“How long have you been in the industry?”
I’ve been doing hair for about 3 years. I moved here from Smithers to go to MC College. When I got a job while still in hair school, I decided to stick around.
“Why did you choose to become a stylist/barber?”
I’ve always wanted to be a stylist. When I was little I was always chopping all our barbies hair off, which my sister hated! At family events like big Christmas gatherings I was the one doing everyone’s hair for photos. I tried University for awhile doing general interest studies in arts but I realized I wanted to just do what I want, so I went for it and enrolled in hair school. I love working with my hands and being creative/artistic. I really enjoy chatting with people and hearing their stories.
“What techniques do you specialize in?”
I’m still learning a lot! I love doing everything right now and expanding my skills in all sorts of techniques for women’s cuts, men’s cuts, colours etc. It’s nice at Plan B because you get a wide variety of work. Some people want blonde or crazy purple and I’m always doing lots of different cuts; it’s a challenge and I love that. I embrace change and am always getting people in my chair who want to try new things. I like it when someone comes in and wants to try something different.
“Describe your personal style.”
I’m pretty casual but a little bit girly. I like florals and can be a bit of a hippy sometimes; summertime definitely brings out my inner flower child (*laughs).
“Tell us about your worst personal haircut/hair day.”
I’ve never really had a super bad hair experience- but once in hair school I bleached my hair out to platinum blonde and it was so damaged it just kept breaking off. I was always open to being the guinea pig in school and sometimes that wreaked havoc on my hair, so when I left hair school I had to cut it pretty short. I’m easy going so it didn’t really phase me; hair grows, it’s fine.
“If you could be any Hollywood movie character, who would it be and why?”
I would want to be some sort of adventurer like Huck Finn or something, having outdoor wilderness adventures. I grew up living kind of in the middle of nowhere, we were always out exploring in the woods.
“If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and could only take 3 albums with you, what would they be?”
I don’t know I never really buy whole albums. I’m open to all music types; I can appreciate the talent it takes to create music in any genre. So I would probably just take a playlist from my iTunes with a little bit of everything. Some chill stuff, something to get me pumped up, and probably something with a little country vibe to remind me of home. Not that I’m a huge country fan, but I did grow up listening to it so it’s nostalgic for me.
“If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and could only take 3 movies with you, what would they be?”
Definitely some informative how-to movies, like survival documentaries etc. You know, stuff to teach me how to do stuff to survive!
“What’s your most embarrassing moment?”
I have lots I guess, I get embarrassed on almost a daily basis. I can find myself blushing even during a normal conversation and I’m not even sure why! No major incidents come to mind, but I guess if I have to think of one particular moment there was this time when I was in middle school and we went on a ski trip. I’m not a very good winter sports person and I got stuck on the chair lift because I didn’t get off in time. I had to ride it all the way back down while my whole school was watching me; it was pretty embarrassing.
“We’re not trying to pick you up…but what’s your astrology sign?”
I’m a virgo. I don’t really know much about it and don’t pay much attention to that stuff.
“Do you have any nicknames?”
Not really, most people just call me Jess. Not Jessie, I’m not a fan of that. I actually like being called Jess rather than my full name, it’s more casual.
“What’s one product you simply cannot live without?”
Definitely Evo Water Killer dry shampoo, not just for myself but for everyone. Dry shampoo gives you volume and texture and makes your hair more style-able. It also smells really fresh and light, some dry shampoos can have way to much of a perfume smell.