Conversations in Craft — Chapter 2: Mikey Gunning
On rhythm, focus, and detail.
The day we photographed Mikey, the sky had just cleared after hours of London rain. A brief, borrowed golden light came through the windows. His studio is small and perfectly arranged, every object in its place, ready for action.
Nina arrived just after me, camera in hand. She began taking photos instinctively, as if the light might disappear again. Loyle Carner played softly in the background.
Mikey was setting up for his next appointment. Nat, an artist and longtime client, came in to have his hair cut. Nat works with photography and sculpture, using silver-gelatin residue from darkroom processes to build new forms. The mix of crafts in that small space felt unforced. We spoke about jewellery, about tools and repetition, about the attention that making demands.
He began with the sectioning, dividing the hair into clean, geometric parts that gradually revealed a pattern, almost like the shell of a tortoise.
Mikey’s movements are precise yet fluid, like drawing in the air. He handles the scissors as if they were an extension of his hand, moving between angles and textures as though tracing an invisible line. Watching him work, it was clear that the haircut was a practice in itself rather than a service, a sculptural process.
“I’ve always been good with my hands. Over the past 10 years I’ve been perfecting a technique of sculpting a haircut for each individual. It takes into account one’s style, facial features, lifestyle and even personality. In this way, my haircuts are a form of art. I’m always anticipating how the look will grow out - how the texture will flow and evolve weeks after.“
Originally from Ireland, Mikey recently opened this studio, his first independent space after years working in a larger salon. His branding carries a particular shade of green, a subtle nod to where he comes from. That morning, he had already seen two clients and had six more to go, but nothing in his pace felt hurried. Every movement had purpose. Even the way he used a small, fine-toothed razor to soften the edges had the care of finishing a sculpture.
“For me, fashion, accessorising and barbering share the same essence of self-expression and confidence. They change how a person carries themselves. Feeling comfortable in one's looks is as important as feeling comfortable in the clients experience. My private space offers a calm, trusting environment where real conversations can unfold."
In Mikey’s studio there’s a calm focus that shapes both the work and the people in the room. Within his quick movements there’s a steady rhythm, where each haircut becomes a quiet collaboration between his craft and the person in the chair.
That day, everything seemed to fall into place, and I thought how that only happens when planning isn’t rigid, when people work together toward a shared purpose — bringing a sense of pause and beauty into a world that rushes by.
The result, as always, wasn’t only in the outcome, but in the presence required to shape it.
I just booked my appointment.
Photography by Nina Close-Lodico
Text by Inés Sendra
Featuring Mikey Gunning, at his studio in London.