4 minute read
MAKING WAVES IN AUSTRALIA
Starting out as a Saturday Girl
Tori developed an interest in hairdressing when she was just a teenager. She tells how she started out in the business: “I started working in a hairdressing salon as a Saturday Girl when I was 15 years old. I helped out at the salon by washing people’s hair. I’d always wanted to go to art college after finishing school. But just when I’d passed all my exams and was ready to apply to art college, the hairdressing salon where I was working asked me if I’d like to stay on for an apprenticeship. So I ended up doing an apprenticeship there and fell in love with hairdressing. I realised it was very creative and actually arty in itself.” So Tori took a change of direction and began pursuing a career in the hairdressing industry. “I qualified as a hairdresser and began working at Cheyne’s hair salon in Edinburgh.” Tori was young and adventurous and eager to see more of the world. “I decided I wanted to do some travelling. So I went to Ibiza and lived there for six months and then returned to Edinburgh. But I wanted to travel some more, so I came to Australia for a year. I was doing hairdressing in Australia at that time, so I hadn’t yet become a barber.”
She returned to Scotland after a year in Australia and that’s when she discovered barbering. “When I went back to Scotland in early 2013, I noticed barbering had really taken off in the UK. So that’s when I became interested in barbering. Some of the guys I used to work with in the salon had opened a barber shop and they asked me to work there. At the time I wasn’t that interested in doing men’s cuts and I didn’t really know how to fade hair. I wasn’t familiar with clippers. But I thought, I’ll give it a go and I loved it.”
After a year of developing her barbering skills in Edinburgh, Tori moved back to Melbourne. “I came back to Australia and got a job in a barbershop. Back then there weren’t many good barbershops in Australia. Barbering was just taking off in Australia at that time. There were traditional barbershops, but not many modern barbershops that combine hairdressing and barbering. There was actually one good barbershop named Kings Domain and I began working there.”
Complementary skills for the best of both worlds
Tori found that having a background in hairdressing helped her hone her barbering skills and that hairdressing skills could be transferred to barbering. Tori explains: “It helped that I was familiar with using scissors and comfortable with all scissor work. It was mainly the clipper work that I had to learn. Over time the clipper work got easier. I had already developed a trained eye that enabled me to do proper fading. So that came pretty easily to me.”
Her interest in art helped her from a creative perspective.
“I think because I used to do a lot of drawing and art, I had a good eye for detail. So when it came to doing a fade my eye could pick up exactly like what part needed to be blended more. This is something some people struggle with because it takes an artistic eye to see the line, the fade, the shade.”
Passing on the skills of a winner
Tori’s skills have not gone unnoticed in the industry. She’s racked up numerous awards during her career.
“I was named Australian Men’s Hairdresser of the Year in 2017.
I was also a finalist in 2018 and 2019. I’d now like to help the younger generation of up-and-coming barbers by sharing with them the knowledge I’ve gained over the last 15 years. That’s why I am turning my focus more towards education. I provide education across the country and have developed an online course. I don’t think I’ll participate in any more competitions myself; I’m now enjoying helping others achieve their goals.”
Motherhood matters
Tori had a baby boy named Romeo eighteen months ago. She has found a way to successfully balance her responsibilities as a barber and as a mother. “I turned my garage into a studio. When Romeo was still a small baby, I was able to cut clients in between feeding him. I still have my studio at home and work part time from home at the studio and part time at a boutique barbershop in Melbourne called Paragon Studio.”
Looking to the future
Tori looks to the future with optimism and enthusiasm. She wants to continue to build her career in barbering and expand more and more into education. Tori offers words of encouragement for other women in the industry combining barbering and motherhood. “I’d like to tell them that, with the right planning and work-life balance, you can do it. Look at me: I still travelled over to the UK last year, performed on stage and travel around Australia doing education. I’m still working and being a mum at the same time. I feel like a lot of people think you can do one or the other, but don’t listen to them - you can do both.”
She’s also committed to working hard to give her son the best opportunities. “I want to give my son a good life and great opportunities. So that makes me work harder. It makes me ask myself: How can I do better and how can I get more work so that I can continue to show him when he grows up that you can achieve anything you set your mind to.”
Dennis van Lierop is a hairdresser, business and salon coach based in Berlin/Germany. He is CEO and owner of HALO Academy and has a background in hairdressing and the international hair and beauty industry. With his skills in brand management, employee activation, and salon and business management, he has shaped the European hairdressing industry. He is a sought-after speaker, author, and concept developer in the professional hair cosmetics industry. He has published a best-selling book and has coached hundreds of salons. With his new column in BarberSociety, you can benefit from his expertise.
