Charles worthington - 30 years in business

How has the Charles Worthington brand stayed relevant for three decades? Matthew Batham asked the man himself. It’s always been our mission to do things differently, to turn things on their head and come up with a new and different angle. Our 2017 CW Collection Vibe is an example of this philosophy as we are releasing the Vibe colour story in four seasonal phases. The aim is to inspire creativity and dare our clients to be different taking them on a colour journey celebrating our 30^th Anniversary of being a colour destination salon. A fundamental part of our philosophy at Charles Worthington, and right from day one, has been our twin-track approach to training. We place equal importance on social communication skills training as on first-class craft skills training. The idea being that all our team members are trained to the highest possible standards in both skill sets, ensuring the client experience is as perfect as possible. All our stylists are trained in both cutting and colour, meaning the client journey is with one stylist throughout, something our clients have expressed they prefer and I have always felt passionate about. Our team are also proud to have the skill set enabling them to be all-round professionals. From day one we realised the importance of the whole client experience.  We offered trays with cafetieres of fresh coffee and tea with hand-made biscuits or Champagne and nibbles. These are small elements of service but it’s about striving to deliver the consistency of a five-star service at an affordable price. No matter how much you charge the client must always feel they’ve received value for money. When we were just starting out we didn’t have big budgets so we created a salon with a very minimalistic interior. We still wanted it to have a luxurious feel, something that fresh flowers, freshly brewed coffee and champagne easily contributed to. Some mornings I would get up at 4am to go to New Covent Garden Market to buy fresh flowers at wholesale prices thus allowing us to buy a more decadent amount to create an impressive welcoming display at reception, arranged by myself. Building relationships with cool brands that have a creative synergy has always been an important part of our strategy. In the early days, it was with fashion designers such as Betty Jackson and Red or Dead. And over the years seeking out new up-and-coming talent to work with, such as models Erin O’Connor, Sophie Dahl, Liberty, Jodie Kidd and photographers such as Rankin. Hair and Fashion go hand in hand and over the years it has enabled our creative team to develop the different skill sets required for runway and red carpets which are also invaluable salon skills.