Creative HEAD UK January 2018
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SHOP TALK<br />
POLE POSITION<br />
PORTERS<br />
WITH FOUR SHOPS ACROSS LONDON, THIS BRAND HAS<br />
OPTED FOR AN UNASHAMEDLY MASCULINE APPROACH<br />
East Dulwich Dulwich Village<br />
Bora Esen<br />
Clients who walk into a Porters barber<br />
shop are always made to feel right at home<br />
with a complimentary drink – anything<br />
from coffee and tea infusions to a cold beer<br />
or a scotch. It’s a name that’s developed<br />
from a single barber shop in Dulwich<br />
Village seven years ago to a lifestyle brand<br />
with four South London locations. Exposed<br />
brickwork, vintage barber chairs, Edison<br />
filament bulbs… it all adds to the eclectic<br />
and intimate atmosphere.<br />
There are old-school techniques in play,<br />
as sinks at each work station have chairs<br />
that can rotate so clients experience the<br />
‘front dunk’. It also has the 350 Club,<br />
a men’s grooming club (limited to 350<br />
members) that for £20 a week offers two<br />
weekly treatments, priority appointments<br />
and exclusive invitations to Porter events.<br />
What founder Bora Esen believes sets<br />
Porters apart is its ability to quickly<br />
become the hub of any community its<br />
locate in. The focus is on giving back: from<br />
apprenticeship programmes in the shops to<br />
working with and sponsoring local schools<br />
and charities.<br />
Inside, it’s all about Crew and a brew –<br />
American Crew has been stocked by Bora<br />
since it first landed in the <strong>UK</strong>, and all the<br />
shops include baristas trained in-house,<br />
just like its barbers. “We have always<br />
served coffee, but never this specialised<br />
and we felt like it was the right time to<br />
crank things up,” explains Bora.<br />
If the setting looks familiar, it’s because<br />
its shops are regular destinations for<br />
filming and photography – the BBC, ITV,<br />
MTV and Sky Sports are just a few of<br />
who’ve set up shoots within its doors. Its<br />
most recent opening was Brixton, a base<br />
Bora says is “like nowhere else in London.<br />
It’s a total melting pot, so you never know<br />
who’s going to walk through the door, or<br />
which style they’ll want”.<br />
Brixton<br />
Mister Quarterly 15