|
Sydenham hairdressing salon Over The Top raised more
than £1,500 for St Christopher’s Hospice when they celebrated their
20th birthday by going “back to the future” with the staff dressed in
1980s outfits and customers charged at 1988 prices.
With customers donating the balance of their usual
bills plus a street collection, the salon have been able to give the hospice a
welcome donation.
OTT’s owner David Mizen is a veteran of Sydenham
Road, having started out, aged 17, as an apprentice at Nuthatch, which shortly
afterwards relocated to Beckenham. By the age of 22 he had moved up the hill to
Kirkdale where he opened the first branch of OTT; a second shop followed
shortly in the Walworth Road which was run by his wife, Theresa.
|
Ever keen to expand the business, in 2005 David
noticed that 72 Sydenham Road (next to Somerfield) had become available and, in
the teeth of stiff competition, David managed to secure the shop. In his own
words he then “put his scissors down and picked up a hammer” and,
with the help of his brothers, set to and started to refurbish the shop,
turning it into the smart salon it is today.
Since making the move from Kirkdale business has
increased enormously as have the salon’s hours of opening, including late
nights from Tuesday to Friday and Sundays from 11-4. |
|
And what of the future? Will we see a return of the
1980s “big hair” and the famous mullets? Not according to David:
“Although hair is getting looser, the look is softer – and thankfully
you don’t see many mullets in Sydenham!”
am |
