I've had situations where you can almost feel the resigned, "duty calls" (sigh) approach of a hairdresser when I walk in, and the full disappointment of a straightforward haircut becomes clear to a stylist.
That's why it was a refreshing change when I went online in my new community of Sechelt, on the Sunshine Coast, and made an appointment to have a haircut at the Rainbow Room.
As soon as I entered I was offered a cup of tea or coffee. There were several young looking faces around, all smiling ones, and the whole atmosphere was one of happy, bustling focus on the clients in their chairs.
That's when I met Vanessa. She immediately struck me as being far from the airhead perception a lot of people have of hair stylists. I've been going to her on a regular basis now for about 18 months, and it didn't take long for me to become a fan of this creative, enthusiastic young woman
The new indie biz on the block!
Never in my wildest dreams had I thought of interviewing a hairstylist on this blog. It must have been during my visit a couple of months ago that Vanessa looked at me very seriously as she was cutting my hair and said she saw the need for her own website. She had meantime signed up for free subscription to mine, and loved what she saw.
Sometimes It takes a while to get your head around the fact that someone else, far away, can create a website you would never even have dreamed of. Even more interesting, your website can be maintained by that person, and you develop possibilities you never imagined, and friendships second to none! Vanessa and I both share the same webmaster, femmeflashpoint of flashPress, whose beautiful website designs and amazing service are rapidly becoming globally sought after. Vanessa's new site, like my own, is powered by Weebly. That's how she became the newest neighbor and indie biz owner in what a growing number of us call the Weeblyhood. The artwork on Vanessa's site was designed and hand-painted by femmeflashpoint's sister, Alicia Jaye Phillips of On Story Street, who is also an indie biz owner and another neighbor in the Weeblyhood.
Now Vanessa has started her very own business. She still works in the same physical space, because she still loves working alongside her colleagues. But, she has a new challenge - to own and operate her own business within it.
Today I'm introducing Vanessa, her new business and matching website. True to her vision, she has incorporated an educational blog, and has invited me to help with it. Even if you aren't fortunate enough to be a local customer, you'll hopefully love to learn more about the health and beauty topics that appear there.
We've got a fun and consistently growing crowd in our neck of the woods. Care to join us? The addition of Vanessa's site is yet another example of networking at its finest.
A bit about Vanessa's professional experience...
In 2008 the recession struck, and this saw a sudden dramatic reduction in luxury beauty treatments.
Vanessa took stock of where she stood in the scheme of things, bit the bullet, and decided to sign up for hairdressing qualifications. Since that college training Vanessa has embraced her career, has worked as a hair stylist for 6 years and enjoys adding to her learning every day. She also continues to focus on learning more and more about her craft by participating in a minimum of three expensive continuing education courses per year.
When Vanessa trained requirements were very strict. She speaks highly of her intensive training and and regrets that in 2003 government "abdicated its responsibility by deregulating the beauty industry."
This has caused great changes within the hairdressing and beauty salons. New businesses pop up, in too many cases operated by people who have no real qualifications, and worst of all, who do not observe the cleanliness procedures that should be maintained.
Vanessa says, "You see many examples of hygiene infractions, of clients actually picking up infections from their treatments."
Before I finish here today, and before you visit Vanessa's new site, be aware she has some amazing offers for you, especially if you live on the Sunshine Coast, or are visiting! And, as Forrest Gump said, "That's all I'm gonna say 'bout that."
Seedling news
I was paranoid about fungal damping off disease attacking them at this stage, so gave a careful watering of two teaspoons hydrogen peroxide in about a cup of water. They didn't seem to mind a bit!