Birkin and Lear opens in Littleborough

Samantha Lauren Birkin and Rachael Lear

Birkin and Lear, a new hairdressing shop, has opened in Littleborough and had an official open evening on Friday (31 January) with special guest Mayor of Rochdale, Peter Rush in attendance.

Mayor Peter Rush said: “This is another lovely occasion. It is a pleasure to have been invited along to the opening of this new shop in Littleborough.

“Littleborough is a place which looks after its own and has flexibility so I think it is great for this business to be here. It is great to see young people having a go at business and I wish them the best of luck.”

The shop, which is run by best friends Samantha Lauren Birkin and Rachael Lear, has been open since 10 December but the girls wanted to host a special evening to thank their friends, family and clients.

Samantha Lauren said: “We just wanted to have a get together to say a big thank you to all of our friends, family and clients who have supported us. We have had a lot of support from everyone and we are so grateful for that.”

The pair met after working together for five years in a Rochdale salon but decided to venture out on their own. Rachael said: “We wanted a challenge and we wanted to try something on our own and see if we could do it.”

The salon, which is located on Church Street in Littleborough, is the latest of a number of small businesses to open in that area. Talking about the location Rachael said: “We thought we would do better here than any other place.”

Samantha Lauren added: “It is a perfect location for us and we just loved it from when we saw it.”

Currently the salon offers hairdressing for both male and females but the girls hope to expand into other areas in the future. “At the minute we are focused on the hairdressing side of things but we are looking for a nail technician so we can start that side of things,” said Samantha Lauren.

Speaking of their daughters venture into the business world, the girl’s mums spoke of what they think of the business.

Tracey Birkin, Samantha Lauren’s mum, said: “It is fantastic. To me, hairdressing is a business in which if you don’t go out on your own you won't get very far and I think they will make a success of it.”

Diane Lear, Rachael’s mum, added: “I am very happy for them. I think they have been trained well and are both prepared for this so I just hope it is a success for them.”