A BUSINESS in Hexham is celebrating a milestone.
Saks is a nationwide hairdressing franchise with a salon situated in Hexham. To celebrate Andrea Currah achieving 20 years as Sak's Franchisee, the salon is having a celebration week to mark the occasion.
On Tuesday, May 3, Andrea will have been Saks Hexham Franchisee since 2002.
Her daughter Shannon Currah said over the 20 years Andrea has run the salon, she has trained up approximately 20 apprentices to be qualified hairdressers and won Saks Stylist of the Year seven times out of 80 Saks salons in the country.
The Hexham branch has also won Salon of the Year twice and last year they won the Best Hair Salon in Northumberland at the English Business Awards.
Over the last 15 years, Shannon said they have raised £16,000 for The Eve Appeal, which funds research into and raises awareness for gynecological cancers.
The business has raised this through a variety of ways, including afternoon teas, fashion shows, and bake sales.
They were also successful in getting through to the L'Oreal Colour Trophy, winning £2,000 towards a holiday in Ibiza for the team.
Shannon said: "They're a loyal, hardworking and educated team that the clients always comment on."
The team will attend the annual national company conference, the Saks Awards, in June.
Shannon said Andrea goes the extra mile to make her customers enjoy their day as much as possible.
"Andrea loves to make people enjoy getting their hair done and have a lovely day out," she said.
For the celebration week, Shannon said there will be prosecco, cake, balloons, and a few surprises that Andrea doesn't know about.
"Some of our customers have been coming for the full 20 years. We get people coming from Bishop Auckland who keep coming back here. We've got a lovely, loyal client base who always support any fundraising, and any competitions we do," she said.
Since moving to their new salon five years ago, Shannon has been taking on more of the day to day management, while Andrea has been taking more of a backseat. Shannon said in future, she will continue to increase her involvement in the salon's day to day duties.
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