the essential
Hugo Bonnard, aka “Redbeard Barbershop”, will regretfully close his now-unmissable salon on August 3, on Rue Molinier in Agen. But he is not hanging up his scissors. He is becoming a home-based barber.
This decision was carefully considered after water damage and the slowness of insurance that forced him to close his doors from November 2022 to May 2023. “This glitch made me rethink my way of working. Emilie, the hairdresser at the end of rue Molinier towards Barbès, had kindly made a small place for me in her salon.”
Review your priorities
But the expenses that were spread out and shifted over time, while attendance had always been good, and especially the desire to review his priorities after the birth of his second daughter Deva a year ago, after Livia, got the better of his salon opened in 2016. No longer did he want to keep it, he needed to refocus on his family life with his wife and their two little girls, while working independently.
This Parisian by origin worked for a long time as a barber in the 9th arrondissement of the capital near Pigalle, then in the 4th on the Bastille side, but as soon as he settled in Agen on this busy street with a “village life” spirit, he felt at home, like a fish in water. The clientele was there from the start, seduced by the colorful and retro atmosphere of Hugo, bottle-fed on rock, blues and rockabilly culture. A world populated with the imagery of pin-ups from post-war America, winks to a paradisiacal Hawaii and accents of Havana with bottles of old rums and arranged rum that he gave to the customers, who became his friends, even relatives, to taste. The iconic SUA players at the forefront, Dave Ryan, Ramoka, Florent Guion, Harry Sloan, the Fijians, the English and Irish who have expanded his collection of whiskeys in the lounge, to the coaches and managers like Bernard Goutta. Faithful and assiduous to his precision technique, his impeccable beards, his mastered haircuts, performed on a retro barber’s chair from the 50s with an integrated ashtray. Souvenir photos run across the walls, signed players’ jerseys are framed. “It’s in talks, but on the eve of big matches, I could do the players’ hair in the SUA premises, and I’ll leave with a backpack armed with my scissors and my clippers to go home to Agen and its little belt. Maybe on a motorbike, who knows, in the good weather, a Triumph reissue in his dreams.
Services by sector
“So in turn, I will be able to discover the world of my clients. The idea to make my trips profitable is to group appointments, so that word of mouth can work on my visit. So that clients talk about it around them, in their entourage. I plan to intervene by sectors on different days of the week.”
On the hairdressing side, while his musical tastes and his culture of the 50s and 60s have long advocated quiffs and the Pompadour style, a legacy of Rock’n’roll, Hugo admits that he has since watered down his wine by offering more classic cuts. The closing of the salon is tinged with nostalgia after eight years of presence on Rue Molinier, but he also says he is excited by this new adventure. He is eager to start working at a more relaxed pace while remaining in control of his schedule. “I have given a lot to the salon”. Hugo’s kindness, the friendliness infused into a salon full of charm and the walk-in services have very quickly made his barber shop a success.
Friends, memories, a memorable concert
“Today I prioritize quality of life, while continuing to do what I love deeply. The real wealth will be the time spent with my family. The core of regulars will remain. Here, over the years, we have learned to know each other, to sometimes exchange on more intimate aspects of life. We really appreciate each other.”
Everyone in the street remembers the wild, rainy concert by Spunyboys in 2018 in front of the salon organized by Hugo with an audience of purists wearing outfits borrowed from the rockabilly wardrobe.
Future appointments on Planity and on Facebook.
