TV contestant opens unisex salon and clothes shop

Mar 1 2010 by Karen Dent, The Journal

A HAIRDRESSING entrepreneur has combined fashion and beauty by opening what is said to be the region’s first unisex hair salon and clothes shop.

Tynemouth-based Wendy Spencer, who recently appeared on Channel 4 TV show Come Dine With Me when she cooked and hosted a meal for celebrity guests, set up her venture at the Springslite health club in Low Fell, Gateshead.

She said: “I noticed that the owner of a boutique in Tynemouth was intending to close down for health reasons so I went along and bought her stock.

“The aim is to provide Tyneside’s many style and fashion-conscious women with a double facility of quality and I must confess that early responses have greatly exceeded expectations.”

Ms Spencer has worked worldwide as a hairstylist, with stints in the US, New Zealand, the Caribbean and London as well as on luxury cruise-liners.

She spent almost a year on board a Cunard cruise-liner chartered by the US government and converted to a rest and recuperation base for thousands of GIs during the Gulf War.

“I was one of only 21 women among 10,000 men on the ship and I spent just over 10 months there working as a military barber,” said Ms Spencer. “The skill required didn’t task my ability as a hairstylist but I enjoyed it.”

I was one of only 21 women among 10,000 men and I spent 10 months working as a military barber