The owner of a new Inverness barbers said opening his own shop is a “dream come true”.
Kyle MacKenzie now runs Dakota Barbering on Castle Street in the city centre.
With 18 years of experience as a barber, he said having his own place has “always been the end goal”.
The new barbers offers a range of gents cuts, including skin fades, and is located at the former home of Ness Castle Laundry.
Barber ‘fell in love’ with Castle Street location
Kyle had been keeping an eye out for locations across the Highland capital when the unit on Castle Street was made available.
The 38-year-old said: “I was searching for something and I came along to check this one out.
“It ticked all the boxes for me and I instantly fell in love with it. The location is perfect for me and I instantly saw the potential of it.
“There’s a lot of space, which has given me the opportunity to have two spare chairs, which I’ll hopefully rent out to other barbers.”
Kyle said he was struggling to come up with a name initially as he searched for something “rock and roll”.
He added: “I didn’t want the name to have anything to do with me. ‘Castle Street Cuts’, or ‘Cuts By Kyle’ just don’t suit my business.
“It had to stand out to customers so people will want to pop in and see what I’m about, and Dakota is very striking.
“Someone told me to listen to music for inspiration and Dakota by Stereophonics came on.
“The lyrics spoke to me and I looked up what the meaning of the word was and it said a friend. It’s perfect.”
Dakota Barbering can become a community hub, says owner
Kyle has already seen his barbershop turn into “something out of the films”.
He said: “People are loving it already and the way the shop is decorated.
“Some have even just come in to chat away while I cut a customer’s hair. It’s like you see in the films — I love it.
“In time it will build its own community and I like the thought of people coming in to my shop just to chill out.”
Kyle said he has even had people in he doesn’t know showing their support for the new business.
He added: “The love and support has already been incredible, it’s so overwhelming. I’m already seeing the impacts of word of mouth.
“That’s something I want to create as well and I see it growing legs of its own.
“Something I feel already, and it ties in well with the name, is Dakota doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the people.”
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