If you’ve bobbed about Bury recently, you might have seen an intriguing new shop front on Bolton Street. With its beautifully handcrafted wicker sign, Grönn (a variation of the Swedish for ‘green’, don’t you know), is a hair salon with a difference. This is not your run-of-the-mill hairdressers, oh no, this is one of the first high-end, luxury-boutique eco-salons to hit the North West.
Grönn is the brainchild of Rachael Kennedy, a hairdresser with 26 years experience who, after working with some of the top salons in the country, decided it was time to go it alone and do things her way. With environmental and ethical issues riding high on a growing number of people’s agendas, Grönn is a completely ethical hair salon which aims to leave the smallest carbon footprint possible, without compromising on quality.
Kennedy explains: “I wanted to do something that fits with my values of doing our bit for the planet and making sure that we don’t have an impact. All the decor is sustainable and reclaimed, all our beauty products are sustainable. There is zero plastic in the place. But I wanted it to be all those things without compromising on luxury, I still wanted it to be a high-end boutique salon.”
Suffice to say, walking into the salon is a total treat for the senses; the decor, the aromas and the atmosphere all nail the luxury feel. To think it’s been handcrafted with minimal impact on the environment is an impressive accomplishment. And Kennedy is determined that everything in the salon is geared to customer experience, not just a bish-bash-bosh snip to your barnet affair.
“It’s about coming in, relaxing and being in a cool place. From the minute you walk in, it hits all senses. It’s the smell of the place, it’s got a lovely aroma because we have no toxic chemicals. One of my clients said that when they walked in, it smelt like when she goes on holiday, a honeymoon in the Maldives type thing. Everywhere you look it’s nice, there’s no sharpness to the place. Everything is soft and about relaxing and peaceful tranquillity. It’s all about luxury and five-star service.”
As a vegan, it was high on Kennedy’s agenda to source the best quality ethical beauty products. As such, it’s proved a hit with the vegan community, some of whom travel far and wide to sit in her hot seat. But vegan or not, Grönn is a salon for everyone, and non-vegans can be safe in the knowledge that they’re doing their bit, ethically and environmentally while enjoying their bespoke service.
But, Kennedy, who is Bury born and bred, has a wider mission for the building. She has purposely designed it so it can function as multi-purpose – specifically to enable the space to be used as a hub for the wider community. 
“I really want Grönn to be a proper pillar of the community, a place to gather everyone up,” she tells me. “We’ve got lots of things planned for certain charities. We’ve already had the community supper club for the local Super Josh charity which was about raising funds and awareness for the charity. We’re going to do a ‘Communi-Tea’ where we’ll have groups come in, such as homeless groups, where will be teaching them skills like confidence building, back to work and social media skills, and also working with various different groups in the community. We really want to make it a space for everyone and not just a hair salon.”
It almost goes without saying that the kettle is always on at Grönn and, with a bigger tea collection than a hipster tea shop, what more enticement do you need to pop in and say hello and, if you fancy, freshen up your ‘do’? Exciting times lie ahead for the cosy yet luxurious eco-salon with a community twist.
Grönn can be found at 64 Bolton Street, Bury, Lancs. For more info or to get in touch with Rachael Kennedy head straight to http://www.gronn.co.uk.
https://twitter.com/Gronnhair; https://www.facebook.com/gronnecosalon/?fref=ts
