Dreams must be followed
WHEN the right premises in central Geelong became available, Geelong beauty therapist Renee Burnie wasn’t going to let a global pandemic stand in the way of opportunity.
“You can’t stop living, because this pandemic is going to be here for bit longer,” Ms Burnie said.
“You can’t stop dreaming, and you can’t stop doing what you want to do.”
Ms Burnie is opening a new brow bar in Ryrie St, possibly on the first day the beauty industry is allowed to emerge from the Stage 3 antivirus lockdowns in a couple of weeks’ time.
The fit-out for Renee Jade Brows & Beauty, which is next to a hairdressing salon on the western fringe of the CBD, starts this week.
“I am hoping to make it by the 13th when we are hopefully out of Stage 3 and we are allowed to work again in the beauty industry,” Ms Burnie said.
The timing might even be fortuitous.
“After we came out of the last lockdown, the demand was crazy,” she said. “I have never tattooed as much as I did after the last lockdown.
“Eyebrows are something small that you can do, but it makes you feel good.”
For the past couple of years Ms Burnie has been running her business from a space in a hairdressing salon.
She said her 17 years in the industry included working at various high-end companies and being rejected for a role at one provided the initial motivation to go it alone, although finding an appropriate and affordable premises to lease had taken time.
When 28 Ryrie St recently became available, she committed to her dream despite the uncertainty of COVID-19.
“I am just going for it, and backing myself,” she said.
Further information on Renee Jade Brows & Beauty is available on Instagram.