Work Hard

Meet our new Expert in Residence – Julie Marshall

Owner of Zazu Hair Design in Forest Hall, Julie has been in the business for 33 years, growing from a one-woman band to a global award-winning salon. We get to know more about our latest expert...

Written by High Life North
Published 08.11.2019

We’re really excited to be working with you – can you give us an overview of what you’ll be bringing HLN readers?

Absolutely! First of all, we’ll be sharing basic tips and tricks, addressing common questions we always get asked by clients in the salon.

Second – trends. My team has just got back from London Fashion Week and we’ll be keeping HLN readers up to date with the latest catwalk trends and how to achieve them at home.

Then finally – business. As a business owner who has grown, built a team and won global awards, I’ll be sharing my advice, lessons learned and industry knowledge to help others build their business or start a career in hairdressing.  

What do you put your success down to?

When I was 22-years-old I started working in one of Newcastle’s most exclusive hairdressing salons in the city centre. I felt frustrated because I wanted to be doing more but there wasn’t a big focus on learning. I left and set up on my own in Forest Hall – I’ve never looked back. 

I set out with a dream and one of my main focuses has been to build a team who have the same drive, passion and ambition that I do. We work together – I invest in them and their progression and they work hard and deliver a great service for our clients. 

 

Can you tell us about your business ethos?

I’m really passionate about hairdressing and the industry in the North East. Education and training is a big thing for me – I want young people to be aware of the opportunities in hairdressing. It’s an exciting and rewarding career and I think that’s often overlooked in schools and colleges.  I’m also a big promoter of building awareness that you don’t have to go to expensive salons in the city centre to get the best hair cut. There are so many talented stylists and colourists in local salons and I want to let people know that great hair can be accessible to everyone. 

What’s been your biggest achievement in business so far?

Earlier this year we won the label.m Salon Retailer of the Year award. It’s a global award, with over 7000 salons worldwide entering the awards. We won because of how well we had embraced label.m’s education and training and it filled me with such pride and love for everyone I work with. Education and staying up-to-date is so important to me so to win the award for that reason really meant a lot. 

Let us know what you want!

If you have any questions for Julie or any topics that you would like us to cover, please send your suggestions to [email protected] or contact us via social media @high_life_north or @zazu_hair

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