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drferox · 6 years

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How do you feel about the way Greencross is seemingly trying to build a monopoly of vet practices in Australia? Concerning, or not as alarming as people think it is?

Mate, I have many potent, insider opinions about GreenX and the rise of corporate medicine. I have been considering writing on this topic for a while, but now seems as good a time as any.

But first, full disclosure of where I stand within the veterinary industry. I am an associate veterinarian, which means I work in a practice but don’t own it, and I work two jobs. My full time job is in private practice owned by a single vet who actually works there. My casual job is at an emergency center, owned by GreenX. I have also done relief work at a GreenX clinic.

And frankly, the more I work for GreenX, the more it makes me cheer on worker-owned co-ops.

GreenX is just one of the multi-practice corporate vet chains which are popping up not just in Australia, but overseas. GreenX is just the largest and is actually on the stock exchange. You can buy shares in GreenX. That means GreenX is accountable to its shareholders and expected to make a healthy profit.

GreenX owns large numbers of vet practices across Australia, but also owns all the Animal Emergency Centers, all the Petbarn brand pet stores, an external veterinary diagnostic laboratory, at least one crematorium, a number of specialist hospitals and runs the admin side for at least one university teaching hospital.

It also currently operates a ‘Healthy Pets Plus’ program, where for just $450 a year you can get free consults, and is working on bringing out its own pet insurance line.

How are you feeling about this? A little uneasy?

I have concerns about a monopoly, because in my neck of the woods GreenX owns the 4 closest 24 hour emergency vet clinics, in addition to all the others around the city, so I don’t really have much of a choice where to send my patients. They also own quite a lot of the general practices in my local region, so that’s hard to compete with.

For a few years there, they also sent a letter to my boss every year offering to buy his practice. Just a form letter, which I assume they sent out to lots of practices in a similar way.

They pay for all their vet employees to be Australian Veterinary Association members, which grants us all a voice and vote in relevant matters, but not to receive the Australian Veterinary Journal. I don’t know whether GreenX gets corporate discounts for signing up so many members. This makes me uneasy because Banfield in the USA, which is owned by Mars, financially rewards its employees for taking up leadership positions with the various representative organizations over there. Which means if it ever comes up, corporation is paying for a lot of people to be there if an important vote ever comes up…

I mean, I’m not a conspiracy nut, but I’m not exactly happy.

But that is the corporation side, the people on the ground are not the corporation. They are by and large decent vets and nurses hamstrung by the corporate rules they’re obliged to follow. For some this works out fine, particularly in their early years. They have a structured training plan and can see where to advance in the corporation. It provides a willing buyer for a practice owner who might otherwise have been unable to receive the price they were seeking (another issue for another day). It has removed some of the management stress from vets in many clinics and dispersed it, allowing a pool of locums to be drawn from to fill in absences.

Doing so has added a lot of middle management and a lot of red tape. They are frequently recruiting at industry events, and promoting their chain at events like the Dog Lovers Show.

Working on the ground as one of their casual emergency vets I am profoundly dissatisfied. Considering we are supposed to be a top of the line intensive care clinic some of my complaints and concerns have included:

The introduction of Healthy Pets Plus robbing the clinic of its emergency consult fee ($165) and crediting only $10 to our ‘income’ for that month.

Then having the gall to turn around and say that because we are not making as much money this quarter as we used to, our budget is reduced.

Not offering staff a worthwhile wage to do night shift, so unable to retain them very long.

Not paying emergency nurses anything above the award wage (minimum wage for the industry), even if they have been employed at that practice multiple years.

Nowhere to advance unless you pursue a position in management.

Not granting even a cost of living pay rise (in line with inflation) despite meeting expected profit targets for three years.

Telling employees they are not allowed to discuss their wages with each other, which I’m pretty damn sure is illegal and is definitely shady.

Not paying superannuation properly.

Not paying vets and nurses in management positions their backpay in a timely manner.

Making it ridiculously difficult to access your payslips to see if you were paid properly.

Needing to get approval months in advance to order extra stock for busy times of year

Watching the sheer stress of being a manager at these clinics wear good people down to the bone or brink of madness.

Once GreenX has bought into a practice, it’s nearly impossible to get rid of them.

Acquiring a practice and promising ‘nothing will change’, that all the things we like will stay the same. Only to change those things, slowly, over the following 3-5 years to match the other clinics in the chain.

Mandatory tea break.

I have also listened to management-types of GreenX make arguments for having unpaid internships in general practice for newly graduated veterinarians, for 12 weeks.

And just about lost my banana over it.

Unpaid. For Twelve weeks. Straight after graduation where they’ve qualified as veterinarians.

Oh hell no.

Interns typically get paid less anyway, and a new grad vet wage isn’t all that much. But they wanted to pay nothing for the first 3 months.

Why? Because new graduate vets are not profitable at the start, they typically cost the practice money as they get themselves established. Everyone knows this, it’s part of the deal when you take on a new grad.

Having to work 3 months straight out of uni for zero pay is insane, it’s almost murderous, and it’s simply evil. This plan was ripe for abuse.

It was also vocally shouted down at the PANPAC conference where it was suggested, thankfully, but these are non-vet, corporate types of people trying to run a series of vet practices for profit.

I just want to be the friendly neighborhood vet on the corner, you know? Just local, quality service where I can get to know the pets over time, and schoolkids aren’t afraid to bring in an injured bird if they find one in the playground. To be part of that community.

And this is what most vet practices have been. You own your job, you don’t need to make a massive profit, just enough to keep doing what you want to do.

But now GreenX has shareholders. The business owners are not on the ground with the rest of us. I have concerns and I don’t like it.

That is not to be negative to those working for Greencross, the boots on the ground that are probably not being treated as well as they should, but need a job to keep the lights on. For some the structure suits them. For some it’s just a job. It is the team on the ground that is the only reason I started working for them in the first place, and stayed.

But do I wish it was something other than GreenX? Yes.

UPDATE: I’d like to contribute in this discussion some ‘advice’ that was shared on Facebook. Members of this particular group are warned to be careful what they post as it’s not a private group and anybody can take a screenshot, so I think that’s fair game.

I do not like this. I do not like this at all. I can’t even tell if it’s satire or trolling, because it’s too close to the truth.

Not only does it make it look like it’s now all about the money (which it is, for the shareholders) it reduces veterinary medicine to a numbers game. By this metric, a ‘good vet’ is one that earns $300 per consult, and twice as much of their billing comes from lab fees as consult fees. They also admit almost a third of their consults.

Doesn’t matter if clients like them, if they solve cases or achieve good medical outcomes. All the qualitative stuff is gone, just the dollar values.

(Oh, and if you meet those metrics, you’re in no way guaranteed to get a pay rise. From experience).

Now it is entirely possible to meet those metrics just by working your cases appropriately and seeing a lot of them, but thinking like this pushes vets, especially young vets who want a pay rise so they can afford their own car, home, etc, to be thinking of the dollars and not the animal or client as they practice.

Maybe I am old fashioned or a dying breed during the rise of corporate veterinary medicine, but I am profoundly uncomfortable with this. Worse, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and a strong feeling of this is not my veterinary medicine.

I am heartened to see most of the comments on that thread from angry, like-minded vets insulted at being reduced to ‘trained monkeys’ and focusing on these metrics instead of patient outcomes and client satisfaction, but as GreenX picks up more and more young vets, training them to fit its mold, I am afraid of more of them being modeled into what GreenX wants, or becoming disillusioned and leaving the profession early.

#veterinarian #vetblr #corporate medicine #vet industry #vet school #ethics #collusion #corruption #greenX #greencross #vet

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to-star-lake · 7 years

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blue [ pt. 1 ]

pairing | pcy x reader count | 2.9k

“Wow, this is...” you heard Baekhyun say from next to you.

“Yeah..no kidding,” you awed as the two of you stood before the entrance of the oceanside resort, your backpacks swung over your backs, hands lingering on the handles of your luggage, jaws dropped in astonishment at the hotel you were staying at.

The two of you have been ogling at the resort ever since the van that brought you from the airport to the hotel turned the corner off the main road past a giant marble sign with the name of the resort. The road led through a lining of towering palm trees, and you and Baekhyun pressed your noses against the windows of the van, taking photos of the scenery.

The van looped around the giant fountain, it’s surrounding pond so big it might as well be a lake, before pulling up to the entrance. The entire facade of the resort was built of stone, pillars rising from the marble landing up to a canopy like an ancient stone acropolis.

“You guys like it?” The two of you turned as your manager walked up beside you in his nicely pressed business suit, his leather laptop bag swung over his shoulder, a single travel case next to him. You and Baekhyun simultaneously nodded your heads, eyes still wide, admiring the resort.

He laughed and started walking towards the entrance, “Alright collect your jaws, let’s go.” The two of you quickly picked up your luggage, shuffling behind him.

The check-in counter and the lobby of the resort was bustling with people. Men and women in business suits sipping coffee at a cafe in the corner, families dressed in t-shirts and swim suits applying sun screen by the front door, small children running about.

“Ok, here’s your reservation confirmations, just go to any person at the counter,” your manager said as he handed you and Baekhyun each a sheet of paper. You walked up to the front desk and a nice, smiling woman greeted you as she took your name for the reservation to check in. She was telling you your room number and which direction it’s in when suddenly you heard a screeching voice next to you, “One of the bellhops said the bars here don’t open until after 5PM is that true?”

You turned and looked at the girl that interrupted your transaction, standing next to you, leaning into the counter, blowing a bubble with the gum in her mouth, creating a loud smacking sound. She was in a tiny, glittering black dress, and you noticed the curls in her hair had spun out in all different directions, the makeup on her face smeared, heels in her hands, standing barefoot next to you. She must’ve just come back from an epic night out, you thought to yourself sarcastically, chuckling under your breath as you glanced at the wide-eyed concierge behind the desk.

“Miss, that’s correct, bars open when all of the hotel restaurants open for dinner,” the woman behind the desk said cordially. “But if you like I could recommend a few restaurants outside the resort premises-”

“Ugh, laaaaame,” the girl cut her off, rolling her eyes, and turning and noticing you standing beside her. “Oh shoot, I’m so sorry, did I just cut in front of you?” she giggled.

You smiled, “Oh no no, don’t worry, I’m pretty much already checked in, I just need to get my room key.” You hoped none of your sarcasm seeped through your words. But you could see in her face that even if it had, she wouldn’t have noticed.

“Hey! Are they open or not!” you saw the girl twirl around as she heard a loud voice booming across the lobby. You turned and saw a group of girls, dressed up and yet a complete mess just like she is, standing around two guys in nice shirts, with their top buttons undone, hair messy, and ties untied, hanging from their necks.

You watched as she sauntered back to her group and one of the guys swung his arm lazily around her neck, and she reached her hand up to lace her fingers around his. You saw her shake her head and the other guy hang his head in exasperation at her response. Wow, it must suck to not be able to get a drink at 9AM, you thought to yourself, chuckling.

“Miss, I’m so sorry,” you heard the concierge say. You turned and looked back at her as she hastily swiped your credit card and handed you your room key and pointed down the hall in the direction of your room.

“Oh no, please, don’t even worry about it,” you said, smiling. “I’m sorry for you guys.”

“You have no idea,” she sighed, lowering her voice, “They’ve been here for a week, they’re famous amongst the hotel staff now. I can’t wait to get them out.”

“Well judging by the look of them, you must at least be getting some nice cash outta that,” you laughed.

“Ha, this is true, they have not been stingy with the tips,” she grinned, “Are you here for the conference or for vacation, Miss?”

“The conference,” you responded, and the concierge nodded, turning and brushing through a bin on the desk behind her before pulling out a bag with your name on the tag attached to it.

“Ok, Miss, this is for you,” she said, handing you the bag and pulling out a folder from it. “This has everything you need, here’s the conference schedule, after hours-events, booth numbers, participating corporations, and sponsors all listed.” You took the folder from her, looking down at the schedule to see check which room your presentation was in. “And here are your business cards that we had printed for you per your company’s instructions,” she said as she handed you a small, sleek black box, opening it to reveal a set of polished and minimalist business cards with your name printed on them.

“Thank you,” you said, smiling, seeing your name in print.

“Enjoy your stay miss, and good luck at the conference,” the concierge smiled back.

You waved to her, turning and finding Baekhyun and your manager standing next to the entrance to the coffee shop.

“Dude, these are so nice!” Baekhyun raved, holding up one of his business cards for you to see. “I’ve never had a business card before, this is so adult.”

You laughed, “Same, this is pretty cool.”

You and Baekhyun had come to the resort for a business conference, representing your company. This was the first conference the two of you had ever attended, and both of you were both extremely flattered but also extremely nervous that your company chose you to represent them. The two of you spent months in preparation for this event, rehearsing and fine-tuning your presentations.

The conference lasts for four days and each day is planned down to the second. Breakfast in the morning, networking before lunch, dinner with clients, and sometimes drinks afterwards. You were expected to socialize and engage clients as well as competing companies. The entire event made you feel like you’ve done enough socializing and smiling for a lifetime.

By the end of the third day, both you and Baekhyun were absolutely exhausted. It was almost midnight and the two of you had finally gotten rid of a group of douchey consultants from a competing firm at the bar, and the two of you stayed behind to wind down. You sat across from Baekhyun in a corner table at a hotel restaurant. You laughed as you watched his head drop onto the table top, making a thudding sound.

“Can we go home yet,” you heard him whine through the loudness of the restaurant, groups of people at the bar, by the pool table, laughing and yelling over each other. You smiled, circling your finger around the top of your glass of vodka.

“Hey,” you said, watching as he lifted his head to face you. “We made it,” you smiled, watching him smile in return. He lifted his glass up and you clinked yours against it.

“We really did,” he replied, setting his glass down. The two of you sat, letting a few moments of silence pass as you reflected on how hard the two of you fought for your work to be recognized within your company. How a year of extended workdays and weekends had now become realized as you were representing your company at this conference.

“I think you have a stalker,” you heard Baekhyun say, his eyes low, looking over the rim of his glass as he lifted it up for a drink. You tilted your head in confusion at him. “This dude at the bar has been staring at you the whole time we’ve been here tonight. He was here yesterday too.”

“Ha,” you laughed without turning to look. “Is he at least a cute stalker?” you rolled your eyes, your words coming out with full-fledged sarcasm.

“Nah he looks super douchey,” Baekhyun said, setting his glass down. “Like one of those idiot consultants we ditched at the other restaurant, except like, somehow worse,” his face wrinkled into a disgusted frown, still looking in his direction.

You hit his arm gently, “Dude you should probably stop staring at him then, I’m not trying to have another inane conversation with a consultant,” you laughed, putting air-quotes around the word consultant as you spoke.

“Ugh you’re right,” Baekhyun sighed, downing the rest of his drink. “What the hell even is consulting anyways, it’s such a scam. A whole night of talking to these guys and I still have no idea what it is that they do.” He stood up, pulling his wallet out from his back pocket. “I’m gonna get another, do you want another?” You drank down the rest of your glass as well, nodding to him and he walked over towards the bar.

You sat in silence, looking at the condensation that had formed on the outside of the empty glass in your hand, your fingertips tingling from the coldness of the ice. You found your mind drifting back to when you and Baekhyun had first become friends, how you helped each other through the rigorous demands of your ivy league curriculum. The late nights you spent studying at the library, or the late nights you stayed up at each other’s apartments, consoling each other over failed relationships.

And you thought of how three years later, you’d both been recruited by your company right out of college to work on an impossible project, one that was designed to fail, one that they had no qualms about giving to two wide-eyed, enthusiastic young graduates, eager to learn. But you didn’t fail. The two of you made it a success. You felt a great sense of pride in what you’ve been able to accomplish together.

Your thoughts were interrupted when you saw a figure slide into the seat across the table from you. You watched as he slid a glass of dark liquor across the table to you. “Baek, this is vodka, I was drinking vodka,” you said, looking up.

You froze, realizing it wasn’t Baekhyun. But he looked familiar. Why did he look familiar? And then you remembered. You remembered the tuffs of messy, dark hair. The fancy, black shirt that hung from his tall frame. He didn’t look very different now. His hair was still a messy flop on his head. And he was wearing a different fancy black shirt. But his face still held the same smug expression of someone without a care in the world.

“Can I help you?” you said, your annoyance ringing through your voice. You watched as the pompous grin on his face grew.

“I could’ve sworn you were a scotch girl,” he said. His voice was low, raspy, and it would’ve been inaudible through the noisy restaurant if not for the fact he actually spoke quite loudly.

You felt your eyebrows crinkle into an annoyed frown. “And what distinguishes a scotch girl,” you rolled your eyes.

“A scotch girl probably prefers sitting at home alone reading books rather than going out and actually living her life,” he gave his unwelcome explanation. “Vodka girls are usually more fun,” he grinned, leaning back in his seat and sipping his drink, the fancy watch on his wrist gleaming in the dim restaurant lighting.

You scoffed. “Wow, what a fresh perspective you have. Don’t you have someone else you can annoy? Like maybe one of those girls in the tiny dresses with the tiny IQs?”

A smile grew on his face. “You don’t like me,” he said.

“Ha, what would give you that idea,” you crossed your arms in front of your chest, leaning back in your seat.

“You don’t know me, but you don’t like me.”

“Oh I know you,” you scoffed. “There are many guys out there just like you, you’re not as special as you think.”

"Maybe not,” he grinned, taking another sip of his drink. “But you are.”

“What is that supposed to mean.”

He smiled, his eyes looking intently into yours. “I saw you on Monday,” he said. “You were sitting at a table in the coffee shop by the lobby, flipping through a stack of papers while typing a mile a minute on your laptop.”

“I work, a concept that’s probably foreign to you,” you retorted.

“But you were so engrossed in your work,” his smile never left his face, “Two babies were crying, one small child was running while his mother chased him across the lobby and he tripped and fell flat on his face, the man sitting at the table behind you spilled his coffee and an employee scrambled over with a mop. And you never looked up from your work.”

You blinked at him. Did all of that really happen? “You’re exaggerating.”

“I’m really not,” he laughed. “I thought I have to meet that girl. I’ve never seen anyone so blissfully ignorant to their surroundings in my life.”

You scoffed, “Funny, I could say the same thing about you.”

“That you had to meet me?” he smirked.

“That you’re blissfully ignorant to your surroundings,” you replied. “Although you’re wrong. I may be unaware, but I’m not ignorant. That’s a word that more accurately describes you and your friends.”

“You don’t know me or my friends,” his grin disappeared.

“Maybe not, but I think I’d rather gouge out my eyeballs with a plastic spoon than spend another minute listening to you tell me about me.”

“Chanyeol, we’re leaving, let’s go!” you heard a familiar voice yell across the restaurant. You turned to the bar and saw his tall friend with the dark black hair waving him over, his arm around a giggling girl, pushing him towards the restaurant’s exit. You turned back, seeing him down the rest of his drink. He smiled at you, “I’m being summoned.”

You returned his smile in sarcasm, “So soon?”

He grinned, standing up and walking past the table, but not before stopping behind your chair, placing his hands on the handles on either side of you, leaning down to your ear, the overwhelming smell of his expensive cologne pouring down in the air around you, “Good luck with your presentation tomorrow, vodka girl.”

You scoffed, hearing his friend continuing to beckon him over as he walked towards them. How the hell does he know I have a presentation tomorrow? you thought. You rolled your eyes. He really is a stalker.

“Ugh dude, sorry, they got me,” you looked up at Baekhyun crashing back into his seat across the table from you. “They found me man, they wanted to talk more about their billables and clients, I wanted to kill myself. They made me take tequila shots! I don’t do tequila shots!”

You laughed, “I think those guys are really into you!”

“Please don’t joke about that, my head hurts,” he dropped his head into the table, leaning on his arm sprawled across the table top.

You stood up, walking over to him and pulling him up from the seat. “Alright, come on. We need to get some sleep.”

You pulled his arm around your shoulder, holding him up as he stumbled next to you, walking out of the restaurant. “Oh, you met your stalker,” he said, burping through his words. “Sorry I left you alone.” You walked him towards his room, opening the door with his key.

“Don’t worry about it, I think your situation with the consultants is a tad worse, you reek of tequila,” you answered, dropping him down on the bed.

“Was he creepy?” Beakhyun slurred, pulling down a pillow and snuggling into it. You walked towards the door, turning the lights off.

“No, he was just an asshole,” you answered under your breath, opening the door. “I’ll see you in the morning,” you said, closing the door behind you and walking down the hall to your own room.

You kicked your shoes off, plopping down onto the bed, rubbing your thumbs against your temples. You scooted to the head of the bed, leaning against the pillows and opening your laptop to review your notes for the presentation tomorrow when you suddenly recalled the words he said to you.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be alone and wanting to read instead of being a stupid drunk, you thought. You slammed your laptop shut, pushing it aside on the bed before crawling under the covers. You tried to forget about the whole exchange as you drifted off to sleep. And for the most part you were successful, but somehow his words had affected you. And you didn’t know why.

#chanyeol x reader #chanyeol fanfic #chanyeol series #chanyeol scenario #chanyeol #exo series #exo x reader #exo fanfiction #exo scenarios

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peckhampeculiar · 5 years

Text

The reflections of Daniel Kelly

WORDS: NIKKI SPENCER; PHOTO: LIMA CHARLIE

DKUK is a hair salon with a difference. There are no mirrors, and clients get to look at art instead of their own reflections.

“Someone recently said that we look after people’s heads both inside and out and I love that”, says artist and DKUK owner Daniel Kelly, as he shows me around his unique studio space.

“DKUK started in 2014 as a pop-up art project in Holdron’s Arcade as part of the London-wide Art Licks festival”, he explains. “It was originally supposed to be just for the weekend, but then the landlord Tim Wilson from Copeland Park offered me a good deal on a three-month lease and I ended up staying for four-and-a-half years.”

In March DKUK moved to larger premises in a former barber’s shop on Queen’s Road. “We loved Holdron’s but we quickly outgrew it as it was only tiny”, says Daniel.

“We were looking for two years before we found this place, and it’s perfect. It is a pure privilege to have this much space.

“People say it’s much more relaxing to have your hair cut without a mirror and the exhibitions change every two months, so there is always something new to look at”, he adds.

The current display is a solo show called Now What by Manchester-based artist Sadé Mica, who uses photography, textiles, print and film to explore race and identity.

Various artworks hang on the walls, including a sweatshirt embroidered with a poem, and in the middle of the salon, where two stylists are busy at work, there’s a large organza sheet, which is woven with the artist’s hair.

In the window there are two screens, one facing inwards and one that can be seen from the street, showing a video of the artist dancing. “Lots of people stop to watch it”, says Daniel. “We want art to be less intimidating and we take it out of the precious white cube and into the real world. About 70 per cent of our clients say they don’t usually go to galleries, so we have created a new way to look at art.”

Exhibitions are planned about a year in advance by Lucy Cowling, who works at the back of the salon. Local artists who have exhibited include painter and Goldsmiths graduate Clare Price and photographer Joan Byrne, who displayed a series of images of the former Bellenden Road barbers that partly inspired Channel 4 sitcom Desmond’s.

DKUK might have eschewed traditional mirrors, but it does have a “magic mirror”. Specially created by architect Sam Jacob, who designed both the Holdron’s salon and the new premises, it’s a large screen that clients sit in front of at the start and end of their appointment, with a big red button to press to make it reflective.

Daniel grew up in Derbyshire and trained as a hairdresser aged 17. “I enjoyed cutting hair but I didn’t really like the atmosphere”, he says.

He decided to do a foundation in art and design instead and then came to London to study fine art at Camberwell. “When I arrived here it felt like I had found my place in the world.”

However much he tried to leave his previous hairdressing career behind him though, he says he didn’t quite manage it. “I never really stopped hairdressing as people always want a haircut. I’d invite people to my studio for a haircut as a way of encouraging them to come and see my art.”

The Art Licks project and the idea of having no mirrors stemmed from that. “Art and hairdressing go hand in hand, though it took me seven years as an artist to be confident enough to join the two. As soon as I did, I thought, ‘This is what I was made to do’.”

Like Daniel, the hairdressers at DKUK are also artists, who have then done an apprenticeship.

“In 2007 when I graduated artists didn’t talk about having second jobs and you had to pretend you were successful,” says Daniel. “I sold two paintings to the Saatchi Gallery, which sounds pretty impressive and I will never forget the day I got that phone call – but London is an expensive city to live in and the reality is that it is hard graft. Our apprenticeship scheme is a way for artists to train, earn money and sustain their practice too.”

So far DKUK has trained two hairdressers, Idi and Lowri, and is currently recruiting for a third. “Artists are really keen on the idea and we are getting more and more applications”, says Daniel.

Before each show Lucy talks to the hairdressers about the art on display. “They become informal guides to the exhibition, though if people don’t want to talk about the art that is totally cool too and we certainly don’t push it”, says Daniel.

When it opened DKUK immediately caught the attention of the Arts Council, which partially funds its exhibition programme. “Someone from the Arts Council came on the first weekend and said we were the perfect model for how business and art can work together. All the money we earn from hairdressing goes to help fund the art programme,” he explains.

Each exhibition features an events programme with talks by the artists, which are often recorded for the DKUK website. Daniel has a regular podcast where he chats to artists and leading figures in the art world while he cuts their hair.

“I put tiny microphones in their ears so while we talk to each other you also get the sound of my scissors and the hairdryer. I don’t script or edit it but I have had years of practice talking to people and I really enjoy it.”

Pricing at DKUK is gender neutral and they have a “pay what you want” introductory offer Monday to Friday from 12-4pm.

DKUK has been featured everywhere from The Architects’ Journal to World of Interiors, Time Out and Vogue, and in May the BBC filmed a report on the salon. “Being on the BBC really gave us a boost”, says Daniel. “We have been featured on a number of blogs that deal with mental health too.

“People with anxiety can find it hard going to the hairdressers and staring at themselves for all that time, so by not having mirrors, and having something else to look at, we are fulfilling a need we didn’t even anticipate, which is lovely.”

#peckham #peckham news #peckham newspaper #peckham peculiar #local news london #london news #southeast london

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