3 mins
THE INTERVIEW
IN THIS ISSUE’S THE INTERVIEW, SIAN JONES SPEAKS TO NAOMI RICHARDSON ABOUT STEPPING INTO A ROLE SHE NEVER CONSIDERED AND WHY SHE NEVER HAD A PLAN B
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY?
I started when I was 14. I always wanted to do it… actually the two jobs I always wanted to do were cutting hair and window cleaning - I’ve still got time to come back to that one. My godfather had a salon in the centre of Rochdale and I would always stay around and help out, so when I turned 14, he asked if I wanted a Saturday job. I remember when the first summer came round and I thought “School’s finished, I’m off now,” and my boss was like, “No, now you work” and that was it. After that I went back to school, finished my final year, and went off to college.
WHERE DID YOU SEE YOURSELF?
London was always the end goal. I think it’s changing massively, but sadly when I was at school, hairdressing was not encouraged. Nor was any vocational course actually. The question was “are you going to uni?” and I even battled with my own parents. They’re very supportive but for them there was a stigma that if you didn’t do your A-Levels or a degree what were you going to fall back on? For some of us you just know you’re not going to fall back on anything. That stigma and attitude towards hairdressing meant that college was a struggle because half the people didn’t want to be there but a small selection of us chose it.
… AND NOW YOU’RE A MANAGER? TELL US ABOUT YOUR SHOP AND THE TEAM?
It’s hard. It was never something I wanted to do. I always saw myself doing lots of session work, and photoshoots. I worked here for a few years and saw a lot of managers come and go. Then during the middle of Covid-19, I ended up picking up a lot more responsibilities - I was essentially taking on the role of an assistant manager so when the opportunity came and my boss left, by that point I really wanted to do it. It’s probably one of the hardest challenges I’ve had. I love the education and mentoring side of the job but definitely thought I’d be better at confrontation. I’m really emotionally invested. These people are my friends and not always being able to give them things I think they deserve is a hard balance.
IS THERE ANYBODY FROM YOUR PREVIOUS JOBS THAT YOU LEARNT A LOT FROM?
I’ve taken different things from different people. I had an amazing manager in Manchester, who took me on after college. He’s an unbelievable hairdresser and I learnt a lot from him. Then on the flip side, I’ve had managers that do less of the teaching side of things and are more standoffish – which is how I would have traditionally approached being a manager but that’s changing now. People are much more comfortable and that’s been hard to navigate. I would never have spoken to people in a way that people think is okay now. It’s much more relaxed.
DID BECOMING A SMALLER TEAM DURING COVID CHANGE THE DYNAMIC?
Definitely. Everyone’s been through a lot. If you look at what’s going on in society there’s more struggles, there’s more to worry about and so much financial strain on people. What’s hard in a shop is there’s no HR, so when you learn about their personal lives, we are their person to lean on, and we are the person to tell them when they’re right or wrong. That definitely brings you closer.
DO YOU TAKE TIME TO LOOK AFTER YOURSELF?
No, I don’t take time for it, and that’s my New Year’s resolution. Over the last year so much of my own stuff has developed, in terms of having an input with products and doing stage work - and I’m still managing the team.
SO, NOW YOU’RE IN LONDON WHAT’S ON YOUR CAREER BUCKET LIST?
Over the next couple of years I want to tick off all the industry events – ideally cutting on stage. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do. In a roundabout way, I feel like I’ve done everything else first and now the opportunities are coming back to me. It would be amazing to do more global stage work too. I think it’s enough for now! I have really bad impostor syndrome. I never think I’ve done enough. I’m always thinking “why am I not there yet?” but I’ve done a lot.