Salon of the month- Confidente

This month Style Street talks to Rebecca Runnegar owner and sole stylist of Confidente Salon about the social networking on the internet, her favourite haircare products and the pros of owning a one woman salon.

1. In historic building known as The Royal Arcade located off the Bourke Street Mall, home to Gog and Magog and up the winding stairs. How did you find the gem of a space?

I found this gorgeous space by being patient and sifting through lots of Melbourne real estate! The right space is paramount to the success of every business and this particular space needed a lot of love. Royal Arcade has a wonderful history and has managed to keep a little quirk about it which I love. Each of my clients comments on how relaxed they feel here at Confidente and that’s what I wanted – goal achieved.

2. Melbourne loves a hidden little secret. How have you advertised your salon? Has twitter, facebook and your website helped? And how do you utilizes the Internet for your business?

I advertised initially on a small scale but word of mouth is the ultimate in this business. I did approach a lot of hotels and that really helped me to get on my feet. An online presence in the form of a website is crucial as people utilize the internet more. Twitter has been a lovely surprise as my clients are quite tech savy & I ‘ve definitely had referrals through this medium. As for Facebook, I’ve chosen not to have a business page – I don’t think it’s so relevant to the style of business I run.

3. I’m noticing a worldwide trend for boutique, smaller salons, what are your thoughts on this? And what are the advantages for the operator and the client?

The Boutique Salon absolutely has its place! Clients want to feel special, have their time respected, connect with their Hairdresser and feel at home. From an operators perspective you get to utilize products that you believe in, achieve an optimal result as you’re not rushing and really get to know your clients. We’ve create a space in which they can be themselves – communicate freely and not feel that the clock is ticking. Confidente is relaxing as there’s no excess noise from lots of hairdryers or people talking over one another. In this environment my attention is 110% on them. A hair appointment becomes a pleasant part of your day and that is critically important.

4.Where have you worked previously?

I’ve worked at all levels of the industry from huge numbers to boutique and they have all proved challenging. This broad based experience has taught me so much and groomed me to be the hairdresser I am today. 6 years ago I was working for a company of approximately 150 – 200 staff where I was responsible for the training of over 100 hairdresser whilst running salons – yet here I am today focusing on the one client at a time. You have to be open to new experiences to learn new things and continue to build your skills.

5.How long have you been doing hair and when did you have your first hair “epiphany”?

I’ve been behind the chair for 14 years and my hair epiphany was as simple as Hair is my fabric. I was working on a model and started to intertwine her locks with wool and into her costume – it looked sensational and from there I was obsessed! I enjoy making people feel great. I get a great sense of satisfaction from seeing the effect my work has on the clients. The effect is almost immediate. For some it’s a smile, for others a transformation in their confidence! I get a kick out of it either way.

6.For readers who want to open a salon for themselves…what advice would you give to the up starters?

The advice I would give to anyone opening their own salon is to make sure it is your passion. It will be lots of hard work and you have to really want it. In particular the one on one salon will only succeed if you have a continued drive to improve yourself and have very strong skills all round. You can’t be lazy. Ensure that you are capable of EVERYTHING – Hairdressers used to have strong skills in all areas and this has changed. If you want to succeed on your own it is mandatory.

7.Top five favorite tools (Example: wigo hairdryer, favorite product etc)

I could not live without a Parlux Blowdryer and Pin Curl Clips in my kit. Followed closely by a Linen Thread for gorgeous modern Hair Up, a nice fresh cut throat blade and Kevin Murphy Session Spray.

8. What do you feel are the problems facing the industry right now? (Example; recruitment, money, public opinion et al)

Unfortunately the Hairdressing Industry has been plagued by those who don’t take it seriously as a profession. If the people working in the industry don’t see it as a profession, how can we expect our clients and industry partners to see us as professionals? The removal of hairdressing from the skills shortage list will (I hope) see the return of serious professionals to the trade..

9. My research tells me you were a ‘rep” for a haircare company, could you tells us more about that? And how did you make the transition from hairdresser to rep and back to salon owner?

When you believe in a product it’s a dream position for those that don’t like to be surrounded by the same four walls and growing any business is satisfying. Whilst I loved the contact with salon teams and business owners, I missed the creative release that hairdressing provides.

10. What are your plans for the future?

To develop my concept and my skills set further and to offer the highest level of service to my clients that the industry has to offer..

11. What products do you use in the salon?

Ooh where to start?! I colour with Revlon Professional and L’Oreal, I style with Kevin Murphy, American Crew and Everescents. I like to work with various ranges so that I can cater to everyone as I’m very fussy! Everescents is the latest addition to Confidente,  they are the ONLY Australian made, Certified Organic professional hair care range on the market. There are a lot of organic claims out there but once you dig deeper you often find that they’re not certified or that there is an overseas parent company. I respect Everescents Philosophy, it’s a great product and enables me to look after my clients health, the environment and most importantly to support Australian trade.

Photo of Rebecca Runnegar of Confidente

Confidente Salon.

Confidente Salon website.

email info@confidente.com.au

Confidente on Twitter

Telephone (03) 9663 2082

Written by Jean-Paul Rosette author of Heads Will Roll

Hairdresser of the month: Annika Bowen

1. You and I met and started chatting via Twitter and then Facebook, has the internet helped you and your business? Also What do you use these social networking websites for? And do you have an agent?

I don’t have an agent and it is amazing who you can meet and network with via the internet. Twitter and facebook are just the beginning, they have helped a heap in getting a buzz about into the world. You have to make noise somehow and not everyone is willing to listen to you yelling in the street (most people will think you’re crazy!) I guess its less frightening to people to interact using these kinds of methods. Also its assessable, its less in formal and everyone knows what you’re doing without asking you directly.  I use them a lot from booking appointments for clients and getting new jobs for photo shoots. I post as much as I possibly can so people feel connected and can create an opinion of you and your work.

2. I have noticed via your Facebook account that you are involved with lots of fashion parades, how did you get involved with that side of hairdressing?

The salon I worked at did a couple of hairdressing shows and I always helped with them. I also started volunteering to help out backstage at fashions parades while I was still working in the salon. I didn’t really have a day off most weeks. I involved myself as much as I could. Hard work pays off.

3. For me, I have found doing hair for a shoot, and doing hair for fashion show and in the salon means I have to have a completely different approach to hair in these mediums. How do you balance them?

It’s a hard balance that you cant fall behind in… you have to stay on the pulse of things. Continue to learn your trade and constantly evolve. I think still working in a salon keeps me grounded. You’re working with everyday people who want different things from their hair. Sometimes it can me more challenging then fashion hair. Where as photo shoots and fashion shows it’s all about a particular image, it has to be perfect for that one photo or the 10 minutes the model is out on the catwalk. But they do work together at times, generally fashion hair filters through to commercial wearable hairstyles that clients will ask for. I think it takes about 3 to 6 months for the general public to get used to the new ideas in the industry.

4.Where have you worked previously?

I worked part time when I was 15 in a salon in a shopping centre. It’s a really big salon with a retail shop attached, Ross Caia is a franchise of three.  I finished high school and started my apprenticeship there. I was there 5 years in total. I wanted to learn more so I moved to a boutique salon in Malvern, Victoria,  called Madd. I really learnt a lot there and perfected my trade. I had a very passionate mentor, I have a lot to thank him for. I wouldn’t be the hairdresser I am now without his knowledge. At the end of the day I’m just too eager to succeed.

I now work for myself freelancing under my own name ANNIKA’S, I do clients from their houses, work casually in a salon, do hair and makeup for photo shoots & runway shows. I also do a lot of work for Model Academy, they train young models to prefect their job. This is a term course that goes through everything, its great fun and I find it amazing to watch these students turn into top models.

5.How long have you been doing hair and when did you have your first hair “epiphany”?

Well I have been playing with my own hair my whole life (laughs) but as an actually professional trade… full time seven years and three years part time before that.

First hair epiphany would be..? (thinks) When I was eight I had all my hair cut off into a graduated bob I couldn’t believe the feeling I got when I left the salon, I was in love. I always wanted to be a hairdresser and I wanted to make people feel the way I felt that day. I wanted to give people style, an image to call their own and make them look & feel better about themselves. Hairdressing is very rewarding if you let it.

6.For readers who want to become freelance hairstylists themselves…what advice would you give to the up starters?

Volunteer as much as you possibly can and yes you wont get paid for volunteer work! But that brings a lot of other work, you have to be dedicated and network with people in the area you want to go into. Say it is more photo shoots you want to get into, talk to photographers and get to know them.  Backstage Fashion Runways you would get to know designers. Be yourself people like to work with people that they get along with and that are friendly and hardworking.

7.Top five favorite tools?

Just 5, I could pick so many more but 5 things I don’t think I could live without is..

1. Hairdryer – I can’t go past my twin turbo 2600 its my favourite

2. Straightens (I have many but the main ones are GHD and T3)

3. Hairspray – I can be picky, I worked in a tigi salon so love their products, I normally use the S Factor or rockahollic they are both medium hold and not tacky like a lacquer, easy for models to brush out too.

4. S Factor Creamy Molding Wax

5. Bobby pins

I also do love label.m dry shampoo and label.m sea salt spray & my crimpers that are from the 80’s.

8. What do you feel are the problems facing the industry right now?

I think there are a lot of problems with our industry…

I think people don’t realize how hard we work and how little we get paid. The general public is unaware and most don’t think of us “hairdressers” as professional, which is our problem because we make them think that.

Attitude is very important and I think there needs to be more training across the industry. We are creative people and need to be inspired and constantly motivated. I also think the colour company’s should have the same numbering colour system. And don’t get me started on competitions. I could go on and on about ways to improve our industry but I wont…

9. My research tells me you worked in a salon prior to freelance work, could you tells us how did you make the transition from hairdresser in a salon to freelance?

Gosh, I actually asked to go part time and my boss wouldn’t let me so it was a hard decision to make but I knew it was the right one, I quit completely and knew my love and passion would some how support me.

10. Lets talk make up. How did you get involved with that? And which came first hair or make up?

Hair came first. I never really thought I would really get that into makeup but it does work hand in hand, same as fashion. Its all about a look and its has to follow through head to toe. I never really wore that much makeup myself until I started working full time at Madd Hairdressing and I learnt how to apply it. It came fairly naturally, I love colour and did a lot of painting at high school (I think that helps) now that I think about it… it’s kind of surprising I didn’t get into it sooner.

11. What are you working on at the moment?

Just the general stuff as well as setting up a website that will have an online portfolio. I would love to work Internationally. Also planning a working holiday in October, always wanted to go to Salon International.

12. What are your plans for the future?

I would love to have my own salon one day… have a happy balance of salon life and freelancing. I want to inspire others and keep the passion alive and pass on my knowledge to anyone who is willing listen.

Find Annika Bowen on Twitter http://twitter.com/annikabowen and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/annikas.hair

Written by Jean-Paul Rosette, author of Heads Will Roll.

Salon of the month- All the King’s Men

This month we talk to Nick Downie, salon owner of All The King’s Men.

Your shop has an excellent name.  “All the king’s men”, In my mind it conjures up the infamous Alexander the Great, who made his soldiers shave their beards off for the purpose of gaining an advantage in hand-to-hand combat so that his warriors were able to grasp an enemy by the beard, while themselves were safeguarded in this method of fighting. Is there any correlation between this story and your shop? How did you come up with the name of the shop?

Wow! I’ve never heard that story before but i really like it! I came up with the name when i was at trade school in my apprenticeship. In fact my cousin and I came up with it. He was studying hospitality at the same tech and we had a hairbrained scheme to start a barber shop/cafe. It sounds completely bonkers to me now but back then it seemed like we had come up with the greatest idea ever.

It’s a great looking barbershop, the old movie posters, especially the 1949 movie of the same name. How long have you had the shop, and how long did it take to get all the memorabilia?

The shop opened in 2007. I have been collecting all sorts of bits and bobs forever really. The first thing I got were the chairs, they are vintage Takaras and are incredibly beautiful to me. The lines on them are so classic and so sleek. They remind me of the classic, huge American cars of the 50’s. I had them for about a year before the shop opened and in that time i had them in storage. I used to go to the storage unit and visit them regularly, and really built the rest of the shop around them. The posters are all vintage Italian action movies and I have sourced them from all around the world. They are so dramatic and so visually engaging, and so old and creased. I love that old world aesthetic. Then the cut throat razors I’ve collected from op shops and antique dealers, and from friends who have found them in their shopping expeditions and also a few from clients who have had their grandpas razor floating around and don’t really know what else to with them, and I like that they have all ended up together in the cabinets. All the other stuff has just turned up over time.

My research tells me you worked at Dr Follicles for a time. Was it hard to start your own shop? And what sparked the idea of going starting your own?

I worked at Dr Follicles for a long time, and it was a great place to work and I made some very good friends there. But my idea was always to open my own shop and that really started back in trade school. In the time between starting my career and opening my own shop, I had been involved on some level in a few different shops from early on in their operation, so when the time came to open my own, I’d seen first hand and learnt from watching what other people were doing in starting up their shops. Some were more successful than others and I think I sort of watched and listened as much as I could to what sorts of things worked and what didn’t work. So when the time came to open my own shop, I had a really firm idea of how i wanted my shop to operate.

Where have you worked previously?

I started my apprenticeship in Canberra at Cataldo’s in 1995. I did two years there, sweeping, shampooing, coffee making, colors and perms. Lots of perms. Then I finished my apprenticeship at a salon called Globe. It’s no longer there. It was a crazy little shop with a great 50’s kitsch, John Waters, Vegas, lounge bar sort of vibe to it. It even had a one-arm bandit poker machine in it. It was really different to all the other shops in Canberra at the time, and we had a lot of fun. It was like one big party for a few years. All the staff were really fun and we were like a gang. Then that closed up and my friend Mark Bayre  (owner/operator of Mest Hair) bought it and he’s still there and going great guns!

Then I moved to Melbourne in 2000 and started to move towards barbershops. My first job here was at Wax in the city. It was a great little shop. I worked there for a couple of years and then to Dr Follicles in Richmond and then to their Fitzroy shop. And then opened All The Kings Men.

How long have you been doing hair and when did you have your first hair “epiphany”?

Started in 1995. I guess the most important epiphany I had is that cutting men’s hair is where i wanted to end up. That was very early on in the piece.

For readers who want to be a men’s hairdresser…how did you become a barber, did you at any point in your career do women’s hair?

I did women’s hair for a while, but pretty much two thirds of my career has been men’s hair. When i worked in salons I saw that a lot of the time they were catering predominantly to women and when most men came in they were obviously uncomfortable there. These were the guys that seemed to like me cutting their hair and it just sort of clicked there. And this is at a time when men really, REALLY didn’t get into the grooming thing that much. Now guys are so much more savvy about using products, colors and even straighteners, but at that point guys just seemed to get haircuts to get the hair out of their eyes. But that shift towards men’s grooming is really why you see resurgence in barbershops now. Guys now not only want to have adventurous haircuts, they EXPECT it. It’s great really. So now not only is there a market for cutting just men’s hair, it’s a really progressive and dynamic market, which is so awesome. It really has changed so much in that time, it’s amazing.

Top five favourite tools?

1- cut throat razor! Easily my favorite!! It’s such a wonderfully theatrical tool. And it’s a great symbol of barbers and barbershops. Like Sweeney Todd or that great scene in ‘The Untouchables’ where Al Capone is getting a shave and the barber nicks him. It’s just such a great way of finishing a cut, tidying up the neck with a cutthroat. It just completes the whole haircut experience. And it’s such a cool looking tool as well.

2- scissors. Obviously. I use 7”, great for scissor over comb.

3- clippers. We do LOTS of clipper work and i mostly use the good old classic Wahl super tapers, although i used to own a fantastic set of

Oster rotary clippers, which I often remember fondly. They got broken when a client jumped out of my chair and hooked the cord around his foot and they fell onto the ground and smashed. That was a sad day.

4- Passion Razor. I have had this for years and i love it. Great for longer shaggy, rock’n'roll stuff. Such a simple tool, but I cant imagine not having it. And it looks cool too.

5- ipod. Music is so important in getting the vibe in the shop right. Its important to have some sweet soul tracks to start the day, but also to have some proper rock and roll to drive it home at the end of the day. Sounds silly, but I couldn’t get through the day without the right music.

I really love the history of barbering and hairdressing, for example back in ye olde days your barber was your dentist and your surgeon. Another example is the red and white stripe barber pole to signify bloodletting.  Do you feel any connection to that heritage?

I love the history of hairdressing, and especially barbering. The blood letting and tooth stopping and leeches and all that is so interesting. It’s so kind of macabre and creepy to think that people just popped into the local barbers to get a boil lanced and a quick tidy up. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to do it.

What do you feel are the problems facing the industry right now?

The public opinion thing has ALWAYS annoyed me. I sometimes think people don’t really understand what it is we do. It’s such a cliché, but at the end of the day, what we do is make people feel good. We make people feel confident, we listen to people and we form these unique friendships with our clients. That is very important. It’s so much more than people like to make out it is.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m in the process of looking to expand the business into a second location. It’s pretty exciting actually. I have the greatest staff ever at the shop and I have absolute faith in them looking after it so I can go and start all over again in another shop. From there, I’d really like to one day open a really big, really sleek shop. Still keeping the same philosophy of what we do now, but on a grander scale. And then from there, maybe a girls version, maybe.

ALL THE KING’S MEN

16 ERROL STREET, NORTH MELBOURNE.

93285599

click here for more details.

Written by Jean-Paul Rosette, author of Heads Will Roll.

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