DYE JOB with Jadah Dale | Building More Than a Salon

When Jadah Dale left Canada for London, she arrived with little more than determination, ambition and a clear vision for the future. Before she had even secured an interview, she was telling everyone back home that she was moving to work at Bleach London. As she laughs in this conversation, she was simply "manifesting." 
That belief in possibility has shaped everything that followed.
Over the past decade, Jadah has established herself as one of London's most respected creative colourists, earning the trust of musicians, artists and a growing community of clients drawn to her instinctive understanding of modern colour. Her signature blondes have become synonymous with her work, but behind the technical skill is a thoughtful, collaborative approach that values relationships just as highly as results. 
After seven years at Bleach London, she founded Studio Studios with a vision that extended far beyond opening a salon. She wanted to create an environment where people genuinely wanted to spend time—a space that felt welcoming, inspiring and creatively alive. Today, Studio Studios has become one of London's most distinctive creative salons, celebrated not only for the quality of its colour work but for the culture Jadah has carefully built around it. 
Throughout the conversation, Jadah speaks with refreshing honesty about the realities of building a business. She reflects on burnout, the pressure to seize every opportunity, the challenges of leading a growing team and the importance of protecting both physical and mental wellbeing. Rather than seeing leadership as being in charge of people, she believes it is about creating an environment where others can develop confidence, creativity and independence. 
Warm, thoughtful and quietly ambitious, Jadah's story is about much more than opening a successful salon. It is about having the courage to leave home, trust your instincts and build something that reflects your values. In just ten years, she has created not only an exceptional career, but a creative community where people—and great work—can flourish. 

Transcript

Introduction

Speaker 1 0:01

Hello, welcome to Dye Job. I'm Sophie, and today I've got the fabulous Jadah Dale. Jadah has had 15 years experience within the industry. She specialises in colour, is responsible for lots of the cool bleaches, young creatives, particularly in fashion and music. She has set up a studio called Studio Studios. I've done a little bit of internet stalking to get her here because I really want to know a little bit more about her, her career, and how she's created this very cool community.

Speaker 0:38

Thank you for having me. So excited.

Growing up in Canada, discovering hairdressing, dyslexia and why there was never a "Plan B.

unknown 0:42

Okay.

Speaker 1 0:43

Didn't even mention you're Canadian.

Speaker 0:44

Well, when I was like a teenager, pretty much, I was. I was in high school and I was just completely like lost, kind of failing everything in school. And I decided to join this hair program that was in my school. It was kind of like a trade school that you'd probably go to if you knew you weren't gonna go to university, and it was very obvious. And they had a salon in the school, so I joined that, and suddenly I was like getting an A for the first time in my life. It just came so naturally. So I just kind of like followed that. There's never been another like plan B in terms of career. I just did it and I was like, this is the obvious way forward, which is nice. And then I graduated and got a job at a really cool hair salon in my hometown. But after about five years, all my friends were kind of moving away, and I was like, I can't be the only one left here. And so I kind of looked at places to go. I couldn't get any visas for the States, which would be convenient because it's closer to my family. But I was able to get a visa for here in England. So I looked into that, and then I told everyone in my hometown that I was moving to work at Bleach London. I was manifesting, I did not have a job, I actually didn't even have like an interview lined up or anything like that. And I just came and luckily got an interview and did like 5,000 trial shifts. They were very unsure. But I ended up getting a job and working there for seven years, and um I think I was a good hire in the end, hopefully. They got a good like almost decade out of me. And then and then eventually I kind of hit a bit of a ceiling and I was like, what's next? And I decided to open my own place and it's just kind of grown and grown into this really beautiful thing.

Speaker 1 2:17

Fabulous. Yeah. And would you describe yourself as a colourist, or are you of a generation that you do more and a lesson?

Speaker 2:24

I definitely would say I'm a colourist. Like I just love it. I'm really passionate about it. I do everything except for perming because of the smell. But I I love to cut, but it's I think with cutting, it's like very much about the end result. I really like when people walk out the door like looking and feeling really good with their cut. But with colouring, I love like the process of it. I like how long it takes, I like how like methodical it is, and how much chemistry, but also artistry there is with it. I think it's really fun. So I definitely focus on colour, but like if you want to cut, I'll do it. And you'll look good.

Speaker 1 2:57

And there's like a step of mystery with colour, isn't there? Like, however much you know everything, yeah, there's that moment.

Speaker 3:03

100%. Like, probably once a day you're like, I hope that was right. And it always is, but you know. That's it. And I still keep it on your toes.

Speaker 1 3:11

As I see someone walk out, I often think, Oh, I need to maybe do that.

Speaker 3:15

Totally. We're always updating the the notes for the next time.

Speaker 1 3:19

Yeah, like how you evolve almost. Totally. What was your like growing up environment? Like when you say you came from Canada, were you from a city, were you from a small town? Like, I can't imagine you didn't do well at school.

Speaker 3:31

You know what it was? I have dyslexia, and it was only diagnosed when I was 14, which is a bit too old because I couldn't read still. And it's because I did so Canada's bilingual, a bilingual country, and so I did French immersion school until I was like 12, which means every class that I did was in French, like science, like math, whatever, in French. So no one realized I couldn't read in English. So that's why I was flunking. I was like, they're just like, oh, she's bad at French, like it's embarrassing. But actually, I was bad at all of it. So that's why I was so bad in school, and suddenly I found uh a medium to work in that that took no reading or writing comprehension. Like it was just like my hands and my brain, like in a like, you know, my hands and my my voice. So that was nice. I think that's how I ended up. And my eye where I'm from is like uh it's a really idyllic, beautiful small island off the coast of Canada, just above Seattle, West Coast.

Speaker 1 4:24

And who were your like hair heroes when you were growing up? Like, whose hair did you like think was amazing?

Speaker 4:31

I mean, I've always loved Pamela Anderson's hair. I just think she's got it. I love Dolly Parton so much that I want to say her hair, but it's all wigs, which is still important. But I don't know, I've always loved like people from from the kind of like 80s and 90s hair. Like, obviously, like Debbie Harry has always had iconic hair and like shares long silky hair too. I love that. So I think

Moving to London, "manifesting" Bleach London and building a career in one of the industry's most influential salons.

Speaker 5:00

people like that are really good. Also, I have a newfound appreciation for Carolyn Bassett's hair as well because of that show that's out right now that I can't get enough of.

Speaker 1 5:10

For me, what excited me about you is you seem to have like created this very cool community that people want to be part of. Yeah. So would you say? And how like what does your day look like? What's the sort of diversity that you have within your world?

Speaker 5:29

Well, now that I own a salon and I actually like have stylists and assistant and and everything like that, I'm doing like a whole lot of everything all the time. Which is funny because for years and years with with hairdressing, people would always say, like, do you ever want to open a salon? Because it seems like the final frontier of being a hairdresser for a lot of like salon stylists. But for me, I was always like, No, no, no, I don't want to be in charge of anyone but myself. But now I realize it's not really about being in charge of people, it's like very much like helping them grow and like creating a space where people feel happy and comfortable and want to be, and that's exactly what I want to be doing. So I think it's nice to have so many little tiny tasks that kind of create like a full, nice environment that's like positive for everyone that's stepping into it. But like nitty-gritty, it's like a lot of like making sure I like ordered things and like responding to an email I forgot to respond to five days ago, and and then in between that it's like doing as many clients as I physically can in the days that I'm in there. So I hope eventually I can kind of, even though I never want to stop doing hair, maybe some eventually I'll kind of like slow my pace down in terms of the volume of clients I do. And what sort of rocks you world outside of hairdressing, like if you imagine. I love like interiors, like I love going to like design and interiors markets for like furniture and stuff like that. And my Pinterest board has like no hair. It's all like the inside of someone's living room from like the 80s.

Speaker 1 7:00

And tell me how like your space, because that's quite specific, isn't it? Yeah. Is it like a front room?

Speaker 7:07

Yeah, it it literally that's what I always said I wanted it to be like. That was my mission statement of like what the space felt like. I was like, I want it to feel like in your like really chic aspirational's best friends living room. Like, I want it to feel nice. There's always like candles lit, we have a florist, so we've got fresh flowers like every couple weeks, and it's just it's very considerate. But it I hope it's still comfortable and not too contrived or anything.

Speaker 1 7:30

And what's been your career highlight?

Speaker 7:34

My career highlight. I mean, I've had a couple, but every time, you know, the the goalpost always moves. So looking back, there's been a couple big ones, like getting a job at my salon that I worked at in London before I opened my studio was huge. I was like, I have made it from my little town in Canada to one of the most famous at the time salons in London. So that was really big. And then opening my studio has felt really big when I choose to have gratitude. You know what I mean? When I take a moment to be like, be grateful. But it's such a slow burn when you have a big long project with no end. So I think I'm trying to be like this is a huge benchmark, it's really exciting. Actually, this week, today, right now, is the first day the carpenter's gone into our new space. We're expanding so that we've got the studio next door. So that's very exciting. So that's a good kind of like moment as well.

Speaker 1 8:27

Yeah, it's nice to celebrate that. Yeah, thank you. And then within that, like you've not mentioned any of your like celebrity clients because of course. Like Lola Young is everywhere. She's amazing. Amazing. Yeah. And there, the blonde was that tell me about tell me about it.

Speaker 8:47

All right, Lola Young. She actually has had on her team for for styling her hair, has had Jem, who's one of my stylists, who I'm like, I appreciate and respect so much. She's so good at what she does, and she's been doing Lola for a couple of years, but she's not a colourist. So when she came to work at my studio, Lola just kind of naturally came there as well. So I've been doing her colour for the last like I don't know, couple times, and it's so nice to work with her. She's like such a breath of fresh air. And the blonde chunks were that was I think that was a really fun moment, but she's moved into this like really chic, healthy, like pitch black hair moment that I'm loving as well. Fab. And how did you do the blonde? The blonde. Actually, I used this brand. I don't know if you know what it's called, Blonde Solutions. I feel like I'm doing like a PSA for them or something, but I am obsessed with them. They're so good. Have you used it before yet?

Speaker 1 9:40

No, but I keep hearing it. I'm a blonde or girl, but me too, usually.

Speaker 9:44

That's my other one. Blonde Solutions, it's it's really good because it's a bleach that it goes up to a quite high volume, so it can be really intense, but also it's really good for like low and slow. And on someone who has like any kind of like afro texture hair, you've got to be so delicate with it while still pushing it to the level that that they want as their outcome. So it's really good because it tones as it lifts. So I used that on her. So it was when we rinsed it off,

Creating Studio Studios, leadership and building a salon culture where people genuinely want to be.

Speaker 10:09

the hair was still healthy, and and it was like perfectly toned. I hardly had to do anything. So that's really nice. Not meaning to like give them a free advertisement, but whenever I'm working on it. I cut that.

Speaker 1 10:26

But tell me, is that how you get because you do a lot of very clean, yeah, like those toned blondes that you like, they're so softly toned.

Speaker 10:36

Yes, yeah. I definitely do like just a veil of toning on a lot of people. I hope to usually let the bleach do most of the work so that they're not having to do much like home maintenance, depending on what they want, of course. But like for people who want that like Pamela Anderson blonde or whatever, it's more about getting the hair to a level where it just speaks for itself and you don't need to do a whole lot of toning. And I think Blonde Solutions is good for that. Blonde or also is like the best. Blonde or nine.

Speaker 1 11:01

That's really because you have got a specific blonde. Yes, you've got to do that.

Speaker 11:05

I love that like clean, raw blonde. Like my hair, I don't tone it, I just do. I just bleach it.

Speaker 1 11:11

And you're quite dark and thick.

Speaker 11:13

Yeah, I know. I've got a good system. With six or nine. With six. Sometimes with nine, because you know what? I'm the worst client. I leave my roots for like 12 weeks sometimes. So sometimes it's gotta be nine. Depends. Depends on my schedule.

Speaker 1 11:29

Yeah, sounds right.

Speaker 11:31

I'm a hard face.

Speaker 1 11:33

Okay, so my next question is any lowlights?

Speaker 11:39

Lowlights as in well, it's really like play on words.

Speaker 1 11:44

Yes, I love to play on words. I'm just making sure I wasn't being too literal. It's like I do them sometimes. But then my working in the States says that whenever I say lowlights, I have to reinforce that you need those lowlights for the highest.

unknown 11:58

I need to do the spot.

Speaker 12:00

We need the full range to appreciate the game.

Speaker 1 12:04

I don't have to go too, I'm not digging too much in now.

Speaker 12:07

We could keep it so. It's all dark, where we've low lights. There's been like a couple where when I first moved to London, I think I've always had a bit of like a workaholic gene within me. But because I had no friends, like I just moved here, I didn't really know anyone, I didn't have any like family, like there's nothing. So I was like, all I have is work. Great. I was happy for that. But it was all I did. Like I just eat, breathed, and sleeped, or slept, like blonde hair pretty much. And it was an issue because I was working so hard and like hardly like taking care of myself and like living in this like weird little studio apartment that had like a shared bathroom. And there was this situation where I'd worked almost a full month with no days off because I was doing shoots and also being in the salon. And I got asked to do this one shoot at the end of the month, and it was like a couple days long. And I was like, if I do this, I will not have had a day off for 20 like eight days or something ridiculous. And I went to the stylist who was assisting, and I was like, I haven't had a day off in so long, I don't know if I can. And the sentiment there was kind of if you don't take this, it was a big editorial for Love magazine, and she's like, if you don't take the editorials, you don't get to come on the Gucci shoots in Cannes or like wherever, you know. So I was like, okay, fair play, I have to do it. And I went, we like took a bus there and did the hair. It was like three days outside, it was raining, it was totally hell. Obviously, always quite fun as well, because you got the camaraderie with your team and stuff. So there's highs and lows in that too. But the issue was it ended, and then we took a bus home that got us back at 5 a.m. And I had to work at 10 a.m. the next day. So we of course slept through my alarm, missed all of my clients, like got all these crazy calls from recession, just being like, Are you dead? Because obviously I always showed up for work. Like I was like such a workaholic, and it was a bit of like a bit of a rock bottom moment for for like my physical and mental health at that point, but it kind of showed me like, don't do that again. You know what I mean? Like you learn your lesson from the lowlights, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 14:05

I think you do, and I think there is that thing of if you are somebody who's really capable and really wants it, yeah. When the opportunities come in, particularly within session work, it's really hard to say no. Totally, because who knows if you'll get it again.

Speaker 14:22

And by the way, that entire shoot scrapped. They could even use it.

Speaker 1 14:27

It's so hard to do it.

Speaker 14:28

They didn't even use it. So but I do think it becomes really hard. I think it's like this with like all creative jobs where you just feel like you have to say yes because like the next time isn't promised. It creates a really tricky thing. Like most of my friends work in the creative industry and they're like freelance and self-employed. And it I've got a friend who hasn't been on vacation in like three years, and she's like doing amazing work. But I'm like, when do you get your own time? Or it's just she she's in demand, which is amazing, but then there's no balance.

Speaker 1 15:02

Yeah, that's it. I know with friends who've also got agents, I think that's sort of what they begin quite quickly

Creating Studio Studios, leadership and building a salon culture where people genuinely want to be.

Speaker 1 15:09

to put in place for people. Yeah. Because it's like you're doing everything, let's try and focus. Whereas I think when you start out, you gotta do everything.

Speaker 15:19

You gotta, yeah, 100%. I really do think it's like do everything. Like, usually you're young when you're starting out, you've got the energy. Maybe don't do the 28-day love magazine shoot if it's gonna kill you. But it's I think you just have to do literally everything and try everything so you can like process of elimination your career until you kind of like hone it into like the perfect place a couple years down the line.

Speaker 1 15:42

And it takes time now. You've done it pretty quick in 10 years. That's yeah. I've been in 30 and I'm still like trying to work out the balance of like.

Speaker 15:51

I mean, who knows if I worked out the balance? Maybe in five years I'll be like, what was I talking about? You know what I mean? The goalpost always moves, as I say. I just saw the phone, the calls on my phone and I was like, no.

Speaker 1 16:03

Oh sorry. I've got stories like that, but it wasn't for overworking. Okay. Do you have a life work motto?

Speaker 16:16

I think I don't technically have one, but if I kind of look at like the way I try and operate, I think it's a probably try and show up as like a version of yourself that you would actually want to be around. Obviously, we don't always have the energy, and there's so much stuff going on in your personal life, a lot of times like heartbreak or grief or whatever, and you show up and it's like pulling teeth to smile. But I really think I've gotten this far because I'm very nice to people. I think it goes a long way. I think there's a lot of people in like beauty and fashion that may be like, I would love to see try on the motto a bit more, you know. From my experience. Yeah. But I think that that would be my motto is like just deal with like compassion, be nice, be friendly, and like hopefully think good things will come to you. And they usually do, I think. Because people want to be around happy people.

Speaker 1 17:06

Yeah, and that's my hope for the younger generation, right? Like, I sort of there's a big movement towards being kind, and I was shocked when I first went into session work that like what lengths people go to not be kind. It's bonkers.

Speaker 17:24

It was that like the amount of times I'm like, I feel like I'm in a movie with the way that people are speaking to me. Like, I'm like, this can't be normal life.

Speaker 1 17:31

But do you think that because you turn up and you give that energy, do you think that's like I want to know about how you've created just a community of I mean, I think that that's it.

Speaker 17:44

I think that like people want to be in like a nice environment. And and I think when people like you, when you've got a likability, I'm not saying everyone likes me, of course, takes all types, but I think when people like you and they want to be around you, they wanna they want their friends to be involved too. You know what I mean? Like when I go, like I've got this osteopath named Pedro, shout out, and I love him, Corclapton. I love him so much, and he does great work, but also just like being around him. And the amount of people that I'm like, go see Pedro, like, and I think that probably's happened with the studio too, right? It's like you go have a good experience, you feel amazing when you leave, you enjoy being there. I think my studio feels really warm and friendly, like you're hanging out at a friend's house. Even the clients who don't know each other end up talking, everyone's having coffee. It's very much like a little hang, which is nice versus going into a big salon where there's great aspects to them too, but they tend to be a bit less personal and just a bit more like hectic and a lot of noise and stimuli and stuff. So I think people just enjoy being in there, they want to share that with their friends, and I think that's how we've built such a beautiful community. Oh, it's really nice to hear. Also, hopefully, people are happy with their hair. I think that is the bottom line as well. But it's really everything, it's the whole package, right? Totally, yeah. A holistic approach. Yeah.

Speaker 1 18:57

But do you have a holistic like it sounds like you do have a bit of a holistic maybe?

Speaker 19:05

I think with like personality stuff, you know what I mean? It's definitely holistic in the way that all salons are, and like with conversation and whatnot. Like, definitely, like, I'm the first to know when my clients are pregnant. Or like, you know, because I'm safe. I they can tell me I don't know their friends unless they sent them to me, but I would never, I'm a vault. But I know, like, you know, when people like just found out their boyfriend cheated. I know when someone's like, mom is really sick, like it's really intimate. And I think it's intimate because it's like a safe space, like people know that it's this little bubble that it nothing's gonna spread. They can try things on a little bit personality-wise, so it's quite holistic in that way, as well as them just being transformed with their hair and leaving, hopefully, feeling anew or slightly unburdened, you know.

Speaker 1 19:49

That that's really interesting. They can try things on a little bit with the personality, but how do you cope with that? Because sometimes, and like my clients will probably be a slightly different life stage where I guess I think it's JW Anderson who says you can sort of work ten years either side. Oh, interesting. I like that. Yeah, yeah, totally. And other

Burnout, overworking, learning boundaries and why every setback teaches something.

Speaker 1 20:08

times do you cope at the end of the day? Because sometimes what clients tell me like not the I take it on. Yeah. But if you're working a lot with clients, like it's a lot.

Speaker 20:19

It is a lot. I don't know why. I do take it on because I have so much like compassion for their situations, but then after they leave, I'm kind of just like, see you next time. And then you know what I mean? Like, I think it's natural. I don't think I've like honed some some way of doing it necessarily, but I do, I don't feel too burdened. Maybe it's also because like I I really like and care about them. So it's not like I'm like, oh, they're trauma jumping on me or something. Like I genuinely want it, I want to know genuinely. I've asked them the questions, and then I think when they leave, I'm just like, I will deal with that next time they're back in. You know what I mean? There's like a placeholder for them for when they come back.

Speaker 1 20:55

Like a a chapter, or maybe that is something there, isn't it? It's like these chapters and every six weeks I will deal with your, you know, really bad breakup with you. Yeah, yeah. It's quite interesting. You really do understand the high lows of life as a hairdresser, right? The ebb and flow of life. Like no, I love it. People you like on paper look like they can have everything, and then they come in and you're like, oh.

Speaker 21:18

And you're like, oh no, totally, it's wild. It's like really good perspective. I do think it offers like me a lot of perspective in my own life too, like hearing all these stories all the time. And also getting to tell my own stories is therapeutic. It's definitely a two-way street, whether it's supposed to be or not, you know. And you perfect that as well. Exactly. We know each other's secrets, we're both safe.

Speaker 1 21:39

Yeah, and I think that sounds like you sort of you've created like the perfect well, and nothing's perfect, obviously, but like just a fab safe space. Do you have a story, like a behind the scenes story that you're dying? Yes. Okay, well have a done that. Do you have a behind the scenes story that's a good one, like that you're dying today?

Speaker 22:00

Well, I do, and I kind of debated if I should bring it up only because I never ever want to talk about clients, but I do also think it's been over a decade since this happened. There's gotta be a statute of limitation on stories, right? We should hope. Um, but once years ago at an old salon I worked at, there was a client that came in that was going to Brazil the next day to get married, and she wanted her hair done, but she had black, black, black roots all the way down to her shoulders and then a white blonde end, and there's a scalp bleach. And if anyone knows anything about scalp bleaches, you're just not gonna get that the stuff for this from the regrowth perfect, and it's gonna be very dangerous. So that today she came in, and the stylist I was working on her was like respectfully, no, this is not gonna go well, and like it's it's not gonna be the color you want, it's gonna have to be a darker blonde. And the woman was like, I trust you, I trust you, and my co-worker's like, you can trust me to not make it all the way white blonde, but the woman just wasn't listening, and so she ended up doing it, and while she was having it done, her boyfriend or like fiancé kept coming in and like feeding her cupcakes and like kissing her at the base. And while my coworker was like doing her hair, and my co-worker was like, ew. And then at the same time, there was another girl in the salon, like going to another stylist that was seemingly just totally fine, normal, getting her root retouch routine. And when they both came upstairs, they were sitting across from each other, facing opposite ways, but there was mirror so they could see each other in the mirrors. The Brazilian girl realized she got exactly what the stylist said she was getting, but she was not happy about it, and starts hysterically crying. And then randomly the other girl sees her and just starts hysterically crying as well. So they're both crying, looking at each other in the mirror, like, and both of the stylists were like, Jada, you're the only other one in here. Please go defuse these situations. And I was like, Oh. So I went over and tried to like talk them down and be like, What's going on? And the girl with the seemingly normal hair was just like, it just looks weird. I don't know, it's weird. It looked so normal. She must have been having something else traumatic going on in her life. I'm approaching it with empathy, but something was going on. And then the girl who's going to Brazil is crying, she's like, This isn't what I want. I'm getting married tomorrow. I'm flying out. It was like a high stress environment. There must have been something in the water, but I didn't know what to do, so I kind of at the time, and maybe I'd handle it differently now, but I was like, I think everyone needs to go for a walk. Everyone in here respectably needs to go for a walk outside and get some fresh air. And thank God none of them came back. Like they just they just walked. I was like, oh like what more could you wish for in a situation like that? They didn't pay, no one was worried about it. Just please. But I've never had anything like that happen. Like it was so like something was in the air. I was like, is there a carbon monoxide leak in here? It was so bizarre.

Speaker 1 24:51

Full moon.

Speaker 24:52

We used to like always like a fever dream.

Speaker 1 24:58

It is, but those are things up, and I realize the older I'm getting in those situations, and I don't want to be too cosmic about it, but a change of energy. Someone else coming and approaching

The changing salon industry, mentorship, assistants, autonomy and building healthy teams.

Speaker 1 25:09

it slightly differently.

Speaker 25:10

Yeah, I think so. I do think like there is definitely like a tone and a vibe in every room, brought to it by the people that are in it, of course. And the vibe was weird that day. You know what I mean? Like there's just something going on, but it probably it is a bit cosmic sometimes when stuff like that occurs. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 25:27

How do you see the industry?

Speaker 25:31

How's it changed? And where's it going? I think after lockdown is more when I noticed it, where everyone, in my experience anyway, it was you go to take a school, like take a hairdressing program, you become an apprentice, work for a few years, and then become a stylist and be employed at a commission salon until like maybe you die or or you go into a different part of the industry. But after lockdown, I don't know if it's because people just had such a switch up and realized that they wanted their autonomy or just wanted to like work less hours or days, maybe. Suddenly people started going chair rent. I noticed anyway, is that your experience too? Like everyone was like, I want to go off on my own. And I think now I'm noticing a huge shift in in kind of like my area of hair anyway, where people are now wanting to go back to working at salons. Because I think that being chair rent, it offers so many good things, and like you know, you can sometimes make more money and and you've got autonomy and stuff. But the thing is, like, you are doing everything, it's like suddenly you're a business owner for like a party of one, and and I think that that can be really hard for people. A lot of people just want to show up, do hair, and go, which I think is like amazing for balance. And I think also people now seem like they want to be a part of something again. Because when you're cherished, because you're your own little business within a space, I don't think that there's the same like togetherness with the team and the same like support and just general vibe in the space. So I've noticed people wanting to go back towards that, which I think that's cute. I like both. I think there's like good things and bad things about everything, but I love the feeling of like having a team. And I think I I think I would have lacked that if I had just become a chair renter somewhere instead of opening a studio.

Speaker 1 27:12

I realised that actually, where sometimes if it's just you, you're on your own with a client. I really miss like the buzz learning things. Learning things I think so much like when you're uh doing something individually, you so you're on your phone loads more. Yeah. Like even to a point that's why this platform I was saying, because you lose that like that growth from totally what somebody's into or learning about blonde solutions or you know, or even just like emotional support, like just being like we both know what's going on here, you know what I mean?

Speaker 27:50

Like I think that's really nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nothing better than going to the staff room being like, I'm running really behind to someone if they're like helping. They're like all right for you, you know what I mean? Like it's so it's a nice feeling, yeah.

Speaker 1 28:02

And then in terms of like hair hair science and chemistry, has anything come on the market or that you know's coming that's I mean, I think definitely like like the b all the bond builders are like amazing.

Speaker 28:16

I think they've become really good. Like I love K-18 and stuff like that. And of course, Bond Solutions is I need to stop plugging until they pay me. Just get again, but but they're amazing too. I think those are like the two really big ones that like I've been like, this is like different than anything that I was using the last like 15 or whatever years, you know.

Speaker 1 28:35

And what's your future? Like, what do you see for yourself in the future?

Speaker 28:39

It's like so hard to to guess because it's always changing. Like, even when I decide to open Studio Studios, when I first was looking at spaces, I was like, I just need enough space for one chair, just for me. And then you know, it grows and grows and grows until we've got like a team and whatever. So I don't want to speculate, I can't trust myself. I hope to keep doing what I'm doing and like build out my my brand and like the team and the community, and then I would love to at some point like consult for like product lines and stuff like that, or just do some interesting things in like the product world because I love products, but we'll kind of we'll see what happens. Who knows?

Speaker 1 29:20

I'm so excited, and then you can like you're so brilliant, it's exciting.

Speaker 29:27

Any advice for people starting out? Advice for people starting out. I think, like I said before, do everything. And and I think also, though I say like like work-life balance is really important. I do think like when you're doing something like this, for me anyway, it was really good to like throw myself into it and and kind of you know, like stay late to do the client that can't come in earlier, or I don't know, take like a random person on the weekend and kind of mix it into my life a little bit because it is such a joyful, fun social job. It doesn't feel like you're like going into like a dark office to do like paperwork or something. Like, I think like finding the fun in it and like treating it as something that I mean, obviously it's work, but you know, mixing

Identity, kindness, the future of Studio Studios and what hairdressing has given her.

Speaker 30:12

it in I think is really important. So you're just always doing it all the time. I think you gotta get your hours in. There's no amount of like brook book learning or like videos on Instagram that you can watch that'll make you a good hairdresser, you just have to do it. So I think doing is like my biggest piece of advice when you're starting out.

Speaker 1 30:28

How do you see the hair industry's change since you started training?

Speaker 30:33

Well, I think like in the past, the way the path to become a hairdresser was very much being an assistant, and now I just looked it up the other day, and there's been a 60% decrease of new entries into the hair industry in the last 10 years. And I was trying to figure out kind of why that was. And I think a lot of it is the economy and people being scared because it's it it's in a way a risk taking on assistance because you're obviously having to pay a wage, but they're not bringing an income into the salon for the first couple of years, so it's a very much an investment. People are scared to invest at the moment. But also, I think it's good for the assistants that are coming in because what I'm noticing now, and I could be wrong, I might just be in like a little echo chamber of niceness, but I think there's a better situation for assistance now. Like when I was training, I was treated treated very well, luckily. But a lot of people that I talked to, especially in London, went to these big salons, they were assisting, they got treated like shit. Like they made were made to feel quite worthless, I think, a lot of the time. And they're just like scrubbing a toilet and never doing a blow dry. And now I think that they're quite coveted. Like I think they actually like have the market a little bit. So it's it's nice to see them like kind of being like nurtured in this nice way. There's gonna be like less of them, so they're a hot commodity, and and hopefully they're getting treated nicely and kind of getting educated more quickly and thoroughly and and all of that. Or maybe it's not like that, and I just don't work in a big commercial salon.

Speaker 1 31:56

There's I sort of always think I'm gonna write a script about it because in some ways we were treated amazingly because our world opened up in a way that like totally dark in colour, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But in another way, like we're treated terribly like Yeah, like scraping gum off the floor. Exactly, exactly, you know, and it was at the time that everybody was raving as well as different horrible three days later.

Speaker 32:23

Like on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, you make yourself scarce crying.

Speaker 1 32:27

It was also that like fear of doing something wrong, which is not a nice environment.

Speaker 32:33

No, it's not at all. It's not a good way to learn to be always scared all the time. It's like your brain is so clamped down and closed when you're in a fear state. So I think it's nice to feel like open and and supported in that way.

Speaker 1 32:46

And I guess my other question is like you seem to really have like an identity about your work, like those beautiful blondes, and also those quite like you do a good dip in hair. You do a good tip, I like your tip. Like how do you develop your that identity? Like if somebody wants to create their own identity, how how have you done that?

Speaker 33:11

I think honestly, I've been it's like one part me, one part my clients, because it's such a collaborative experience doing hair. Like, I sometimes like I'm probably like blittling myself a little bit, but I liken myself to a technician sometimes with hair, where it's like I know how to get you to wherever you're asking to be within like the confines of science, of course. And so all of those tips and stuff like that, some of that is my clients coming to me being like, I love this idea, and then I'm like, let's figure out how to do it and make it work on your hair or whatever. Like, it's not all me. You know what I mean? Like, but I do love those looks, and maybe I'm also maybe I'm pushing them on people a little bit too. It's hard to know where the idea comes from sometimes when there's two people brainstorming, you know. So I think it's a little bit that. I think I've just been lucky enough to have really interesting, fun, creative clients who are just like down to play around a little bit.

Speaker 1 33:59

And loads from the music industry. How important's music and things in your world?

Speaker 34:05

It's very important, but it's so funny because I actually am always like, what the hell do I play in the salon today? It's stressful being the DJ. When you've got like the blessed Madonna. No, it's like we had it recently where Ellie Rose from Wolf Alice was in and one of her songs came on. I was like, I didn't mean to be that. It's like weirdly embarrassing. Like, I'm like, oh, you know I'm your fan. You don't want it to be above it. Totally. I love working on musicians. I think it's so fun because their hair is also their project, you know what I mean? Like it's part of their look and their career. It can be distinctive and set them apart from other people. So it's fun helping them find my signature look that they can hold on to and have kind of build out whatever part of their project they're on at the moment. So I think that's really fun.

Speaker 1 34:54

And did I see you've also created a fan? Did you create a fanzine last year? Did I imagine that?

Speaker 35:00

Yeah, like we did a little my friend and I did a little zine called Bangs. And I mean, she has all these like really beautiful reasons that we started it, but for me, we started it because I wanted to hang out with her more. But she's her name's Grace Pickering, and she is a she's a director and photographer and filmmaker and just has amazing style and an amazing eye. So we wanted to do like a visual project of sorts that kind of like centered around hair and like subculture and in general, aesthetics and looks. So that was really fun. And we had a little party. It is actually on the Bang's website, Bang's the Zine. Takes energy and spirit. It actually is so much work. But it it was nice to do something that was totally divorced from like the fashion industry and money, really, besides us spending it. Like, we didn't, of course, like it's nice that we sold loads, but like it wasn't like a capitalistic plight, which is quite nice because I think a lot of the times, like, especially as we grow up, all the creative stuff we do is like attached to making money or like staying afloat, and we just wanted to do something really like fun and and joyful, and and that felt really nice. It was fun. We'll do another one, volume two coming soon. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 36:14

Oh, I'll assist. Yeah, I would love that. Okay, so my final question is oh, this is deep. I'm going deep, darling. Yeah, what part of you do you think hairdressing gave you? Um has it taken anything away?

Speaker 36:34

I mean, it's given me so much, it's like a big part of my my identity, so it's given me a lot of like self-understanding, and I think it's also given me hopefully social skills. Like I feel like I really feel confident to speak to people because I do it all day and and it's made me, I don't know, be able to find ways to relate to people that I might not otherwise that really pushes you outside of your box. Like, I always think about if I just had a random job that wasn't social in any way, like I don't I would probably have anxiety to go out in public and like talk to people I didn't know and like figure out where where common ground was. But I think it taught me to kind of like seek that out really fast and like hopefully skip the small talk, which is nice. And then I think something that it's taken away is probably my health. Like I'm okay at the moment, but I've like had, I mean, it's probably like a holistic situation with health. It's not just work, but like I've had uh stress fracture in my foot before from probably working out, but also being in the salon all the time. My neck gets stuck to the side about twice a year. Pedro helps, just things like that, but but it's all you know, I'm still young, it's okay. I'm taking care of myself. I've slowed down a little bit with like I don't work five days a week anymore. So I think I think that's the one thing it's taken away. I don't think anything like important that you know was long lasting it has taken. So that's good. But you're up early.

Speaker 1 38:04

What time do you get up?

Speaker 38:05

You send a text like you what time do you I get up at 7 a.m. Okay, but I get up at 7 a.m. so I can sit in bed and have a coffee for an hour. So it's not like I'm like up and out or anything like that. I'm probably responding to some messages and like doing bits and bobs, but it's totally unofficial work hour, you know what I mean? And then I like go to the gym and then go to work. It's it's a nice life. I'm not complaining. But you've created that for yourself.

Speaker 1 38:31

Yeah. So now that sort of when you moved from Canada, you've moved with very little. Yeah. I had a suitcase and four tote bags. So physically not a lot to do with it. And in 10 years in one of the most expensive cities. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 38:44

No, I feel like incredibly like blessed and also proud of myself. I feel proud of myself too. So that's nice. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 38:51

Looking forward to seeing what the future helps me too. And thank you so much for coming in.

Speaker 38:58

Thank you so much. It was a pleasure, it was really nice. Bye.