{"id":195742,"date":"2026-01-29T12:28:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T11:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2026\/01\/29\/lydia-viert-dertig-jaar-kapperszaak-op-de-campus-ze-is-de-lijm-van-onze-gemeenschap-2\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T13:49:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T12:49:30","slug":"lydia-viert-dertig-jaar-kapperszaak-op-de-campus-ze-is-de-lijm-van-onze-gemeenschap-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2026\/01\/29\/lydia-viert-dertig-jaar-kapperszaak-op-de-campus-ze-is-de-lijm-van-onze-gemeenschap-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Lydia celebrates thirty years of haircuts on campus: \u2018She is the glue of our community\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Owner and hairdresser Lydia van Santen-Blom is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of her salon on campus this month. For many students, staff, alumni and retirees, her hair salon is more than just a place to get your hair cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Van Santen-Blom knows every customer by name.<\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGeisje van der Linden<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Customers come in one after another at Hairdesign by Lydia at the corner of the Polak building. Every half hour, someone new takes a seat. In between haircuts, owner and hairdresser Lydia van Santen-Blom takes bookings over the phone and chats with customers. On average, she cuts the hair of twenty people a day and knows everyone by name.

Top 40 songs from Radio 538 play softly in the background of her salon on a grey, cold day in January. An etching of Erasmus hangs on the wall. Van Santen-Blom received the artwork from the university at her twentieth anniversary on campus. \u201cThis etching is very special to me. It was made in a limited edition and mine is number 11 of the 50.\u201d She looks at it with visible pride. \u201cI\u2019ll definitely take it with me if I ever leave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Van Santen-Blom proudly hangs her Erasmus artwork on the wall.<\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGeisje van der Linden<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Loyal customers<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLydia has been cutting my hair ever since she started here\u201d, says Jan Schildt sitting in the barber\u2019s chair. He worked at the university for thirty years and has been retired for several years now. \u201cYet I still come here every four weeks. There\u2019s simply no hairdresser better than Lydia.\u201d

Van Santen-Blom laughs. She picks up a razor and spreads foam on Schildt\u2019s neck. \u201cI remember when you had an Elvis theme for your fifty-fifth birthday. Everyone in your department dressed up: the men in Elvis suits, the women in petticoats. And the men queued up here to have their Elvis hair styled.\u201d Jan nods. \u201cThat was such a great party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jan Schildt has been a client of Van Santen-Blom since her early years.<\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGeisje van der Linden<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Using a round mirror behind his head, Van Santen-Blom shows Schildt the result of her work. He nods with satisfaction. Before he pays, Van Santen-Blom invites him to pick something from the lucky dip. To mark the anniversary, Van Santen-Blom has made a lucky dip containing cards with prizes, ranging from a free haircut to shampoo. \u201cTen per cent discount!\u201d, Schildt reads from his card. \u201cWell, how nice!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schildt is not the only loyal customer of Van Santen-Blom. \u201cSome customers have been coming for so long that their children are now studying here. Once a student came up to me and said: my father always had his hair cut by you. And I thought: are you serious?\u201d Some still come even after moving away from Rotterdam. \u201cI have a customer who lives in Ireland. When she visits her parents, she sends me a message: \u2018Lydia, I\u2019m back.\u2019 Then she comes by.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students also come to her salon. \u201cSometimes parents call me. They ask whether their child can come in and whether they can pay for the haircut by bank transfer. Of course that\u2019s no problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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\n\t\t'Some clients have been coming for so long that their children are now studying here'\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Thirty years in business<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In January 1996, a hair salon opened on campus for the first time. Van Santen-Blom started working there in 1999. Five years later, she took over the business and changed its name to Hairdesign by Lydia. The takeover succeeded partly thanks to her customers, she says. An Econometrics student made a business plan for her, but the bank rejected her application. \u201cThey said: you don\u2019t have a higher education degree and you\u2019re already over thirty. So that\u2019s not going to happen.\u201d Another customer offered to help. \u201cShe said: my husband will sort it out for you.\u201d The man turned out to be an alumnus and worked at the Stichting Ondernemersbelangen Rotterdam, a foundation that advocates for entrepreneurs and small businesses. \u201cHe said: it will be fine. And it was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The salon moved several times. At first, Van Santen-Blom was based in the basement of the Tinbergen building. A corridor had been set up as a \u2018shopping street\u2019 with a florist, a bookshop and a clothing store. \u201cIt was very cosy. Every morning, we drank coffee together before opening our shops.\u201d In 2012, she moved to the V building because of the renovation plans for the Tinbergen building. The Polak and Hatta buildings followed. \u201cAfter half a year in Hatta, I was allowed to move back to Polak. I\u2019ve been here for eleven years now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Van Santen-Blom’s daily tools.<\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGeisje van der Linden<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The glue of the community<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The next customer arrives. \u201cHey, where\u2019s your beard?\u201d, Van Santen-Blom asks with wide eyes. The customer, Jeroen Melein, Director Digitalisation & Information Services at the Rotterdam School of Management, laughs. He too has been coming to Van Santen-Blom for years. \u201cLydia cuts my hair well and it always feels warm and welcoming here.\u201d Half of his department also comes to this salon, he says. \u201cAnd my son used to come along as well, because he was allowed to grab something from the bowl of sweets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Melein, Van Santen-Blom plays an important role on campus. \u201cWe sometimes forget that entrepreneurs on campus, like Lydia, are the glue the community needs to feel connected. She makes it pleasant here. Besides your work and your colleagues, you also have your hairdresser. It feels like you belong here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Her hair salon is more than just a place to get your hair cut, says Van Santen-Blom.<\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGeisje van der Linden<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The hairdresser\u2019s chair as a confessional<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Van Santen-Blom agrees. Her salon is more than just a place to get your hair cut. \u201cThis chair is also a kind of confession booth. People share all sorts of things here.\u201d Sometimes the stories are heavy. \u201cOnce, a member of staff told me he was depressed and thinking about suicide. By chance, I knew a psychologist who also came here. I immediately sent him to her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

\n\t\t
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\n\t\t'I love the campus and the people, so we\u2019ll see how long I can keep it up'\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Her customers also support her in return. When her daughter had to undergo a bone marrow transplant, she worked half days for eight weeks and spent the rest of the time in hospital. From her customers, she received the support she needed. \u201cThe thousands of cards we received from my customers, that was unbelievable. I\u2019ll never forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, she does not think she will carry on for another ten years. \u201cI\u2019m 58 now and it\u2019s hard work. But as things are going now, I enjoy it. I love the campus and the people, so we\u2019ll see how long I can keep it up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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Een lijst met artikelen<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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