Hair stylist Peter Lord has just opened his own salon. Christen Pears meets him.

THE parallels between architecture and hairdressing may not be immediately obvious to the rest of us but to Peter Lord they're what hairdressing is all about.

Peter, who has just opened a new salon in Darlington, began training as an architect but decided it wasn't the career for him a year into his degree course. He turned to hairdressing instead but his passion for architecture has remained with him.

"Obviously, the materials are very different but as a stylist, you're still working with shapes and angles and projections. It's very mathematical and quite similar in a lot of ways and I'm still using a lot of the skills I learned, just in a different way," he says.

"Colour is my thing. It's pure maths. Some people just put it on and hope for the best but I like to work out the figures. You can work out exactly what colour it's going to end up."

For the last seven years, Peter has worked at Saks in Darlington but has been thinking about opening his own salon for a long time.

"From the first time I stepped into a salon as a trainee, that was what I wanted to do," he says.

Two years ago, he and his wife Emma looked into the possibility of opening a Saks franchise in Cambridge but were reluctant to leave behind friends and family.

Emma is a beauty therapist and until last year, when she gave birth to a daughter, she ran her own salon in Stockton. Having sold that, it seemed the perfect time to start looking for their own business premises and on Friday, they opened Peter Lord Hairdressing in Cockerton.

Because they have been planning the venture for so long, they've had time to make sure everything is exactly as they want, from the sleek black and white wood fittings to hairdryers and brushes.

Peter has chosen hair products by American company Rusk.

"We gave people a few different things to try to home and everyone came back raving about them. We've tried a few bits and pieces at home and they do exactly what they say on the bottle," he says.

Emma plans to work three days a week and her experience of running her own business will prove invaluable. Peter has already taken on a stylist and a trainee.

During his time at Saks, he combined his role as style director with a role as an NVQ assessor, and training is something close to his heart.

"Training is so important and it's particularly important to have training in a salon," he says. "That's where you really learn. I came to hairdressing later than a lot of people but I don't regret the route I took. It's made me the kind of stylist I am."

* Peter Lord Hairdressing, 8A West Auckland Road, Cockerton, (01325)

486857.

Sweet smell of success

THE Perfume Shop, the UK's leading specialist fragrance retailer, has just opened a store in Tynedale Retail Park, Northumberland's largest discount retail and leisure outlet. Situated in the 150,000 sq ft Hexham Shopping Centre, The Perfume Shop offers excellent savings on hundreds of designer fragrances.

Friendly, approachable staff are on hand to help if required and are all trained to offer advice on suitable fragrances. The store is open-fronted to make browsing easy, all prices are clearly displayed and there is no pushy hard-sell.

As the fastest growing fragrance retailer in the UK, The Perfume Shop currently has 88 outlets across the UK. The new store in Tynedale Retail Park will provide shoppers with access to the world's top designer brands at the best prices on the high street.

To celebrate the arrival of The Perfume Shop at Tynedale Retail Park, we are offering one Northern Echo reader the chance to win a fragrance makeover, courtesy of Tynedale Retail Park. They will receive a tailor- made consultation and a bottle of fragrance.

To enter the competition simply tell us how many outlets The Perfume Shop has in the UK. Send your answer, along with your address and daytime telephone number to Perfume Competition, Features, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF. The closing date is Tuesday, August 12.