WHETHER it is a haircut or a blank wall there is no doubt that John Ozcan Salih can create style, and style is exactly what he is bringing to Medway.

An interior designer by trade, John has moved from London to set up shop in Medway. The owner and creator of Toast Tanning in Gillingham High Street and the newly-opened Blow hair salon in Military Road, Chatham, John has found that his business style is setting a precedent for what can be achieved in the Medway Towns.

So why choose Medway as the base for his new business venture?

John said: "I like the people in Medway. They are very real. You don't always get that in London."

John originally scoured London for suitable premises, but a business contact pointed him in the direction of a shop unit in Gillingham. Three years on, Toast Tanning has proved to John his approach to business works and this summer he opened Blow in Chatham.

"When I opened Toast, the reaction from local people was 'what a beautiful' shop. There was nothing else like it in the area. I knew I had got it right when I had customers travelling down from London to use the salon.”

As the saying goes beauty is more than skin deep and John maintains that it is also the level of service offered which will keep customers coming back.

"I've found that down here people don't understand good service. I come from London and I've seen what people expect there. I want to bring that service here.”

And he is true to his word, venture into Blow for an appointment and a glass of wine, beer or a soft drink greets you before you even reach the cutting chair.

Success with Toast taught John that he liked Medway, but Gillingham was already saturated with hair and beauty businesses. He did more research and when a shop in Chatham was offered to him he saw what the Chatham Riverside vision had in store for the area and it convinced him it was the right place to invest in.

Blow - 'the name's snappy and I suppose a bit naughty, it makes you smile' says John - opened at the beginning of June with celebrity guests and plenty of glamour and now it is enjoying the custom it has gained.

The salon impressed hair specialists Redken so much that they have made it one of only 15 flagship salons in the country.

But, not one to rest, John is already buzzing with further ideas. He has recruited in Kent and is now finding that he does not have the vacancies to offer the number of applicants coming to him.

"Once I've built up the beauty side of things I'm looking at starting our own training academy. There are no private colleges in the area and it's a good opportunity to train up the future."