since 1934

Marc van de Hare shares the story of an Amsterdam icon

When my grandfather, Harm van de Hare, started a barbershop on the Amstelveenseweg in Amsterdam South in 1934, he could have never dreamt that all four of his sons would go on to run hairdressing salons in Amsterdam, let alone that several of his grandchildren would also become hairdressers. But that’s exactly what has happened since 1934. In 1946, my grandfather moved his salon to the Wijde Lombardsteeg in the very centre of Amsterdam where the offices of the NRC newspaper publishing group are now located on Rokin 65. He was forced to relocate the salon in 1953 to make way for the offices of het Parool newspaper. He moved the salon to Singel 274, a 17th century canal house on the Singel Canal just behind the Royal Palace on Dam Square.

My father, Wout van de Hare, went to work for my grandfather and in 1983 he transformed the business into a modern salon. The following year my mother, Ria van de Hare, also became a hairdresser. So when I joined the salon in 1991, the Van de Hare salon could rightly be called a family business. I went on to become co-owner in 2007 and, under my leadership, the business was modernized three years later for the second time in its history. I also decided to turn the salon back into a real barbershop like my grandfather began all those years ago. The result is a contemporary barbershop at an historic location where we provide first-class cuts and shaves using the same traditional skills as more than 85 years ago.