Having ginger hair, I’ve always felt a connection to other redheads. It’s like the bond you feel when you discover someone else shares the same slightly obscure hobby to you, except that with hair color you don’t even have to engage in conversation to know that you have something rare in common. This is why beaming at each other in the street is frequent practice among gingers.
During a recent event at the Franklin Street Community Garden I met a fellow ginger who also happened to be a Greenpointer and a world-class hairdresser, so naturally I was somewhat excited.
Kenna Kennor, is the director of Greenpoint hair studio Kennaland Brooklyn (113 Franklin Street). He hails from the UK and specializes in hair styling for high-end fashion and commercials. We got to chatting and when he mentioned he was thinking of running a special promotion for gingers I had to find out more!
After working globally in the hair industry for 14 years, Kenna established his first studio, Kennaland London, in 2004. His career then found him spending increasing amounts of time in New York, so two years ago he moved to Greenpoint and set up a sister studio on Franklin Street. It was initially intended as a base for his production work but, as of this May, the workshop was transformed into a beautiful studio salon and Kennaland Brooklyn was born.
When I popped along to visit I was greeted outside by a wonderful sign that read ‘HALF PRICE HAIRCUTS FOR GINGERS / FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH’. Finally, my dreams come true… a genuine perk to being a redhead!
The studio is sandwiched between Ramona and the former Lulu’s. Because it doesn’t have a regular storefront, the entrance can be easy to miss, but head up to the second floor and you’ll step into a gorgeous loft space flooded with natural light. It’s decked out with fabulous vintage barber’s chairs that Kenna has rounded up from different parts of the country (trawling flea markets and car-boot sales for treasures is one of his long-time obsessions, he confesses).
Kenna and his team are incredibly lovely and instantly feel like friends you can trust. They don’t try and push you into having a treatment you don’t need, and if they think your cut or color’s already fine as it is they will tell you so!
As Kenna tackles my summer-frazzled copper tresses it becomes obvious that he’s an unbelievably busy man. He’s about to jet off for London Fashion Week the next day and, in-between styling fashion events, overseeing two hair studios, and personally attending to the perfect locks of Victoria Beckham, he is also creative director for cult styling brand ghd. He demonstrates a sleek matte-black ghd hairdryer that he helped develop, so stylish that it wouldn’t look out of place as James Bond’s weapon of choice. An appointment with Kenna is a truly deluxe experience!
My haircut is exactly what I hope for, and as I float off down Franklin Street I feel delighted to have made such a great local discovery.
Kenna or another member of his expert team are available by appointment at the studio every day of the week. It’s worth noting that all locals get a 20% discount which means that it’s not just gingers who get the special treatment…everyone in Greenpoint can have fabulous Kennaland hair!
Kennaland Brooklyn
113 Franklin Street, Greenpoint
Tel: 347 335 0666
[email protected]
Nice! But do you have to be a natural ginger??