Barber shop celebrates seventy years in town
Campbell’s still in family hands
A popular Hamilton barber shop is celebrating 70 years of trade in the town.
Campbell’s Barbers was opened in 1947 by Alex Campbell when he returned from his duties in World War II at the then site of 33 Chapel Street.
Alex strived to keep the business open and walked to and from work each day, from Motherwell, and trailblazed styles like the Perry Como when most barbers were only doing short back and sides.
His son, Colin Campbell, joined the business in 1959 and took over in 1973.
There were quite a few established barbers in the town centre in the sixties, but Campbell’s was the only one to survive through the seventies when many men kept their hair long.
Easton Campbell, who is the grandson of Alex, this week told how a compulsory purchase was placed on the shop to make way for the New Cross Centre and they moved out in 1980 to 52 Campbell Street, before eventually settling at 50 Campbell Street, where they are now.
Easton, who now runs the shop, said: “I’ve seen a lot of changes since I started. In college, I was the only one in the class who wanted to be a barber. The public had this misconception that barber shops were stuck in the past and couldn’t cut up-to-date styles. Thankfully, in recent years barbers are finally getting the credit they deserve.
“We are highly skilled and can cut the full range of styles from traditional to the very latest.
“Barbers are back with a bang and are springing up everywhere as everyone has probably noticed.
“Unfortunately, there is no law against an unqualified person practising barbering and I have witnessed this first-hand as I have clients come to me to repair cuts, and I can tell straight away these people haven’t been trained properly.
“Unfortunately, I’m working in the shop myself at the moment as it’s very difficult to find the right staff but I hope to rectify that soon.”