Barbershop
I feel like a little boy in a toy store when I’m sitting in front of a barber shop. I’ve been in many barbershops on many streets around the world and each time I had the same strange feeling of stepping into another dimension. It’s a kind of ritual.
Being a barber was never a second hand job. For hundreds of years, the barbers’ guild continues to remain in this world where the moustache or the beard are symbols of the masculine couture and fashion is one of the terms that point to virility and potency. It isn’t even a surprise since the hair on a man’s face has had and still has a special significance in the human ideal of beauty and this ideal belongs to both the aesthetic of a nation in a certain time as well as to a feeling of belonging to a religion, a cultural tradition or a social class. Whether it is rich or poor, the man has had the same unquenchable need to be proud and groomed – this is part of human nature itself.
The barbershop is a unique place for men to socialize. The barbershop is a masculine place. The barbershop is the man’s home away from home. Barbers have a sense of human solidarity that goes beyond daily matters and into the essence of life.
A barber does not need too many special effects to set up his tiny universe. In Varanasi, on the bank of the holy Ganges River, a chair and a fabric canopy were everything a barber needed to create his magic place. In Katmandu I saw barbers fulfilling their “mission” in the little crossroad markets, between temples and stalls. Nor in Hanoi isn’t too much place – along the walls at the base of bridges, ad hoc barbershop opens next to the mopeds parked nearby. In Morocco, near the cemetery from the Fez medina, I saw clients waiting in front of an improvised tent. In Portugal, the barbershop is where soccer fans gather. In Turkey or Palestine it’s a place where one can have a cup of tea and a relaxed chat with a perfect stranger. In Castellammare di Stabia – a small town on the Neapolitan coast, a nonagenarian that seemed to have come straight out of a classic movie suddenly restored my lust for life. On a side street in Stockholm I found “Barber & Books” an extraordinary combination of a classic barbershop and bookstore. In Dublin I visited “The Waldorf Barbers’ a historical barbershop founded in 1929 and inherited from father to son.
Wherever you are, the bell that rings when you enter the barbershop has the same universal effect: you leave your worries and burdens at the doorstep and suddenly the wide-smiling man in the white gown becomes the best friend you’ve ever had. And then the ritual begins.
Dublin, Ireland, August 2015
Sharjah, UAE, October 2008
Cojimar, Cuba, January 2006
Istanbul, Turkey, December 2016
Dublin, Ireland, August 2015
Stockholm, Sweden, August 2013
Stockholm, Sweden, August 2013
Stockholm, Sweden, August 2013
Antakia, Turkey, January 2009
Antakia, Turkey, January 2009
Ericeira, Portugal, April 2009
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
Havana, Cuba, January 2011
Tokyo, Japan, April 2014
Marrakesh, Morocco, November 2017
Mexico City, Mexico, January 2014
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, December 2010
Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, December 2010
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
Luang Prabang, Laos, January 2012
Fes, Morocco, October 2007
Sighet, Romania, August 2010
Kathmandu, Nepal, October 2008
Kathmandu, Nepal, October 2008
Amaan, Jordan, Mars 2010
Dublin, Ireland, August 2015
London, UK, December 2019
Konia, Turkey, December 2008
Havana, Cuba, January 2011
Kazan, Russian Federation June 2019
Kazan, Russian Federation June 2019
Antakia, Turkey, January 2009
Konia, Turkey, December 2008
Moscow, Russian Federation, June 2017
Dublin, Ireland, August 2015
New Delhi, India, November 2014
Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, December 2010
Medellin, Colombia, January 2019
Athens, Greece, May 2013
Dublin, Ireland, August 2015
Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, January 2011
Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, January 2011
Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, January 2011
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
Havana, Cuba, January 2011
Krakov, Poland, July 2016
Riga, Latvia, July 2016
Riga, Latvia, July 2016
Lampang, Thailand, January 2012
Havana, Cuba, January 2007
Moscow, Russian Federation, June 2019
Moscow, Russian Federation, June 2019
Riomagiore, Italy June, 2009
Hanoi, Vietnam, January 2012
Havana, Cuba, January 2011
Mompox, Colombia, January, 2019
Vilnius, Lithuania, July 2016
Vilnius, Lithuania, July 2016
Marrakesh, Morocco, November 2017
Warsaw, Poland, July 2016
Antakia, Turkey, January 2009
Varanasi, India, October 2008
Barbershop
I feel like a little boy in a toy store when I’m sitting in front of a barber shop. I’ve been in many barbershops on many streets around the world and each time I had the same strange feeling of stepping into another dimension. It’s a kind of ritual.
Being a barber was never a second hand job. For hundreds of years, the barbers’ guild continues to remain in this world where the moustache or the beard are symbols of the masculine couture and fashion is one of the terms that point to virility and potency. It isn’t even a surprise since the hair on a man’s face has had and still has a special significance in the human ideal of beauty and this ideal belongs to both the aesthetic of a nation in a certain time as well as to a feeling of belonging to a religion, a cultural tradition or a social class. Whether it is rich or poor, the man has had the same unquenchable need to be proud and groomed – this is part of human nature itself.
The barbershop is a unique place for men to socialize. The barbershop is a masculine place. The barbershop is the man’s home away from home. Barbers have a sense of human solidarity that goes beyond daily matters and into the essence of life.
A barber does not need too many special effects to set up his tiny universe. In Varanasi, on the bank of the holy Ganges River, a chair and a fabric canopy were everything a barber needed to create his magic place. In Katmandu I saw barbers fulfilling their “mission” in the little crossroad markets, between temples and stalls. Nor in Hanoi isn’t too much place – along the walls at the base of bridges, ad hoc barbershop opens next to the mopeds parked nearby. In Morocco, near the cemetery from the Fez medina, I saw clients waiting in front of an improvised tent. In Portugal, the barbershop is where soccer fans gather. In Turkey or Palestine it’s a place where one can have a cup of tea and a relaxed chat with a perfect stranger. In Castellammare di Stabia – a small town on the Neapolitan coast, a nonagenarian that seemed to have come straight out of a classic movie suddenly restored my lust for life. On a side street in Stockholm I found “Barber & Books” an extraordinary combination of a classic barbershop and bookstore. In Dublin I visited “The Waldorf Barbers’ a historical barbershop founded in 1929 and inherited from father to son.
Wherever you are, the bell that rings when you enter the barbershop has the same universal effect: you leave your worries and burdens at the doorstep and suddenly the wide-smiling man in the white gown becomes the best friend you’ve ever had. And then the ritual begins.
Dublin, Ireland, August 2015
Sharjah, UAE, October 2008
Cojimar, Cuba, January 2006
Istanbul, Turkey, December 2016
Dublin, Ireland, August 2015
Stockholm, Sweden, August 2013
Stockholm, Sweden, August 2013
Stockholm, Sweden, August 2013
Antakia, Turkey, January 2009
Antakia, Turkey, January 2009
Ericeira, Portugal, April 2009
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
Havana, Cuba, January 2011
Tokyo, Japan, April 2014
Marrakesh, Morocco, November 2017
Mexico City, Mexico, January 2014
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, December 2010
Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, December 2010
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
Luang Prabang, Laos, January 2012
Fes, Morocco, October 2007
Sighet, Romania, August 2010
Kathmandu, Nepal, October 2008
Kathmandu, Nepal, October 2008
Amaan, Jordan, Mars 2010
Dublin, Ireland, August 2015
London, UK, December 2019
Konia, Turkey, December 2008
Havana, Cuba, January 2011
Kazan, Russian Federation June 2019
Kazan, Russian Federation June 2019
Antakia, Turkey, January 2009
Konia, Turkey, December 2008
Moscow, Russian Federation, June 2017
Dublin, Ireland, August 2015
New Delhi, India, November 2014
Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, December 2010
Medellin, Colombia, January 2019
Athens, Greece, May 2013
Dublin, Ireland, August 2015
Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, January 2011
Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, January 2011
Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, January 2011
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 2017
Havana, Cuba, January 2011
Krakov, Poland, July 2016
Riga, Latvia, July 2016
Riga, Latvia, July 2016
Lampang, Thailand, January 2012
Havana, Cuba, January 2007
Moscow, Russian Federation, June 2019
Moscow, Russian Federation, June 2019
Riomagiore, Italy June, 2009
Hanoi, Vietnam, January 2012
Havana, Cuba, January 2011
Mompox, Colombia, January, 2019
Vilnius, Lithuania, July 2016
Vilnius, Lithuania, July 2016
Marrakesh, Morocco, November 2017
Warsaw, Poland, July 2016
Antakia, Turkey, January 2009