Hair has always been important to how we feel about ourselves, and two brothers in Australia know just how to make someone feel confident about their look through a haircut. For brothers Tjerayh and Tjeryan Coleman-Ware, the need for a good haircut first brought them towards barbering. Now, in 2026, the two have turned that early interest into a business of their own, opening Ceduna’s first barber shop in nearly 50 years. Their shop, ThaBruthaz Barbershop, is also the only 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned and operated shop on the town’s main street.According to a report by NewsDive in Australia, dated November 6, 2026, the brothers have brought a service back to the South Australian town after a gap of five decades, with their journey beginning much closer to home than the shop they now operate.
A passion that started at home
Tjerayh was just 15 when he first picked up a pair of clippers. Growing up with his brothers, there was no one available to cut their hair, so they would take turns giving each other haircuts.It was not only about learning to cut hair or getting the right style, as Tjerayh also enjoyed seeing what difference a haircut could make to someone’s confidence. As his interest grew, he began cutting hair in the shed at his family home, learning the trade on his own at first. Then, as more boys from the neighbourhood and their extended family started coming in for haircuts, he was able to hone his skills and learn more advanced cuts. All this while, his younger brother Tjeryan was watching this develop from the sidelines, and eventually, he too became interested in learning the trade. What had started as Tjerayh’s individual interest was gradually becoming something the two brothers could work towards together.
From the family shed to a business
In 2024, Tjerayh came across an opportunity through the Ceduna Aboriginal Corporation (CAC), which was offering local people the chance to complete a Certificate III in Beauty and Barbering. The organisation, a community-controlled, not-for-profit corporation, has been working towards social and economic reform for Aboriginal people in the Ceduna region.Both brothers decided to take up the opportunity in 2025 and pursued the course. They received their qualifications in 2026, eventually leading them to open their own shop. Tjerayh recalled how quickly they wanted to complete the training, saying they had pretty much flown through everything as fast as they could.
More than just a place for haircuts
The opening also carries a significance beyond the brothers’ personal journey. Tha Bruthaz Barbershop is the only 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned and operated shop on Ceduna’s main street, giving the family a place of their own in the town’s commercial centre.For many of the brothers’ early customers, however, the new shop is not the first time they have seen the two at work. Ceduna resident Daniel Newchurch-Lawrie has known them for years and has been getting haircuts from them since their early days. He remembered how Tjerayh initially gave the boys simple haircuts before gradually becoming more skilled and experimenting with more technical styles. Football season was often a reason for the boys to approach him for a fresh cut.The family ties are also noticeable in the way they support the business. A younger cousin comes into the shop after school to help sweep the floors, while a small stand on the counter displays earrings made by the brothers’ mother and younger sister. It is a detail that makes the shop feel connected to the family that helped bring it into existence, rather than simply being a place where customers come and go.There are also plans for the shop to become a place for people to come together. According to ABC’s November 6 radio report, local Aboriginal service Yadu Health is set to hire the premises for a special event called ‘Clip and Yarns’ during November. The idea is to bring people into the shop, where they can get their hair cut, have a conversation and spend time together.For Tjerayh and Tjeryan, the journey from taking turns cutting each other’s hair at home to opening their own shop has taken years of practice, training and patience. Today, their new business has become a place where they can not only realise the dream they once harboured but also continue working on their craft in a community that has come to support them.