Editors Letter

EDITOR

Louise May

louise@mochapublishing.com.au

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Nina Barbara

nina@mochapublishing.com.au

ART DIRECTOR

Kellie Woodhead

kellie@mochapublishing.com.au

ADMINISTRATION

Jess Richmond

jess@mochapublishing.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS

Louise May Linda Woodhead Pauline McCabe Kirstie Kesic Sheree Knobel Anthony Gray Jenni Tarrant Gary Latham Paul Frasca Clive Allwright Dario Cotroneo Kym Krey Brodie-Lee Tsiknaris Sharlene Lee David Watts Chrissy Alger Larissa Macleman Sarah Garner Rachel Medlock Angeli Marie Shaw

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HAIR BIZ, Beauty Biz & Barber Shop

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LETTER EDITOR’S

So here I am sitting down to write my Editors letter, and I can’t believe that we are almost at the end of the first quarter of the year. Time is just flying by… and before we know it, we will all be catching up at the iconic Queens Birthday Weekend, in Sydney, at Hair Festival and the New AHIA Creative Awards!

We are super excited about this edition, it is an EPIC one for sure! We have jam-packed so much goodness in here, and we are thinking it is probably our biggest ever issue to date!

Firstly, before I continue, I just want to say a huge thank you to our 2020 contributors. You certainly looked after our salon owners with sound advice, tips and tricks and offered unwavering support throughout what has been the toughest year ever!

When the going got really tough, so many of you stepped up and offered guidance, and the amount of free online education that was produced was mindblowing.

This is an amazing Industry; there are so many special humans, that it’s impossible to name them all, but all I can say is that I feel so blessed to be a part of it.

In this mammoth edition, we are proud to introduce you to this year’s contributors! We are super excited to have so much talent collectively in one magazine… we have the amazing

Jenni Tarrant, Clive Allwright, Paul Frasca, Gary Latham and Dario Cotroneo, delivering valuable information to you with their Blogs throughout the year ahead. We have the great business minds of Kym Krey, David Watts, Sharlene Lee and the Zing Team!

We have the wonderful Angeli Marie Shaw talking to us about mindset, Anthony Gray from MIG Training and branding guru Sarah Garner from Digital Bloom, and great social media advice from Rachel Medlock at, Do You Even Social. have the very clever Kristie Kesic and Sheree Knobel talking all things Colour with us… and it’s always exciting to go Global Talent Spotting with Pauline McCabe!

Featuring in this edition, we have AHIA Winner of Best Eco Salon for 2020 Tenille Lawrence, talking us through her Healthy Habits and we have 10 Minutes with the wonderful Leanne Cuttler. We cross the pacific with our International Feature on Danilo Giangreco, and there is oh so much more, that you will have to wait and see as you flick through the pages!

Last but not least…. The Australian Hair Industry Awards for Creatives & Business are BOTH open! We recently announced our biggest Judging panel ever! Over 100 Judges for the Creatives and we are so excited for all the stylists who are entering our new awards. Not forgetting the Business awards now in their 9th year to recognise business excellence across this great land!

We can’t wait to catch up with everyone at Hair Festival and the New Awards and are honoured to be picking up the mantle from the legacy of Hair Expo in a collaborative with BHA Media. There are going to be many sneaky hugs taking place, I would say!

Until the next issue..

Take care & stay safe, practice gratitude and enjoy each day!

Louise May Louise May, HAIR BIZ Editor

Starting out in his father’s small salon in Puglia, Danilo Giangreco is now a fixture on the Fulham Road in Chelsea. So, how did this self-confessed ‘little town boy’ establish himself as a big name in British hairdressing?

Danilo Giangreco’s hair career arguably began at the age of 12 when his father handed the young Italian some scissors and instructed him to cut his brother’s hair. Today, the Giangrecos still run a small salon in Puglia, Southern Italy, but Danilo has come a long way since that first, inaugural haircut on his father’s shop floor. Danilo Hair Boutique occupies a prime spot on the Fulham Road and caters for a devoted clientele, which includes, amongst others, the well-heeled Chelsea set and a clutch of celebrities. In recognition of his skill, Danilo himself has been both nominated for, and won, a number of awards last year and has set his sights on scooping even more this year.

It’s somewhat inevitable Danilo would follow a future in hairdressing. He was a Saturday boy almost as far back as he can remember – folding towels, sweeping the floor and helping out in the small family business. “I was never that much into school,” Danilo confesses. “I messed around too much. But my Dad spotted a talent in me for hairdressing and said, ‘we should nurture that.’” Aged 16, Danilo dropped out of school and trained hard as an apprentice for two years. On weekdays, he’d be at college all morning, coming straight back to work in the salon in the afternoon and at weekends. Sharpening his technical skills, it was clear Danilo did indeed have the talent his father had observed, and an unstoppable creative streak was emerging too. It wasn’t long before he was craving a bigger challenge.

In a bold move, Danilo packed his bags and headed for Milan, securing a job at Roberto Bellandi - one of the most glamorous salons in the most glamorous of all Italian cities. Suddenly surrounded by footballers, TV stars and talked-about celebrities, Danilo describes himself as a ‘little town boy’ seeing a whole new side to hairdressing for the first time. Under the influential gaze of Bellandi, Danilo was improving rapidly and gaining an awareness for the complete salon experience. “I learnt about the whole journey involved in hairdressing. Not just the obvious skills you need, but the subtle things too like small gestures and using the right terminology.”

While working in Milan, Danilo took a trip to London and liked what he saw. Enrolling on an English course back in Italy, he expanded his vocabulary from just a small repertoire of words but decided that learning in the environment and being immersed in British culture was the best way to get up to speed. Settling on West London as his new base, Danilo knocked on several doors until he got a trial at a salon in Queensway. He was to stay here for six years, honing his craft and learning what it takes to run a salon, eventually managing separate premises on London’s legendary King’s Road.

“I’M CONSTANTLY SEEKING INSPIRATION. MY BRAIN IS ALWAYS BUZZING”

Despite his origins – the small unisex salon in Puglia – or perhaps because of it, Danilo’s skillset wasn’t just restricted to cutting hair. In fact, his eye for colour was equally sharp. He holds a L’Oréal Colour Specialist degree and take great pride in mastering both disciplines to the same high standards. “I think there’s a real satisfaction in creating an entire finished look,” he enthuses. “When you can cut and colour it enables you to see the whole vision.”

Little wonder that after ticking so many boxes this far in his hairdressing career, it was only a matter of time before Danilo would open up his own salon. That opportunity came by chance when Danilo was passing by an empty shop on the Fulham Road in Chelsea. Calling the number in the window, the next thing he knew, he was setting up Danilo Hair Boutique with his partner at the time. It’s been open for over eight years, and today he runs it in its entirety. It’s no coincidence that ‘boutique’ features in the title. Taking his cues from the dazzling days in Milan, Danilo has created a space where his dreams of a luxury hair destination have come to fruition.

The affluent clientele appreciates the thoughtful attention to detail that underpins the salon’s philosophy. “It’s all about making people feel special. Everyone who comes here is looked after by the whole team, whether that’s a head massage or a perfect cup of coffee, our aim is not just great hair, but also to make our clients feel pampered.” The small, but cosmopolitan team are fully on board with this ethos, “you find the right people to fit your script,” Danilo explains. He invests plenty of time into teaching, training and sharing his passion. “It’s one thing to know it, but quite another to pass it on,” he says. Qualified as an assessor, Danilo takes no greater pride than in seeing his team finish a look he knows he inspired them to create.

The same for every salon owner, 2020 was a challenging year. For Danilo, he describes the first day of lockdown as the most uncertain time in his life. But not one to let his dynamic spirt dim for long, he soon came up with the idea of filming video chats amongst the team and putting them out on social media. A natural in front of the camera and with a knack of orchestrating fluid conversations, Danilo’s ‘Coffee Breaks’ caught the eye of long-standing friend and client Boris Becker who offered to get involved. The next thing he knew, the concept was flying, and he was soon attracting big hairdressing names such as Errol Douglas and Robert Eaton to take part in these easy, informal chats.

During the second salon closure, Danilo used the time to renovate the salon, but also fine tune some hairdressing techniques. “I set up a studio in my spare room and filled it with block heads and mood boards. I’m constantly seeking inspiration. My brain is always buzzing,” he enthuses. As testament to his increasing profile and creative accomplishments, Danilo was shortlisted for London Hairdresser of the Year at the 2020 British Hairdressing Awards. He scooped two titles at the Tribute magazine ‘Big One’ awards for his acclaimed images and there have been nominations for business acumen and best team.

His photographic work is unsurprisingly influenced by his Italian heritage with a formula he describes as, “modern, elegant and timeless.” Despite his classic foundations, he does love to experiment and there are touches of avant-garde in his work. “I’m really inspired by Angelo Seminaro and Eugene Souleiman,” he says. “Eugene has a completely unique approach to session work. The hair is always beautiful, but he manages to add a touch of madness to it.” As well as doing more session work, Danilo harbours ambitions to expand the salon and also amplify his name even more on the British hairdressing scene.

In an industry that can be all-consuming, Danilo’s world outside work is absorbed by his young son, who he adores and credits as keeping his feet on the ground. While his successes so far have been quite remarkable, he’s modest about his achievements. His father is retired from the salon in Puglia now and Danilo’s brother runs it instead. Clearly a close family, Danilo’s sister Valeria has joined Danilo as Head of Colour at the Fulham Road salon. When asked what his father thinks of his career, he mentions a framed photo of Danilo that takes pride of place in the small shop in Puglia. There’s no doubt this ‘little town boy’ has done his hairdressing father proud.

10 MINUTES WITH

LEANNE CUTTLER

By Louise May

Leanne Cuttler Photo: Sherbet Birdie Leanne and Rupert boating on Prt Phillip Bay Leanne and friend Susan competing in the 1927 Austin Cambridge in the Florence Thompson Women’s Rally 2017.

Leanne Cutler did well academically at school and had always wanted to go to Uni, so she did a Bachelor of Business (Communication) at QUT (then QIT), which resulted in an early career in Advertising, TV Production and PR.

Running into Anthony Wynne-Hoelscher and his wife, Susa, who she previously knew, at the Queensland Art Gallery, in 1991, she was asked to apply to be the new Executive Officer of Hair Expo, which they owned at the time and had relocated from Brisbane to Sydney. She was just 24 but was instrumental in securing it as an iconic, national event in Sydney.

Leaving at the end of 1995 for work-life balance she then spent 15 years working in mostly the university sector in Creative Industries, Law and Medicine.

In 2008, Leanne set up Siren Marketing and the hairdressing industry welcomed her back with open arms introducing two industry brands, both of which are now well known and respected; Hair Shots 2 The World, a global PR service getting top collections published in trade and consumer media worldwide and Siren Marketing, an integrated marketing communications firm for small businesses and product companies, with one of her specialties being in the field of coaching and creating awards submissions.

LEANNE, WOULD YOU SHARE A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR UPBRINGING?

I grew up in Ipswich in Queensland. Hair was always a big deal in my world. My Granddad was born in the back of the barbershop in Nimbin in 1910. Maybe that’s why I had a fascination with hair from early on. I was a baby with a mop of Shirley Temple curls so people in the street would look at me in the pram and ask my Mum how she did my hair. It was natural, of course. Then my best friend’s Mum was a Hairdresser, so I was always at their house watching Mrs Mahoney do sets, perms and even blue rinses. When it was my turn, she’d decide that I needed a pageboy, thanks to Vidal Sassoon but after so many now, I just can’t bring myself to have another one! My Dad was a fireman and my Mum worked in a pharmacy. Mum sold Steiner colour and would get permission to take me to the workshops as she didn’t have a babysitter, so I was getting colour lessons from about age 13. Life in my family was not great for a lot of years before my parents broke up. My Dad was obese and desperately wanted to lose weight. He met a guy at a party who told him of a doctor in the Penny’s building in Queen St, Brisbane who helped him lose a lot of weight quickly. My Dad went weekly and was given an injection of something, a LSD-like prescription drug. He lost 13 stone in 12 months but whatever that doctor did, fried his brain. At age 35, he became schizophrenic and remained in care until he died last year at 79. I was his advocate for over 30 years, a parttime job in itself, dealing with hostels and nursing homes and Government red tape. I am only telling this story because I want to give a strong message. “Don’t do drugs”. You may not die but you may also become disabled and dysfunctional and lose your quality of life, as will the people left to look after you. Despite this I have always worked hard on myself to make the most of my life and I absolutely refused to let history repeat. From the outset, my career and my life was going to be great and the goals were set. I have had amazing jobs, travelled to the best places, worked with some of the best in the business and found true love.

WHAT ACHIEVEMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR LIFE OR CAREER?

Career-wise, there have been so many highlights, but getting Hair Expo secure as an event was a more-than-massive task that I am really proud of… And then spending the last 10 years founding and running Hair Shots 2 The World, promoting Australian, New Zealand and South African hair fashion to the world has been such a buzz. Helping Australia be recognised as the creative leader of the world around 2015 was really exciting as 75 covers poured in. It is so wonderful to know millions of viewers of hair fashion globally appreciate the work of Hair Shots 2 The World clients. To be honest, the thing I am most proud of is personal, and that is successfully advocating for my Dad with a severe mental disability. I kept him cared for safely, worked to make sure his medication was correct, liaised with social workers and carers and frankly, made sure he didn’t end up on the street.

IF YOU WEREN’T DOING WHAT YOU DO NOW, WHAT ALTERNATIVE CAREER WOULD YOU CONSIDER?

Leanne with true love, husband Paul

Leanne and Jean Witte of Synergy Hair and Intercoiffure South Africa Leanne with Lina Robinson, Tyson Kennedy, Freda Rossidis and Kylie O’Toole.

Baby Leanne with Shirley Temple ringlets

those starting out now, due to the shortage of apprentices and seniors. In 5-10 years time, if the current hairdresser shortage worsens, hairdressers will be able to name their price (or I’m wrong and everyone will have long unkept hair). Demand will outweigh the number of appointments possible. Plus, I’d really love a ‘people’ job.

THREE THINGS YOU’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT?

Hairdressers. I think a couple of hairdressers got me onto the right track when I was a troubled youngster, and my gratitude has stayed with me. My common hashtag is #hairdresserscare. I see the good they do for people and I truly believe that this intangible but significant contribution is undervalued in society. Family. I adore my family and friends. Now living in Melbourne, I have not seen my Queensland family and friends for almost one year. I’m an only child but I have nine incredible first cousins. The interesting thing about we cousins is that we have all really different careers. It makes catching up great fun to hear about such different lives. Community Radio. In 2016, I became an arts and entertainment reporter on 88.3 Southern FM in Melbourne. Melbourne really is rich in the arts and our local area thrives. But it also brings great opportunities like opening night seats to musicals and fabulous interviews eg; the late Greedy Smith, Vikka and Linda, and emerging artists.

DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL SUNDAY

Sunday sleep in, then a gourmet omelette made by my husband, Paul. Then off to Sandringham Yacht Club to spend some time on our motor cruiser. If the weather is bad, a visit to a gallery or some live music is great – when you can!

Leanne with client Kristy Hodgson of Jarahs Hair, South Australia at the Hair Expo Awards Leanne with Simone Lee in Perth

WHAT’S ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

• Make a tv series about the hairdressing industry. • Return to South Africa. I keep dreaming about Cape Town and Kruger Park. • Become a grey nomad and driver around

Australia. • Buy a dream home with room for a veggie patch and more animals. • Walk the El Camino in Portugal. • Meet Lady Gaga.

CRAZIEST, FUNNIEST OR MOST UNUSUAL THING YOU’VE EVER DONE?

Unusual for me was skydiving. I won’t even go on rides at the Show! Back in the 1990s, I was chatting with Benni Tognini and said that one day I’d like to go skydiving. My roommate and her client, a lady with cerebral palsy, had just done it and I thought “If they can do it, so can I! – one day”. About a week later Benni calls and says that the Tognini’s team were going skydiving on the weekend and have a spare spot. Not wanting to look like a chicken, I said ‘yes’. Despite a bumpy landing, I loved it and have loved heights ever since.

PETS OR NO PETS & IF SO, WHAT/WHO?

We have Rupert the 14-year-old Maltese Poodle and Henry, the neighbour’s Turkish Van cat, who moved in when he decided our outdoor furniture was better than theirs. I’m a great birdwatcher too. I don’t have time to go on expeditions but the birds at home are fabulous. The wattle birds aren’t the prettiest, but they have sweet natures and chatter to me while I’m hanging out washing. We also loved going on safari to Kruger National Park in South Africa but telling that story would be a whole other interview.

WHAT’S PLAYING ON YOUR SPOTIFY RIGHT NOW?

I listen to so much because of my radio gig on 88.3FM. New Australian music is a priority. Some worth checking out on Spotify are Brooke Taylor, Delsinki, Caroline Hammond and Anna Farqhuar.

WHAT WAS YOUR NICKNAME AS A CHILD AND HOW DID YOU GET IT?

My mother called me Gert or Gertrude; I have no idea why. She can’t even explain it. Otherwise, it’s Cuttlefish, from Cutler, of course.

IF YOU COULD LEAVE THIS INDUSTRY HAVING ACHIEVED JUST ONE THING, WHAT WOULD THAT LEGACY BE?

I’d like to help make hairdresser cool again in the eyes of the community and especially young people. Am thinking about a podcast to help make this happen!

DO YOU HAVE A MOTTO OR SIGNATURE LIFE PHILOSOPHY?

The one that has given me most solace and frustration concurrently is “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”. This will probably be on my gravestone! What makes you laugh? All good tv comedy: Absolutely Fabulous, Schitts Creek, Friends.

WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST FEAR?

I have a fear of depths – deep water. This is strange since we have a boat.