A POPULAR hair salon in Worcester has reopened its doors with a brand-new look.

Inspiration, located on College Street, closed for one week in July to allow for renovations. 

Joanne Russell, the owner of the salon, said: "It's been really nice seeing everyone's reactions to our new look.

"We've had a few clients walk in and think they've entered the wrong salon.

"The salon just needed updating to be on par with the industry standard."

Inspiration was first opened in 1979 as Martyn's Place, named after the founder, Martyn Moore. 

Mr Moore, who died earlier this year, sold the salon to Mrs Russell 10 years ago.

Mrs Russell explained how she worked with Mr Moore at the start of her career: "After leaving school, I began my career at Inspiration through a youth training scheme, where I trained under Martyn and at college.

"I worked there for four years before taking a break to start my family.

"During that time, I worked in several salons across Worcester."

Despite leaving Inspiration, Mrs Russell was still close with the team: "I remained in contact with Martyn, his son James and the team.

"We often met up for curry nights to stay connected.

"Returning to the salon after 18 years felt incredibly nostalgic, and working alongside Martyn again made it feel like the old days."

The refurbishment was six months in the making, with decorating happening right up to the last second.

Mrs Russell said: "We were still putting things in place 10 minutes before our first client."

With such a big change to the salon, almost none of the previous design survived the refurbishment: "The only items that has remained from the old design are the mirrors themselves, but everything else is new."

Now that the makeover is complete, Mrs Russell is looking towards the future: "We're going to start a rent-a-chair system for self-employed stylists to use our facilities and build their own client base."