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Enterprising Cuts Fit for Kings

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South Eastern Regional College (SERC)

South East Regional College Have a Go sessions

30th May 2025

Two students who met on a barbering course at South Eastern Regional College (SERC) are making quite the reputation for themselves in Lisburn.  Their business, Kings Barber Studio, has swept away any fuddy-duddy notion of what a barber shop should be,  and instead is the bang-on-trend, lively, social spot to go for a cut – fit for Kings.

Dean Watson (25), from Dromore and Lee Parker (26), from Lisburn, met at SERC’s Lisburn Campus on the Level 2 Barbering course back in 2018.   The two lads instantly hit it off, finding they were very much on the same wavelength in terms of ‘can do’ attitude and ambitions.

Dean said, “When I finished my GCSEs I went on to do a course in IT at another FE college, but I soon found out, it was not for me. I went to work with my dad who does upholstery – doing nothing was never an option in our house – and that was the wake-up call that I needed to find what was right for me.  It raised a few eyebrows when I decided I wanted to do barbering, but when I got started on the course at SERC, I knew this was what I wanted to do.”

Speaking about coming to SERC, he said, “Everything about the course gave me confidence.   Besides learning about the tools of the trade and technique, you are geared up to deal with customers.   I am creative and really enjoy the process of cutting hair.   If you are interested in something and enjoy it, it might not feel like work, but you must put the work in to get to that stage.”

Lee, worked with his dad’s tar squad for Road Service for four years following his GCSEs.   He said, “I decided I wanted to do barbering in 2018.   It went down ok at home.   My folks were very supportive of me trying my own thing.

“When I met Dean at SERC, we realised we had similar interests and we both had moved into barbering from very different backgrounds.

“I loved the course at SERC.   The tutors were fantastic, and the facilities were set up like a proper salon with real clients, so you felt like you were in work almost immediately – it is all very familiar when you get to a real workplace.”

Following the course, both Lee and Dean were working at a barber in Banbridge and both had the same thought, ‘we could run this place ourselves.’   From there, they took one step at a time.   They viewed premises in Lisburn, and they opened one – close to their current location – in December 2019.   Then Covid hit. Dean said, “I was nineteen and Lee was twenty.   We did not get furloughed as we had just started.  Others might have thrown the towel in,  but we were both determined.   We continued to plan what we wanted to do.  When things opened again after Covid,  we bought two more chairs which we hired out and things took off from there.”

Lee added, “We kept re-investing in the business.   We wanted Kings to be part of the local community, so we sponsored a local football team and got involved in fundraising for men’s mental health. All the time we were growing our reputation, name,  brand and our business ethos.

“It has been a lot of pressure.   I started my family when I was 21 – and Dean has a young family too –  that certainly puts things into perspective.   We had to make Kings work!   It is easy when you have the passion for something.   We learnt as we went along.   We decide everything together, from the look and feel of the shop,  to branding, from who fits with our business.”

Kings Barber Studio, located at 74 Antrim Street in Lisburn, is light and bright, with a custom-made branded coffee table surrounded by sofas to encourage being social.   The business partners now have eight chairs, which they rent to other barbers and a branded hair and beard care product range available on site and online through Amazon.   They have plans to develop their business and the Kings brand – upskilling workshops or opening another studio.

Keen to help other talent along, the young men have taken on Ethan Doherty (16), from Lisburn,  a Level 2 TraineeshipNI Barbering student on placement.  Ethan said, “I come to Kings every Thursday for my placement.   I love it.   Right now, I want to progress to the Level 3 in Barbering at SERC and then rent a chair a Kings.

He added, “College is different from school.   I feel like I am progressing because I am doing the subject I like and am interested in learning.   I love the placement at Kings as I am putting all the things I learn in college into practice in the workplace and I am learning from the guys every week.”

In conclusion, Dean said, “We do pinch ourselves each day, when we come into work and look around at where we are with Kings.   We are realising our dream.

SERC Open Evening is on Thursday 5 June from 5pm – 8pm at the college’s Bangor, Downpatrick, Lisburn and Newtownards Campuses.  Real Learning for Real Life #BetterOffAtSERC.