Burlesque has been in business for 33 years, and during that time the owners have built up a brand that is now highly regarded as one of the best salons within the UK, winning numerous awards and accolades along the way.

Voice caught up with co-owners Stuart Nicholson and Dave Coltherd to tell us more about their success, as they’ve recently opened a new salon in Usk, just around the corner from their old premises. Here’s what they had to say:

Did you ever think that, thirty years ago you would be where you are now, running three highly-successful salons in key South Wales locations?

Honestly, no we did not! It is mad how things have evolved, although I have to say it's been an incredibly enjoyable journey and we've got to work with a lot of great people along the way.

Throughout your career in hairdressing, what part of the job do you love the most? And what parts have been the most challenging?

There are so many enjoyable facets to the industry but seeing younger members of the team flourish and develop into great hairdressers is very rewarding and also when you’re lucky enough to be asked to help style hair at London Fashion Week, or to do a photo shoot for a company or a competition it can be a lot of fun!

Battling through the downturn in the economy has been a challenge, trying to move forward amongst all the doom and gloom is tricky, but with such a focused and supportive team, we're doing ok.

It’s been an incredibly busy past year for you, I think it was around this time last year that you relocated the Caerleon salon to a much larger premises, and more recently you’ve done the same with the Usk salon, what makes the Burlesque brand so successful that it needs to expand?

Well as I mentioned earlier,  it's important to have a great team who are passionate about what they do, pushing their hairdressing  boundaries, being creative and delivering a good product, that behaviour is infectious and the clients love it.

Also we share our Newport building with Coup Media who have helped us shape and develop our brand and target our marketing more efficiently.

We love the look of your Usk and Caerleon salons, whereas your flagship in Newport is more streamlined and clinical, why did you choose to make the other two different?

With some of the work that we do, we get to spend a lot of time in the bigger cities, such as London and Manchester, and as we were due to move premises and refit each site, we felt it was time to evolve our brand to keep it in line with current trends that we see happening nationally.

Let's be honest people like to be in a cool environment, our team love it and more to the point the clients love it.

In comparison our Newport Salon does have a more clinical look, but watch this space, as we are already speaking to our architect Keith Lander, so who knows what's next?

We know that the Newport Salon is always busy, but which out of the three would you say is the most popular?

The new Caerleon site has been open a year now and it hasn't slowed up yet, it's cool, functional and comfortable. We get a lot of positive feedback there which is always nice, plus the team are fantastic.

The team in Usk are also superb and the salon does have an incredibly loyal client base, with its lovely new environment, and in addition, a vintage barbering section, we have just introduced Express Beauty at the site too, so I guess you'd better ask the clients? I'm not get involved in that one! :)

You have long serving team members, some of which have been with you since the start, for anyone looking to join your team what does it take to be a part of the Burlesque family?

Yes that's right, we have been very fortunate in that department. We have retained many of our original team and we are so grateful for that, obviously people do move on, there's a big world out there, but our in-house training program allows us to maintain the continuity of the business, and the door will always remain firmly open for those star individuals to return.

We are always looking for like-minded, fledgling or experienced hairdressers to join our team – the main ingredient is to be able to adopt our culture and above all be enthusiastic about this great industry, but they must be willing to learn and work hard.

We see that you’ve launched Burlesque Barbers at your new Usk salon, where you offer traditional razor shaves and facials, as well as haircuts, what was your inspiration behind this?

We have been following closely the recent upward shift in male grooming nationally, men across the country are after that ‘little bit extra’. Also, with this current trend, we are seeing with men's hair cutting is demanding the need for those long lost barbering skills, all delivered in a luxury environment.

What specialist training have your staff had for Burlesque Barbers?

Our boys have obviously done their apprenticeships, but have also benefited from an expert barber who has been visiting the salon on a regular basis over the last four months, delivering a comprehensive, detailed and intensive training program in all the traditional skills, including wet shaves, facials and cutting techniques – and our guys are loving it!

And, what products do you use/offer for male grooming?

We are very proud to be stockists of the Aveda men’s grooming range, which includes shampoos, conditioners, styling products, beard oils and skin care – we also stock KMS, Kerasilk, ghd, Dfi and Osmo in our salon shop in Usk.

With the success of relocating two of your salons to larger premises, are there any plans to open a fourth salon at a new location? Perhaps Cardiff, Chepstow or Monmouth?

I think our wives would leave us if we said yes to that right now! But never say never!

You were one of the first salons in Newport to develop an app for your business, what benefits do customers have when using it?

There are many benefits for clients who have the app, firstly it contains all the up to date info about the salon, phone numbers, location, gallery of hair images, current offers and prices.

There's also a loyalty feature, which clients scan when visiting the salon, then every 6th visit they receive a free product or a discount off their haircut, it works fantastically and it's very popular. The app also allows us to inform clients instantly of any cancellations or flash promotions we may be running.

Throughout your career you have won many awards with your artistic team, are you entering any competitions this year?

Yes our Artistic Team have enjoyed being regional finalists in the British Hairdressing Awards twice in the past have and also won the acclaimed Goldwell Colorzoom title. 

Jamie Limburn has already achieved a finalist spot this year in Birmingham at the British Barber Association contest, a national competition and we also have just put another entry in this year's Goldwell Colorzoom contest, so fingers crossed.

As you’re always ahead of the curve with the latest styles and trends, what’s going to be ‘the look’ for the autumn?

For guys it's still going to be that well-groomed finish, close crop on the back and sides, with a light disconnection, worn scruffy or sleek, although we are noticing a little length creeping in on certain haircuts. Fringes are prominent again too, also sport the grey!

For the ladies, long hair is still prominent, varying the texture and finish.  Try a two-tier bun if wearing it up. Ombré and Balayage are still a popular colour choices but the tones are more muted and subtle. For the funkier option choose a dynamic cut, worn with a slate grey colour.

Finally, why should people visit Burlesque salons this summer?

Just come and meet our great team, in a cool environment and get that new haircut or colour you deserve! – That's what we're there for!

             Make your way to one of the fabulous Burlesque Hair Salons this summer.

             The Newport salon is located at 18, Cambrian Road, NP20 4AB for all appointments call 01633 251830.

             The Caerleon Salon is situated at 29 High Street, NP18 1AE and you can call them on 01633 431222.

             The new Usk salon can be found at 67 Bridge Street, NP15 1BQ for bookings call 01291 671007.

             Alternatively visit the Burlesque website at www.burlesquehair.co.uk for more information. To keep up to date with the latest news, offers and events simply download the Burlesque app form the app store. Alternatively you can like the Burlesque Facebook page and follow on Twitter @Burlesquehair