Scissors of gold
If it were not for the reluctance of her ex-boss, Jo Lees (above) might never have become a hairdresser. Now, she prepares to mark 50 years in the industry.
IF it were not for the reluctance of her ex-boss, Jo Lees might never have become a hairdresser.
Now, as she prepares to mark 50 years in the industry, the Cairns CBD business stalwart has reflected on a rewarding career that almost never was.
“I got a job with a local printing company after school,” Mrs Lees said.
“I wanted to be an apprentice hairdresser, but hadn’t been successful up to that point.
“I asked my boss at the printing business about taking up an apprenticeship, but he wouldn’t give it to me because I was female.
“Who knows, if I had have become a printer my life could have been completely different.”
For five decades Mrs Lees, 67, has honed her craft from the same salon in the Oceana Walk shopping arcade.
She has shared in some of life’s biggest moments for countless customers, many of whom have become close friends.
“I wouldn’t even hazard a guess at how many we’ve had come through the door,” Mrs Lees said.
“There’s high pressure when you’re doing hair for a wedding or formal, but they also bring a lot of job satisfaction.
“You start off just being their hairdresser, which progresses to a friendship and then they’re just like part of your family.
“Just recently I was invited to a nun’s diamond jubilee celebration … I’ve also been to her 50th and 60th birthdays.
“She’s been coming here for maybe 25 years and is a very special, lovely lady.”
Her first hairdressing mentor was Leonard Steel, a former Victorian whose hard stance gave the then-teenager a solid grounding in the industry.
The salon was then owned for many years by a local couple, before Mrs Lees took over the business in 2000.
As ventures come and go around her, Jo’s Scissors of Gold has been a mainstay of the eclectic CBD arcade.
The Manunda resident said “listening, listening and listening” was a fundamental principle of being a good hairdresser.
“If you can become a good listener and get it right for the client, they then believe that you understand them,” she said.
“And then you can start building a rapport.”
Mrs Lees said she was optimistic about the future of her beloved industry. “We’re one of the few industries that won’t be taken over by automation or electronic devices,” she said.
“I won’t be here for another 50 years ... but I don’t have any plans to retire at this stage.”