Oxford barber celebrates 30 years at shop set up by dad

Michael Diliberto first started working alongside his father Giuseppe at Giuseppe’s Barber Shop on Gaisford Road, Cowley, in 1994.

His father started the shop in 1985 after moving to the United Kingdom in 1960 from Sicily where he had also been a barber.

Giuseppe spent time elsewhere before opening the shop which he was inspired to do after working in car production at the factory in Cowley.

Giuseppe’s Barber Shop is on Gaisford Road in Cowley. (Image: Newsquest)

“His first job was at Blenheim Palace where he was a servant who lived in the quarters down below but he was always a barber at heart as he had trained to be one back in Italy,” said Mr Diliberto.

“As it was the 1960s, not many people opted for haircuts as it was the fashion to keep your hair long so it wasn’t a great time to be a barber, unlike today.

“Dad then managed to get a job at the car plant which is now BMW and he worked there for 27 years, often cutting people’s hair at the factory during the lunch hour.

“He built up a lot of customers there and then he spotted the shop for sale and went full-time here.”

Michael's dad Giuseppe set up the shop in 1985. (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Diliberto worked alongside his dad until Giuseppe was in his seventies but his father would still often visit after that too.

“It started with me hanging around, sweeping up before cutting hair and then I started to do more while he started to do less so it was a kind of transition really,” he said.

“He still used to like to come in and sit in the chair and chat with some of his friends to get out of the house.”

Several interesting items including guitars now feature on the shop's walls now. (Image: Newsquest)

Giuseppe passed away in 2022 at the age of 89 years old but Mr Diliberto carries on the barbershop in his father’s name.

The 51-year-old has now marked three decades at the Cowley shop and still loves his profession as much as in the 1990s.

“I’m going to keep going for as long as my health allows me to,” said Mr Diliberto.

“I do enjoy it and I love chatting to people as it is quite a creative job.

Michael loves the job and plans to stay at the shop for as long as possible. (Image: Newsquest)

“We’ve got a lot of regular customers who have literally been coming for years and years which is a lovely thing.

“Different generations have grown up here as I have seen kids grow up and have their own kids come in too.

“I could never really think of having another job because this is it and it's where I earn my income and this is home.”