Working side by side
Charlottetown-based barbers, who are also cousins, enjoy new business arrangement
Tully Doyle had no idea when he moved to P.E.I. in August 2020 that within three months he would be working side by side with his cousin at one of the hippest new barbershops in Charlottetown.
The first time Doyle visited the Island, he had to look up where P.E.I. was on a map.
“I pictured it in my head as being one mall, one cafe,” he said.
Doyle had come here in past years briefly to visit family, but his first walk around downtown Charlottetown alone one evening defied what he thought a small town should look like.
“It felt like a city condensed into four streets. There was so much happening,” said Doyle.
“When I came to Charlottetown it opened my eyes to something.”
Born in Ottawa, Doyle decided to move to P.E.I. to study nutrition at UPEI.
After completing his 14-day self-isolation, Doyle learned his first semester was to be taught online.
After two weeks, Doyle decided nutrition wasn’t for him.
He was in his room one day on his laptop doing online school.
Doyle sighed.
“This isn’t what I came here for,” he thought.
ANOTHER OPTION
Doyle had barbering on his mind for a while.
“I had a lot of things in the back of mind and being here made me think about what I really want to do.”
In Ottawa, Doyle had taken a look-and-learn course in barbering and was teaching himself to cut hair by reading and watching videos.
“I would just go to the barber shop and just watch them cut hair,” Doyle said.
“I just wanted to learn.” Doyle also knew there was another barber in his family who lived on the Island, his cousin, Jared Doyle.
Jared was born in Charlottetown and had only met Tully during brief visits.
“Being Tully’s older cousin, I never thought we’d ever work together,” said Jared. “When he said he was coming to the East Coast, I was excited.”
Jared had gotten into barbering back in 2017 at age 31 after spending a summer living in Vancouver, B.C.
He studied economics in university and had been working as a freelance photographer for several years but became interested in hairstyling after getting to know some local barbers.
“I came back to P.E.I. and I knew it was something I was interested in,” he said.
Jared took several courses to learn the trade and started cutting hair at the Humble Barber on Kent Street. Within two years, he had opened up his own shop on Great George Street.
“I saw barbering as a great way to blend my passions into one environment.”
ADDING A CHAIR
Last September, Jared opened his new shop, Blockhouse Barbershop, on Victoria Row.
When Tully walked into his cousin’s new shop for the first time, he took one look around.
The room was pure white, with Victorian-era trimming on the high ceilings and a red door. Two large mirrors were on the wall, but only one chair was in the room.
Tully looked in the mirror. He could see himself cutting hair.
“He could probably fit another chair in here,” he thought.
One night, Jared and Tully went out for a drink. Tully told Jared how he wanted to get into barbering.
“I had just moved shop, so I had an opportunity to bring him on,” said Jared.
“I really would have liked this sort of step up starting out, so that’s why I wanted to do it for him.”
Shortly after, Tully worked out a deal where he would rent a chair out for a monthly fee and operate as a separate business.
“I didn’t want to rush him, but I really wanted to do this,” Tully said.
Jared agreed, and that November, Tully began cutting hair next to his cousin at Blockhouse.
Almost a year later, the Doyles haven’t cut any corners, with new clients coming almost daily.
Tully says he is happy with his current set-up and doesn’t see himself going anywhere anytime soon.
“The door is always open at Blockhouse. It’s really great because there isn’t really a boss-employee relationship,” said Tully.
“It’s just two guys, two cousins, cutting hair in the same room. That’s rare to come by, I think.”