The salon, established here in Frome in 1988, set out to deliver a combination of great hair and friendly, personal service. Frederick loved to love his clients – something that we aim to continue long into the future. We still have that family business mentality and friendly service that we set out to deliver 23 years ago.

You may have noticed a few new posters up in the salon if you’ve been in recently. We thought it worth marking Frederick hanging up his scissors with a tribute to his dedication to 23 years of service with a style.

Abernethy’s first opened in the market town of Frome in 1988, at the time in Catherine Hill. When a premises became available in Cheap Street (the one with the pretty little stream running through it) we jumped at it. To be in the heart of the town was fantastic – and here we’ve stayed for all those years.

Dad (Frederick Abernethy) was the first in the family to enter the world of hairdressing…at the tender age of 17. He was followed by eldest daughter Emma Brooks (Big Sister) who joined the family business following her professional training with L’Oreal. Apart from being a great stylist in her own right, Emma trains the current team of staff here at Abernethy’s. More recently I (Claire Hardy, Little Sister) have joined the business to be the voice behind the scenes and eventually front of house.

Emma and I have learnt all we know in the world of hairdressing from Dad. He has taught us well. We have seen him interact with clients over the years, something of a special talent on top of his hairdressing abilities. Dad would say the consultation bit is probably the most important bit, clients like to be loved. And we continue this today in the salon. Dad’s clients are now our clients.

Emma has a huge clientele of her own built up over the 23 years. Her dedication to great hair and friendly service is absolute. On the odd occasion that Emma can’t fit a client in personally, her well trained staff can step in…with her eagle eye looking on.

My touches are the friendly “hello’s” from Dad – carrying on the personal touch from where he left off. I try to ensure that nothing is too much trouble for our clients – all our glossy magazines are up to date; the kitchen has every kind of tea possible; freshly brewed coffee; iced water with a slice of lemon…the list goes on. My attention to detail helps to ensure the salon is spotless – Dad really passed on his OCD to me, something I’m thankful of – t’s crossed and i’s dotted kind of stuff.

So…here’s to the next 23 years of serving our fantastic, loyal clients…with style, and a smile!

Hellen Ward is a true professional, and clearly a very successful business woman in the world of hairdressing. But she’s also a lovely lady who is so approachable. Ask her anything about the successes (and mistakes) of running her celebrity salon in London’s Sloane Square and she’d tell you!  Very refreshing and certainly inspiring. What a great husband and wife team!

With customer experience at the heart of everything we do, we at Abernethy’s feel that taking time out to hear how the best in the business do things is really important – so we can feed ideas into creating great experiences for our own customers.

With Frederick’s retirement earlier this year, Emma wanted to ensure that perfection of our customer experience remained at the top of our priority list – that’s why I’m now on board, making Abernethy’s a ‘sister & sister’-led team.
So I’ll be ensuring that our customers leave the salon feeling fabulous every time!

If you’ve been in the salon recently, we’d love to hear from you. You could even be in with a chance to win a free re-style! Look out on our website in the coming days and we’ll be posting details of how to enter our feedback prize draw!

Frederick recently gave an interview for BBC Radio Somerset where he told some of his stories of 50 years in hairdressing – listen to the interview here.

Well, the past week has been fantastic – with the clocks going forward, the days are lighter and the sun has been shining to get us all in the mood for spring. With such fab blue sky & sunshine this weekend, it feels like summer is just around the corner.

So, to celebrate the arrival of the wonderful sun, we’re giving away £5 off any colour service. Get your discount voucher here and bring it into the salon Monday to Friday to get your discount.

We look forward to welcoming you!

One thing’s for sure – the New Year is a perfect time for a makeover. A new style. A new you. You might have seen our ad in Bath Life or Frome Life – time to shake it up a bit. So come on in to the salon and make yourself feel fabulous this month with a makeover treat.

Give one of the team a call on 01373 474 198 for a free consultation or to book an appointment.

As a special treat, we’re giving away free gifts too (while stocks last)!

We’re ready and waiting to make you look fabulous!

So what are you waiting for…give one of the team a call on 01373 474 198 to book your appointment.

Frederick had some wise words for Emma’s listeners – you can listen to the interview in full here.

Here are just a few photos from the event.