Putting the bar in barbershop

Come for the cut, stay for the beer.

The perfect marriage of hops and hair is coming to Blenheim and it’s as barbershop as they come.

Complete with an authentic 19th century Eugene Berninghaus barber chair, Creatures of Habit is setting up shop out the back of local pub 5Tapped, somewhere beside the motorcycle workshop.

Creatures of Habit owner Aaron ‘Noddy’ Nott said his mates were already joking about getting three cuts a week.

‘‘You know, ‘I’m just going to get a haircut, I’ll be back in a couple of hours’.’’

Craft beer and barbershops were growing in popularity right across the country, as the hipster culture - facial hair and tattoos continued to take over.

Nott said it was a welcome trend.

‘‘I remember as a kid it was just grow your hair long and shaggy and chuck some wax or a cap on.

‘‘That was the fashion. And then, all of a sudden, it sort of became ... well, all the classics started coming back and it’s always evolving around that 1920s, Peaky Blinders, old England look.

‘‘I really like the old English style barbering, like; come in, sit down, get looked after, have a good chat, and go out looking sharp.’’

‘‘Even the guys that never worried about haircuts back in the day, you know that scruffy look that some tradies do, are actually enjoying getting a decent haircut now.’’

Nott left his former salon, Scissorsaurusrex, behind three months ago to travel Europe.

Just before he left, 5Tapped owner Haydn Mearns floated the barbershop-in-bar idea to him.

‘‘Haydn came and talked to me when I was looking at closing my other shop ... [but] I headed overseas, and I really wanted to come back realising I’ve got a big clientele here.

‘‘So, I came back to him when he opened 5Tapped and said he was still keen.

‘‘We’ve got the perfect little spot out the back and everything works together so well.

‘‘We’ve both got the same ideas, same work ethic, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.’’

While Scissorsaurusrex catered to a range of haircuts and styles, Creatures of Habit was solely a barbershop.

‘‘You come, you sit down, you’re comfortable, it’s your space to get away from everything and have a trust in your barber and have a good talk.

You can talk about whatever you want to talk about, and just feel comfortable ... and you can get a delicious craft beer while you wait.’’

Creatures of Habit opens on October 2. Walk-ins welcome. Standard cut, $35, children’s cut, $20.

DAVID JAMES/STUFF Aaron ‘Noddy’ Nott is back from Europe, and back in business, out the back of 5Tapped.