Tel: 01206 571488
Welcome to Icarus & Squire Hairdressing
Icarus & Squire is a salon situated on the first floor in one of Colchester's oldest buildings. A series of high ceilinged rooms with Georgian panels and lots of large windows giving natural light makes for an individual image not often found in the surroundings of a Hairdressers.
The salon itself opened in 1893 as 'Squire' and has been a hairdressers constantly since that time. In 1994 it was taken over by Paul Ridley-Thomas and Ruth Hammond and was renamed 'Icarus'. Now that Ruth Hammond has retired, the remaining partner, Paul, has refurbished the establishment and reintroduced the original name, incorporating it with that of 'Icarus'; thus now we have 'Icarus and Squire'.
The prime aim of the salon over the years has always been to give great service to the clients. Because of the very nature of the salon and the fact that it is hidden from the eyes of passers by you will never be seen with a huge head of foils by a hoard of shoppers through a street window. The clients are nurtured with hourly appointments, quality coffee served in fine china cups and heaps of glossy magazines - and have usually been introduced to the place by word-of-mouth and recommendation.
We do not [and never intend to] have music playing in the background; it is impossible to cater to all music tastes and why would you want to be bombarded by thudding drumbeats when you need to unwind during some quality self time? Also, we ask that clients keep their mobile telephones on silent for the same reason.
The senior stylists have many years of experience and their characters suit the atmosphere of the salon. All are extremely good cutters and colourists. The fact that we do not have a vast turnover of staff shows [we hope] that people who work at 'Icarus and Squire' are happy to be there and this in turn keeps a sense of continuity. All apprentices are still 'in house' trained thus they will come out of their training with a good firm grounding with which to start their professional lives.
Wedding hair
One main aspect of Icarus and Squire is that it is known for wedding hair and party hair and also Vintage styles. The almost-lost art of putting hair up is alive and kicking here, we even have someone who can offer a makeup service for weddings.
About the Owner
Paul Ridley-Thomas trained at Raymond Art de Coiffure and John Cornel of Mayfair and also trained as a wig dresser and has worked in many theatres across the country from The West End to Haymarket to Pitlochry and has designed hair for many shows, for television and for film.
He was taught to put up hair so it would last at least a week thus clients do not have to worry that their 'up do' will crumble before the wedding has started.
Being trained in wig dressing, Paul is experienced in tending to clients who, for various reasons find they have to wear wigs [another good point for being off the street as a wig fitting needs to be done with privacy].
We hope you will come and visit us at 'Icarus and Squire'. Consultations are free and we are sure you will have an enjoyable time with us.