TD 1
t’s Saturday morning and Lucky Gaspard is late. W
e’re due to meet at 10.15, it’s nearly 11 and he’s still nowhere to be seen. Francis Notime, one of the barbers, apologises for Gaspard’s tardiness as he searches for a charger for his dead phone. “Do you have a charger with you?” he asks. “I don’t, sorry,” I reply. He goes back looking under desks and in boxes for the right one. Although it’s still early in the day, the barber shop is starting to get busy. Notime and his colleague, who tells me he goes by “AY”, are already occupied with clients wanting to get their hair cut or beard trimmed and have little time to talk. Just as 11am hits, Gaspard finally turns up. Wearing white Nike runners, brown chinos, and a polo shirt, he welcomes us with a beaming smile. Gaspard is open to chatting and unlike Notime and AY, seems to enjoy being the subject of a camera lens. Speaking about the history of the shop, he says that the barbers has been open since 2004 but he took over operations in 2008. “I used to cut hair back home, but I wasn’t very experienced,” he says. “I came here and learned for about four years. It is something I love, I am an artist and I have passion for it,” he says. Gaspard’s shop is located on the corner of North King Street and Blackhall Place on the south side of Stoneybatter. Lime green paint dons the exterior with a colourful banner reading “Lucky Hair Design” running above the door. To complete the façade, multiple images of people sporting new hairstyles extends along the length of the banner. On the inside, four barber chairs and a wall-length mirror lie parallel to a window facing out on to North King Street. Dozens and dozens of hair products lie ➝ It is something I love, I am an artist and I have passion for it. 46