Things have come full circle for Mildura hairdresser Samantha Andriotis. After moving from Manangatang at just 17 years old to begin her hairdressing apprenticeship in Mildura, her career has gone from strength to strength. Fourteen years, two kids and a salon move later, she has ended up back where it all began. She spoke to Ashlee Falvo about the demands of the industry, what it takes to be among the best and what the move will mean for Elegance Hair.
“It’s a bit surreal to be honest,” Samantha says.
“I started my apprenticeship 14 years ago in these four walls on Langtree Avenue, and now here I am again, back in the same spot – but this time it’s mine.”
When Samantha Andriotis left her family home in Managnatang to move to Mildura and started a hairdressing apprenticeship with Visions 24/7 salon, she knew it was a tough industry.
But she was determined to be a success, despite the hard work it takes.
“Visions took me on as an apprentice at a time when every girl in Mildura wanted to do hairdressing,” Samantha laughs.
“I was very lucky and very determined to make the best of the opportunity I had been given.”
After completing her apprenticeship, Samantha worked at Deakin Designers Hair Studio before moving to work at Elegance on Eighth Hair and Beauty.
When the opportunity to buy the business came up just months after she started, Samantha jumped at it.
“When (previous owner) Rachel Doig said she wanted to sell and move to Adelaide, I knew immediately I wanted to buy the salon off her,” she said.
“It was a very small salon, but I really believe in hairdressing you don’t need all the bells and whistles – your work should speak for itself.
“We didn’t have a toilet, we didn’t have much space out the back, but clients kept coming back to us because we looked after them, because we are passionate about hair and we love what we do, and more importantly, we love our clients.”
While Sunraysia is bursting at the seams with hair salons, Samantha says passion for the industry is key if you want to be a success.
“It’s not all glitz and glamour, that’s for sure,” she says.
“People might think as a salon owner I get to have my hair done all the time, but the reality is I get my own hair done once every six months.
“It’s long hours on your feet, your hands in bleach and colour all day; it’s very physically exhausting but the reward is definitely there.”
After nine years at Elegance on Eighth, Samantha saw that the salon where she did her apprenticeship, in the heart of Langtree Avenue, was up for grabs.
Once again, she knew she wanted it.
“It’s such a great location, and while it is mostly restaurants, being ‘Feast Street’, there’s a little hub of shops there as well, and now we’re included in that,” she said.
“I think I was most excited about having a toilet finally and being able to take on new clients because at the Eighth Street salon, it was so small we were actually turning people away.
“Now we can open the doors and welcome in everyone, which is so exciting for us.”
After a five week revamp, Elegance Hair opened its doors – on the day of Mildura’s epic dust storm.
“We renovated the place from floor to ceiling,” Samantha said.
“Everything has been completely changed, and on the day we opened, the dust storm hit. It was unbelievable, everything that had been shiny and clean that morning was covered in red dirt.
“It was an opening I’ll never forget,” she laughs.
You can find Elegance Hair in their new salon at 36 Langtree Avenue, Mildura.
