THE votes have been counted, the phone lines are closed, and the Isle of Wight County Press can now reveal the winner of Hairdresser of the Year 2024.
Julie Wallis' salon, Wallis@25, in Sandown, topped the table, beating out competition from The Gambling Man Barbers, Ryde, Alexander Professional Barbering, Newport, Donna Jones Hairdressing, Cowes, Rebecca's Hair Salon, Wootton, Cody Salon, Carisbrooke, Onelove Hair - Karia Elton, Freshwater. Bethany Jones Salon, Shanklin, Chicah Hair, Ryde, and Pin ups Hair Studio, Newport.
“I started hairdressing at 16, and moved to the Island from Cambridgeshire when I was 17,” said Julie, 56.
“I went to work in a salon in Newport called Rumpelstiltskin's, which was considered one of the best salons on the Island in the 1980s.
“The lady who trained me – Tracey Squibb – still has a salon in Newport, and I have a lot to owe to her.
“I stayed on the Island until I was 27, decided I needed more, and moved to Essex.
“I worked in a salon in Essex, then I opened a salon of my own and ran that for 16 years, then I moved back to Cambridgeshire, worked in another salon there, then Covid hit, and I wanted to come back to my family, so I moved back to the Island three years ago.”
Julie took on the Sandown salon two years ago, on April 11.
“I did the salon up in seven days with my family and friends, to put my little stamp on it,” said Julie.
“Now I’m here every day, still cutting hair, and I’ve got an amazing team.
“I competed with Team GB, the same as Tracey. My auntie, Wendy Harris, competed with Tracey back in the ‘70s, in the British Hairdressing team.
“When I was a little girl, I used to watch them compete, dreaming of being a hairdresser.
“I did my first ever competition when I was 17, and I was absolutely hooked then.
“Years and years down the line, I won a competition in Southampton, and got invited along to a training session by the manager of the British Hairdressing team at the time.
“Then I got picked for the team, which would have been in the early 2000s, and I got my first gold medal in 2007.
“I competed with team GB for 13 years, travelling all over; Chicago, Moskow, Frankfurt, Paris, Athens.
“Then the team disappeared, really, but we’ve just resurrected Team GB – me and my auntie, and lots of others, and I’m now part of that.
“I say I’m not going to compete, but I might. I do miss it. I miss the creativity.
“The fact we’ve managed to get it back is so important for me to pass on what I know to other people.
“My Auntie, Wendy, is the president.
“I do around seven, eight haircuts a day, five days a week, and I’ve been doing that for around 40 years.
“I’m so over the moon to win hairdresser of the Year. Business has been brilliant.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do when I moved back to the Island, then I saw this place was closing down; the next thing I know, I’ve got the keys.
“Sandown is very special to me because it’s actually where I started on the Island. My nan and grandad ran two hotels in Sandown.
“It’s very run down in areas, and want to help it get better again, because I believe it can.
“If it wasn’t for the girls that work here, supporting me, it wouldn’t have happened.
“We all get on, it’s a nice environment, and we have wonderful clients.
“I just want to say a massive thank you to all my clients that voted, and a huge thank you to Shirley Barry, Christian Western, Katie Prosser, and soon to join us Kyanne Hills, because if it wasn’t for them, and us as a team, I wouldn’t have anything.”
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