If we only knew then what we know now.  Picture it.  You are in having a nice haircut and perhaps a shave from your local barber.  Guy gossip is always interesting and you love the smell of the after shave, the hot towels and……..the smoke?!

Yup, such as it was in the old days.  The barber would have a cigarette hanging from his mouth and you would be using the little ashtray conveniently located in the right arm of your comfy barber chair for your own smoke.

We had a lot of fun talking about this when Dan brought in a couple of 1950s barber chairs he wanted restored for his new shop. These were cool chairs, even in their worn and sad condition.  Al had a good scope of what they should look like and got to work, re-chroming, banging out the dents, molding, re-upholstering and getting the hydraulics to work efficiently again.

It’s true they still don’t make ‘em like they used to – these are quality chairs and they just needed some tender loving care.  And a lot of elbow grease.

In August, they are going to their place in the new shop, repaired, recovered and polished – even the arm ashtrays are still in place – as they should, to keep their unique authenticity.

But, in a healthier environment nowadays, the ashtrays are for looks only.  No smokin’ please – gossip still encouraged.

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