Dream Big

In 2012, Steph Meyer completed her hairdressing apprenticeship at The Gordon, Geelong. She is now the thriving owner of the blonde and balayage powerhouse salon, Steph Meyer & Co – St Kilda. The award-winning stylist has cemented her outstanding reputation in the industry, having aligned herself with professional brands such as EVY PROFESSIONAL, Zen Master Scissors and as a Brazilian Bond Builder Australian Artist.

Sharing her passion for hairdressing, Steph hosts in-house blonde/balayage specialist workshops for qualified hairdressers, some in association with Schwarzkopf. Steph has recently opened her second salon in Horsham, Victoria and isn’t ruling out the possibility of a third. Steph began her apprenticeship at 17 years old, in Horsham, with the dream of one day opening her own salon. Determined to succeed, she completed her qualification in just two years and then went on to participate in, and win, hairdressing competitions including HBIA Total Look Beautiful Brides in 2015.

In 2017, Steph made the big move to Melbourne working in a salon, before an opportunity to pursue her dream arose.

“I always wanted to open my own salon”, says Steph, “my initial intention was to move to Melbourne for a couple of years to learn and grow, then I would go home [to Horsham] and open a salon. I guess I just always had the drive and determination to have my own salon so when an opportunity came up in St Kilda, I couldn’t not take it”.

In May 2018, Steph came across the perfect space for an intimate concept salon and opened the exclusive Steph Meyer & Co – St Kilda. The word around the southern suburbs spread quickly about the polished and friendly salon, who specialises in mastering blonde colouring and balayage. Steph Meyer & Co grew rapidly.

“Being an exclusive salon, I was only working with one client at a time, so I was booked out fast”, says Steph, “Within the first 12 months, I employed an assistant and tried the “old school” method and worked between two clients at a time. It created an uninviting vibe and stress in the space so I decided to (unfortunately) let my assistant go and hired a fully qualified hairdresser who also worked with one client of her own at a time”. This allowed us to take the time with application and achieve the best blonde for our clients.

2018 was a busy year for Steph; not only was her first salon a thriving success, she also introduced an education calendar to share her blonding expertise with qualified hairdressers. Aside from the in-house, intimate workshops, Steph also ran classes of up to 20 hairdressers in association with Schwarzkopf. Steph also shot her fist collection in 2018 and got finalist for all 3 categories entered in 2019 Hair expo Creative force, AHFA New Comer of the year and AHIA Rising star female.

Now, three years on from opening her first salon, Steph is engaged to her boyfriend of 10 years, Jason, and expecting their first child in August. at him, then me, and said ‘you two should get together’. I just giggled and ran out the back. He was three years older than me, so I didn’t know him. We met properly at an event the following weekend, became friends and the rest is history”, says Steph.

The young stylist, hairdresser and business owner has added a new skill to her title; she has been working rigorously to renovate and open her second location in Horsham, while recruiting new staff for both locations and overseeing the St Kilda salon.

After nine week of renovations, Steph Meyer & Co – Horsham, opened to client bookings on June 4, 2021, previously a fashion boutique of over 80-years, Steph has transformed the building.

Now, the large boutique-style salon has an Art Deco feel with industrial features, including a pressed metal ceiling and gold touches in the furniture. Steph and her team of builders are currently refurbishing the timber taken from the floor and creating what is set to be the centrefeature of the space, a floating staircase. The stunning staircase will lead to the mezzanine where there will be an area dedicated to filming content – to take photos of clients’ hair, as well as an open relaxing space where clients will be able to chill out with a hot beverage and free Wi-Fi.

St Kilda remains as the boutique hair studio – on the top floor of a bunch of other creatives studios. “We have floor to ceiling shutter windows that look out to St Kilda beach, Palais Theatres & Luna Park.” says Steph.

It is so encouraging to see such determination and growth within the industry showing us that despite current challenges it is in safe hands with the likes of Steph Meyer.