Looking shaggy and dishevelled before a first date? Have a big job interview coming up and think your 1980s permed hair won’t convey professionalism? Is your partner constantly complaining about your slovenly, unkempt facial hair? Seeking a fresh style to showcase on the Pontiac’s beaches this summer season? A new barber shop in Campbell’s Bay is here to help.

Bladez Barber is the Pontiac’s newest stylist. Owned and operated by barber extraordinaire Tyson Ferrigan, Bladez Barber is your one-stop-shop for chic, fashionable hair and beard styling. Boasting a relaxed atmosphere and the skillful, steady hand of Ferrigan himself, Bladez Barber is on a mission to transform the scraggly into the dapper.

Ferrigan, a Campbell’s Bay native, is only 17. After graduating high school a mere year ago, Ferrigan was met with a question common to his age: what to do next? Contemplating different career paths, Ferrigan had the foresight and the maturity to know he wanted to do something different.

“When I first came out of high school, I was stuck,” Ferrigan said reflectively. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a career, but I knew I didn’t want to work in an office or as a labourer. I always wanted a cool job.”

A cool job indeed. The barber is the unsung hero of their clients’ lives. Differentiating themselves from traditional hairdressers and salons, barbers specialize in styling short hair. Their prowess with clippers makes them well suited to provide faded, sleek looks to their clientele. Hair fading is when the hair at the sides and back of someone’s head is cut as close as possible with clippers and tapers gradually to the top of the head. They likewise are trained in the art of beard tailoring. Through use of clippers and straight-blade razors, barbers sculpt facial hair to perfectly match the contours of an individual’s face.

“What I hear from a lot of people is that when it comes to clippers and fading and all that stuff, it’s not really the same experience,” said Ferrigan, referring to why some opt to visit barbers for their styling needs rather than hairdressers.

Ferrigan attended Hair Fellas School of Barbering in Ottawa. Graduating in May of this year, the intensive course provided him with all the skills needed to work professionally as a barber. Mastering the tools of the trade, Ferrigan felt as though he was ready for the working world.

“It was really hands on,” Ferrigan said. “There was no wasting time. You can see the development really fast when you go there.”

Upon graduating from Hair Fellas, Ferrigan floated his resume around to different barber shops.

“As soon as I got out of school, I was thinking about working at another barber shop, and was applying to different ones around the area,” Ferrigan explained. “I wasn’t getting any answers back, which wasn’t surprising because my teacher had already told me before, ‘they’re probably not gonna hire a 17-year-old’.”

Not one to be discouraged by setbacks, Ferrigan innovated. What others would have likely seen as demoralizing, he saw as an opportunity.

“I just said ‘You know what, there’s none around here and everyone always complains about it, so I’m just going to start my own’,” Ferrigan said. “I just never wanted a boss. Owning my own thing and being a leader of my own thing was always a goal of mine.”

Procuring a small loan to help pay for needed equipment and supplies, Ferrigan converted a room in his parents’ place into a fully modern barber shop. With a sleek, contemporary aesthetic characterized by a contrasting black and white palette, Bladez Barber shop has an inviting, relaxed atmosphere. On a shelf under its large, wall-hung mirror, various styling tools are neatly organized. In front of the mirror is the pièce de résistance of any self-respecting barber shop: the fashionable, snazzy barber chair.

Ferrigan says since he opened his doors in early June, he has been steadily booked. Drawing in clients of all ages, he credits the support from Campbell’s Bay and the surrounding region for helping manifest his business goals into reality.

“Everyone has been super supportive about it,” said Ferrigan, the appreciation visible on his face. “I have been getting a wide demographic of ages coming in.” We always needed a barber, so people appreciate it.”

A business owner just out of high school, Ferrigan encourages other prospective entrepreneurs to be stubborn about their goals.

“First of all, you just have to go for it. If you want to do something, you need to do it. Because if you linger on it too long, you will find reasons not to,” Ferrigan said. “And once you do that, it’s good to have people around you to help. You can’t refuse help. If you refuse help you’re going to be really stuck, it’s going to take a lot longer. So if you have help, use it as a resource.”

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