Our story
It started with a razor and a note that said "slow down."
1971
Kilbride's, Ballina
Seán Kilbride opened a one-chair shop on Bridge Street with a borrowed mirror and a straight razor in a black leather case. He charged ten shillings and gave away advice for free.
Farmers came in on fair days. Young lads came in before dances. Widowers came in on Tuesdays, when nobody else did, just to be in a room where someone said their name.
1998
The boy on the bench
Ronan was seven when he started sweeping the floor for a 50p coin. He watched his grandad draw a neckline in one stroke — one clean, black line — and decided that was the most important thing a person could do with their hands.
"Anyone can cut hair," Seán told him. "The trick is making a man feel like he's worth the time."
2016
The empty chair
Seán passed in the winter. Kilbride's closed the same month. Ronan, by then cutting in a London chain doing twenty-two heads a day, flew home for the funeral and found the razor waiting for him, case and all, with a note: "Slow down."
He sat in the empty shop for an hour. Then he handed in his notice.
2019
Blackline
Blackline Studio opened on Drury Street with three chairs and one rule: nobody gets rushed. Forty-five-minute appointments, always. The kettle is always on. Tuesdays are still quiet, and the door is still open.
Seán's razor hangs above the middle chair. It's only used for one thing now — the first shave of every groom who walks through the door.
"Every time someone sits down and their shoulders drop — that's him. That's still his shop."
— Ronan Kilbride, founder
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