Style Street: How are you and where are you?

Bec Poirrier: I’m good thanks; I’m sitting at my desk at the computer with a cup of tea.

SS: How long have you been in the hairdressing game?

BP: 2 tears, maybe a bit longer.

SS: Where have you worked?

BP: Gilston Four and Worksense Haircutters

SS : Where did you start and why hairdressing?

BP: I started at Gilston four and I became a hairdresser because I use to always do crazy colours and cuts on my own hair in high school and really enjoyed it and thought it was cool.

SS:  What are you working on at the moment?

BP: Helping my friend out with a photo shoot to help her with a portfolio and me.

SS: Top 10 products/tools in your kit and why?

1.Potion9 by Sebastian – amazing for curly hair- creates a soft natural un-frizzy curl.

2. Aveda Brilliant Humectant Pomade – great because it’s a good curl enhancer plus adds shine witch most likely curl hair doesn’t have.

3. Pure Abundance Potion by Aveda- great for adding texture and messing it up a bit.

4.Smooth Infusion Prep by Aveda- I like to use this in damp hair before I b/w to make a nice smooth/soft finish.

5.Confixor Gel by Aveda- great for blow-waves with lots a body and waves or flicks.

6.Wigo Hairdryers- I love Wigo dryers because they don’t blast the hair to much when drying curly/wavy hair and has a good cooling button for setting the curl.

7.Wooden blow wave brush with heaps of bristles, I like these for good tension.

8.Ceramic blow wave brushes- good for when I’m doing big blow waves with lots of body and curl/ flicks on the ends. I use two and use them like a hot roller.

9.GHD irons- they’re handy sometimes, I don’t like it use them to often. Good for curling/ smoothing.

10.Rollers- for setting

SS: What has been your career highlight?

BP: Learning from my first boss Tim Millar and helping him back stage at a Versace runway show witch wasn’t very big but still was fun

SS: What are the biggest problems facing apprentice hairdressers today?

BP: I guess and financial set backs especially for apprentices living out of home. It can be hard also emotionally with all the pressures within the salon, it can be a stressful environment sometimes but in most cases there great to learn from but sometimes that’s hard to understand when you first start I think.

SS: How can we get in contact with you?

BP: Call me Worksense Haircutters 03 96700496

SS: Future plans?

BP: Hopefully travel and keep learning from awesome hairdressers and meet cool creative types and hopefully love and ENJOY my work.

Harley Lewis: I’m good thank you very much. I live in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Where I have lived all my life.

SS: How long have you been in the hairdressing?

HL :I’ve been in the game now for about 3yrs,comprising of Hairdressing Pre-Apprentship Coarse, cert 2 at Chisholm Institute Dandenong. And junior apprentice in a salon in Melbourne city I also attend trade school at Biba Academy.

SS: Where have you worked?

HL: I worked at Worksense Haircutters at their Queen st salon for the majority of my apprenticeship, which is best described as an up market
Salon. In truth, this for me was both fruitful and frustrating. I am now doing some part-time work with Elliot Beautiful Hair, which is located in South Yarra Melbourne. Which has been a refreshing and relaxing environment of which I haven’t experienced in a salon so far.

SS: Where did you start and why hairdressing?

HL: I started at Chisholm Institute doing cert2 coarse in hairdressing to make sure that it was a right fit for me, and also to have some basic skills for work in a salon.

I tend to get that question a lot, it’s a bit frustrating. I tend to say why not hairdressing? Visually I find hairdressing interesting and creative especially cutting! To see a client visually change from new style excites me.

As a career its always changing which is good as you will never get bored with your job an the industry will never die

SS: What are you working on at the moment?

HL: I’m not working for a salon as such at the moment, however, I am studying at Biba Academy for two days a week while I seek an apprenticeship with a salon, or I may continue at Biba Academy fulltime to get my Hairdressing qualification quicker.

SS: Top 10 products/tools in your kit and why?

HL: Tools-carbon comb create for men’s cutting, ghd’s for styling hairups, good set of clips is a must for cutting an styling, a wooden vented round brush great for blow drying. Fringe pins are a handy tool to have in your bag at all times for hair ups

Products-American crew styling products fiber/defining paste great for men’s styling, Aveada air control hair spray has great hold for hair ups and after blow dry. Kevin Murphy angel wash shampoo and conditioner great for fine and damaged hair.

SS: What has been your career highlight?

HL: To be honest with you my career has been not as fruitful as I would like it to be.
But the one thing that has stood out for me so was the opportunity to work, train and learn from stylists such as Jean-Paul Rosette who has been a great inspiration. He’s a unique individual like I am, so I hope that I can build myself a career around my personality like he has. And there are stylist like Ivan Constable an Daniel Ravech that have been in the industry a long time, I won’t say how long, but I was fortunate to work with these stylists very early on in my career and hope to match and surpass them one day!

SS: What are the biggest problems facing apprentice hairdressers today?

HL: Where to start with this question? Well, I was let go from my apprenticeship very suddenly and without any warning with a year and half left to go, it was very disappointing as I had invested good amount of my time an career with the salon in the hope of getting adequate training which turned out I didn’t get enough, of which is now hindering my chances of getting another apprenticeship with a new salon, as I am behind the eight ball with my training. I spent a good amount of time wining over the senior staff so I could blow-dry and style some of their clients in the busier days and nights. Then suddenly another 2nd yr apprentice was hired who had on-floor experience,, which was very disappointing. The one thing that has kept me seeking employment in hairdressing was the reaction from most the senior staff not to happy about me getting let go from the salon and a few of them have been in regular contact with me and making sure that I am pursuing hairdressing which has given me a lot of confidence that I can succeed in hairdressing as a stylist. So I think one of the biggest problems for apprentices is finding a salon that is committed to seeing you through the three years of your apprenticeship and the training that is necessary.
The one thing I noticed at trade school amongst the other
Apprentices, is they tend to bounce a lot between salons, moving from one job to the next. I believe this is not good to bounce around from salon to salon while you are trying to learn a skill set and a trade for a career.

For me the biggest problem as an apprentice has been getting a real chance to implement what I’ve learnt at trade school to work on the floor in a salon environment. I don’t know if that was just the salon I was working for, however I find that in-salon training is inadequate, as some owners don’t put in the time to teach me or other apprentices. Once a week training after hours on one model is not efficient enough.

I think employers just need to have confidence in their juniors as opposed to feeling like we cost the salon money. We (the juniors) are here to work

SS : How can we get in contact with you?

HL : There are many ways that you get in touch with me in the 21st century.
harlism@hotmail.com

Then there there’s Facebook,
http://www.facebook.com/people/Harley-Clinton-Lewis/646784047

And Myspace,
http://www.myspace.com/heardthatsoundamileaway

And at last twitter,
http://twitter.com/unclerev

Other Links

www.chisholm.edu.au
http://www.biba.com.au/