Lee Preston Celebrates 25 Years

Iconic Perth salon, Lee Preston Hairdressing celebrates 25 years in the industry in 2022. Founded by Lee and husband/business partner, Simon Preston, this family owned, multi award-winning salon is situated in South Perth.

The duo began their careers in the UK before emigrating to Australia in the 90’s. At just 13 years old Lee’s passion for hair was ignited by her then hairdresser. Drawn to, in her own words “a creative and cool industry”, Lee started working Saturdays in a local salon before joining a West End salon, under the wing of an ex-Vidal Sassoon Director. From the early days Lee worked closely with the leaders of the industry, opening her eyes to what opportunities hairdressing could bring.

The London born creatives opened LeePreston Hairdressing in Perth in the late 90's. While running the Salon, Lee’s career has spanned the runways of Paris, New York & Sydney with her editorial work gracing the pages of Marie Claire, Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and Elle. Driven, passionate and hard-working, Lee has always pushed herself creatively and has had the support of Simon to run the business side of the salon. Along the way they also had two daughters!

Lee believes in honesty, service, and loyalty alongside doing beautiful hair that makes clients feel good about themselves. So, it’s not surprising that the salon’s success has been built on a genuine commitment to treating people with kindness, equality, and respect. Creating a workplace where staff enjoy coming to work and that happiness is passed on to clients. Lee has seen many staff go through long service leave at her salon and will this month celebrate their 25 years in business with staff past and present!

Today Lee Preston is happy to let her team shine. Their enthusiasm inspires her. She is content and grateful for the opportunities and people that she has met along the way in her career. It’s seen her travel the world and work with people from all walks of life, proving that hairdressing is an industry where you really can carve your own path.

Lee also recognises the unwavering support and product quality from Kao Salon Division.

“We have been with Goldwell consistently for 25 years. The truth is we love the product, it works, and we get 100% support for both the creative and business side. Goldwell has always listened to us, and it’s been a great partnership” says Lee.

“What a pleasure it’s been to work alongside Lee, Simon, and their team for the last 25 years. Lee’s powerful work ethic, passion, and commitment to bringing out the best in herself and her team has positioned Lee Preston Hairdressing as one of Australia’s leading salons. Kao Salon Division is honoured to have been a part of this trailblazing journey and we can’t wait to see what the future holds. Warmest congratulations to Lee and her team” said Rita Marcon, General Manager Kao Salon Division ANZ

Hair Biz Editor Louise May caught up with Lee recently to chat about her journey in the industry over the last 25 years…

How did you first get into hairdressing? What drew you to the industry and what do you love most about the business?

I was influenced at a young age by my hairdresser that worked at Molten Brown in London. Being 13 years old at the time, I thought it was amazing that you could change people’s looks through hair. I thought it was a very cool and creative industry, and I would ask him so many questions about it. My career began as a “Saturday girl” at a local hair salon close to home and then I moved to a salon in the West End run by a previous Vidal Sassoon Director. I was introduced to significant names in the industry and from there, incredible opportunities opened up to me at an early age.

What has been a career highlight of yours? And what’s been your biggest challenge?

I’ve had many career highlights, but the top would be winning the inaugural L’Oréal Color Trophy in Australia. I had never won anything before that had been judged internationally and it opened many doors for me in Australia, particularly in media and fashion.

In 1996, competitive work was very new in the industry and the only other competition at the time, on the same level, was the Schwarzkopf Awards. Also, winning the Salon Team for Australia in the AHJ Awards was very memorable. I can’t remember the year, but it was such a proud moment for my team. The biggest challenge would be running a big team efficiently and keeping a happy working environment. I’m no different to any other salon owner trying to juggle work/life balance for myself and my staff.

This month you celebrate 25 years of the salon – to what do you attribute your success?

Not thinking I’m bigger than my team – being humble and happy to share success and not make everything about myself.

You’ve worked on runways in Sydney, New York and Paris as well as national editorial shoots – what do you love about this work and who inspires you most?

At this stage in my career, I’ve retired from runway work. I still do editorial shoots because I enjoy the challenges and working with creative people – as long as they treat my team with kindness. It’s a blessing to be able to take my younger team members to shoots and see how enthusiastic they are. I’ve had my time in the spotlight and enjoyed it, but I don’t see it being important for my own personal development anymore, so I’ve scaled back and let the younger team members take over. Helping them grow and succeed in the industry is inspiring to me.

How do you keep ahead of trends in the industry?

I don’t think I need to keep ahead of the trends. I think if you’re a creative and give your life to honing your craft (putting in the work, know your stuff and do the research on the industry – past and present), it comes naturally. Keeping an eye on the fashion world is definitely a natural progression of developing trends though. Now at 53, I refer to my younger staff to discover and set trends, and that helps me keep my own career fresh.

You have long standing staff and clients; how do you keep your team motivated and passionate and retain clients?

We have always treated everyone with the utmost respect and as an equal. You have to try and create a workspace where your staff enjoy coming to work and from that, their happiness is passed on to the client. Hairdressing is not a complicated business, but it involves a lot of relationships that can be complicated.

I’ve had many staff members go through long service with me and have become very close. It’s those people that have been part of my own, and the business’, success story. Even past staff members who have gone out own their own salon are treated like family. I couldn’t be happier or prouder. We’re actually about to celebrate the 25th anniversary with all our past and current staff.

Being true to myself has led me to have my incredible business which wouldn’t exist without my staff. Our clientele is very loyal and has been since our doors first opened. We treat every client honestly and respectfully with superior service. That is what they want at the end of the day and why they keep coming back. Not every client wants the same thing but as long as we deliver beautiful hair that the client wants and they leave the salon feeling good about themselves, then we’ve done our job.

How would your team describe you?

I don’t know – you would have to ask them. I know they would describe Simon (my business partner and husband) as a joker with a really wicked sense of humour.

You’ve been a long-standing Salon Partner with Kao Salon Division, using Goldwell Color, Dualsenses, Kerasilk and KMS in your Salon and your services. What makes this a great working relationship?

We’ve been a Goldwell and KMS partner for 25 years and I’ve never wanted to change. I’ve been approached by many different brands, but the truth is we love Goldwell and KMS products! The products are fantastic, and we get one hundred percent support with the creative aspect of the brands and with the business. I’ve always been supported by Goldwell and KMS and they’ve always listened to us. It’s been a great, strong partnership where we’ve been loyal to them, and they’ve been loyal to my business.

If you hadn’t become a hairdresser and business owner, what do you think you might have done instead?

I definitely would be working in the fashion industry somehow. I would’ve gone to the London College of Fashion or St Martin’s. It’s what I originally wanted to do when I left school, but I didn’t want to go study straight away and wanted to get a job.

I found the best opportunities in the West End of London and went for it with hairdressing, working for leading salons in the West End before moving to Australia. I always knew from a young age whatever I was going to do with my career, I would give it my all and be successful. I just had passion and I was never going to sit back and think opportunities would find me.

I’ve always pushed myself and worked hard with a very supportive partner by my side. He’s supported me, helped build my confidence and run the business as well as being an awesome dad to our two daughters.

What’s next for Lee Preston?

I wish my daughters had shown an interest in my industry. One of them works in the salon while she’s finishing off Year 12, but she will go on to university to study marketing. My youngest daughter wants to be a chef. I’m not sure what happened with passing on the legacy, but you never know! Hopefully one of my younger team members will carry on the name. Right now, I’m happy taking a step back but continuing to support my team and the dealing with the challenges that come with running a business.

The industry is different to when I first started so I’m watching from the sidelines of what the younger generation are doing. I just wished that more hairdressers would start cutting hair again instead of just colouring it! I’ve had an amazing career and have worked with some amazing people from all walks of life.

Our industry is amazing; there’s not many jobs that you can do that take you around the world and give you so many different opportunities. You can go into the photographic and editorial side of hairdressing or go into education. You can just work on the business side and build a fantastic clientele and name for yourself and earn a great living.

More than anything, Simon and I are grateful for the people we’ve met along the way that have supported us and become good friends. We’ve had an incredible ride in this business.