. The main thing for creative people is making sure they’ve got everything they need around them, so they can just totally focus on the creativity.
Tristan works on a completely emotional level; he’s creative and he’s passionate about everything. That passion can be quite volatile at times, but he also has a magnetic personality that just draws people to him. The only thing we’re ever likely to fall out over is that Tristan wants everything immediately, where I’m more measured and prefer to think things through. I’ll be the one who has that continual attention to detail, so it’s best just to tell Tristan the big stuff at the last minute. To make it work, I think you have to have a clear delineation of responsibility.
Tristan knows he’s in charge of the creative side and how the salon operates on a day-to-day basis. I’m very much about how the business is run – making sure everyone’s paid and the supplies are all in on time, etc. We’ve learnt over the years about balance, so when little things are going wrong or someone’s behaviour becomes an issue, the sooner you can highlight it and discuss it, the easier it is to deal with in the long run.
Time away from the salon is important. A perfect day off for us would be a nice walk on the beach with the dogs, some lunch and an afternoon sitting outside reading a book in the sunshine.
Who’s the bigger perfectionist?
We both are, in different ways.
Who’s the chattiest?
Tristan.
Who takes longer to get ready for a night out?
Michael.
Who is the hairdressing duo you most admire?
Nicky and Lesley Clarke.
If you two weren’t in the hair industry, what’s another job you could imagine doing together?
House renovations or anything that has a practical side and a creative side.
Describe your partnership in three words.
Long-lasting, loving, educational.
