Salon brings subculture style to Hull’s Fruit Market
Hull’s first subculture hair salon has joined the thriving community of independent businesses in the city’s Fruit Market.
Mousey Brown’s is the latest addition to a diverse range of entrepreneurial local companies benefiting from the regeneration of the waterside quarter.
The salon caters for a wide spectrum of alternative styles, including punk, goth, hipster, mod and hip-hop, but also welcomes customers wanting a more conventional cut.
The 650 sq ft salon in Humber Street, in the heart of the Fruit Market, has an industrial feel with exposed brickwork and repurposed fixtures and fittings, respecting the heritage of the area as the former home of Hull’s wholesale fruit and vegetable trade. The salon employs four stylists as well as a freelance hair colour artist and a nail technician.
Owners Andy Hampel and Sarah Clayton said the area’s location and its complementary mix of independent ventures made the Fruit Market unique.
Mr Hampel said: “We were very well aware of the community spirit in the area and being able to connect a business to that was what really excited us about this opportunity.
“This is a great, new hub of community and culture that people are really flocking to. For us it’s about being part of that community and the location is just amazing. The area has been under-used in the past but now it’s really coming to life.”
A wave of new businesses have sprung up over recent months as the regeneration of the Fruit Market gathers pace, including Cocoa Chocolatier and Patisserie and Block CNC, which took a pop-up showroom and project space in January and are now based in the area permanently.
The common threads linking all the new businesses are individuality and creativity, says vintage hairstyles specialist Sarah Clayton, who manages Mousey Brown’s.
She said: “Humber Street and the Fruit Market are perfect for what we’ve created, the environment, which is very different from a typical salon, and the range of styles we do. There’s nothing like it in Hull.
“There’s a fantastic atmosphere here and we will add to the buzz because a hair salon is like a community, a place where people meet and talk.
“I love all the individual places on Humber Street. None of them are big brands – they’re all people with real skills and a passion for what they do. Being here really brings that out. It’s a magnet for creative people.”
The transformation of the Fruit Market is being delivered by Wykeland Beal, a joint venture company formed by regeneration company Wykeland Group and housebuilder Beal Homes, working in partnership with Hull City Council.
Other new businesses attracted to Humber Street within the past year have included restaurants Ambiente Tapas and Butler Whites, arts venue Humber Street Gallery, the Humber Street Distillery Co gin barand vintage fashion brand Poorboy Boutique.
