Neon Salon owner Victoria Queree combined her passion for hairdressing with a love of teaching and set up a training school a decade ago. Its latest venture is turning prisoners into barbers. Emily Moore reports
UNLESS you are a whisky aficionado or a keen geography buff, there is a good chance, says Victoria Queree, that you will not be familiar with her home island.
In fact, it was her own desire to pursue a career in something other than Isla’s dominant drinks industry which saw her move firstly to Glasgow and then to Jersey for what, as she explains, was supposed to be a “short visit before going travelling”.
“Isla is a very rural island and if you want to work in anything other than whisky, you really have to move elsewhere, which is what I did as soon as I finished school,” reflected the founder and owner of Neon Salon and School.
But it was a work placement during her time in Isla which led to her first job when, at 17, she swapped the island’s peace and quiet for the bright lights of Glasgow.
“I’d done some work experience with the BBC when they were filming a programme in Isla and that led to some more work with the organisation in Glasgow, somewhere which was the polar opposite of Isla,” she laughed.
“While filming, I discovered that I loved being around the make-up artists, who were creating all these amazing characters. When I told one of the artists that I would love to do that job, she recommended training in hairdressing first, saying that the two professions went hand in hand.”
Following this advice, Victoria trained at The Rainbow Room, a salon which she describes as “one of the best in Scotland”.
“It was a great place to learn and a business with a strong focus on introducing young people to the industry,” she said. “Because the training was so good, I qualified as a stylist in a year and a half. The foundation that The Rainbow Room gave me was incredible; I was so lucky to train there.”
Keen to see more of the world after qualifying, Victoria was considering her options when a conversation with her uncle brought her to Jersey.
“He already lived here and when I said that I wanted to go travelling, he suggested that I come here first and get a feel for the place. That was in 2000. I got a job in the amazingly retro pink and grey salon at de Gruchy, made friends and started enjoying the nightlight, which was buzzing at the time. Needless to say, my plan to go travelling went out of the window,” she chuckled.
While “working, socialising and giving little thought to her next step”, Victoria’s love of education, sparked by her own experience as a trainee in Glasgow, meant that it wasn’t long before she started focusing more on the future.
“When Toni&Guy opened in 2002, I contacted them because I knew they had an amazing training programme, and working for them gave me an opportunity to complete some very advanced training,” she said. “By going backwards and forwards to London for courses, not only did I progress my hairdressing skills but I also completed my initial teacher-training, something which I built on by working at Highlands.”
Although she had discovered “a passion” both for hairdressing and teaching – the two pillars of Neon Salon and School – Victoria’s early fascination with make-up continued to burn.
“I really wanted to explore that area a bit more,” she admitted. “At that time, the film producer Mike Leigh was setting up a training programme designed to give young people the opportunity to learn more about the industry. It offered apprenticeships in everything from sound, lighting and production to make-up. Although I didn’t think I stood a chance of getting an interview, as I was going up against lots of London candidates, I applied for a place.”
Much to Victoria’s surprise, not only was she selected for an interview but she was offered a place on the course.
“I was so excited but then, about two months before the course was due to start, its funding was pulled and the programme was abandoned,” she said. “You can imagine how disappointed I was but I’ve always been quite pragmatic and I do believe that everything happens for a reason.”
Also a believer in never giving up, Victoria spent that summer completing a make-up course at the London College of Fashion.
“I loved it, and the insights it gave me definitely support my work now but, having met my husband in Jersey, it wasn’t the right time to move to London and try to become a full-time make-up artist,” she explained.
Instead, Victoria continued teaching, working as a visiting lecturer at Highlands, while getting her first taste of running a business, managing the newly opened FeelUnique salon.
“Being involved in setting up the business was great fun, and I gained really valuable experience – as well as enjoying the buzz,” she smiled.
But it was teaching which had really captured Victoria’s heart and, with few opportunities available in Jersey, she and her husband moved across the water to take up a position as lecturer in the hairdressing department of Guernsey College of Further Education.
“It was the best decision we ever made, as I learnt so much while working as a full-time lecturer,” she said.
But when she became pregnant with their oldest daughter, the couple decided to return to Jersey, where they would have “more support” from family and friends.
“It was while I was on maternity leave and thinking about what to do next that the idea for Neon was born,” she said. “I was talking to people in the industry and I just had a feeling that Jersey needed a different approach to hairdressing education.”
So strong was this belief that Victoria decided to set up the training school, which is now based in the former De Faye’s Chemist in David Place.
“Although I felt that the Island needed something like Neon, I wasn’t sure how much demand there would be,” she said. “I hoped I might get five students in the first year but, as it turned out, I had 18. When I first launched the business, I was renting space from a salon in town but we outgrew that space within weeks.
“One day, I happened to walk past the old pharmacy and saw that the building was for rent. I came to view it at the end of November and it felt like going back in time. But although it was dark and covered in wood panelling, I knew it could be perfect for us. The only problem was that I needed it ready for the beginning of January.
“Luckily, my husband is a carpenter, my brother is a plumber and they, together with some friends, turned it around really quickly. It was a very intense three or four weeks.”
Determined to offer the “different approach” that she had deemed necessary for the industry, Victoria created a learning environment which, she says, is “unlike that of a school or college”.
“With a Neon apprenticeship, you are in the workplace straight away,” she said. “As soon as you have completed the theory, we give you that practical experience and, in a fully supported environment, you start working with clients from day one.
“Students cover all areas from cutting and colouring to blowdrying and styling, while the more advanced students deliver other services and get involved with photo shoots. Ultimately, though, it is a working salon, where I observe and make sure they meet all the criteria to qualify as stylists.”
Another point of difference, says Victoria, is the bespoke nature of Neon’s courses.
“In a lot of colleges, everyone has to learn at the same pace and the standard beginner’s course takes two years to complete,” she said. “However, we will tailor-make the course for each individual, supporting people to qualify at their own pace.”
It is perhaps because of this attention to detail that Neon, which opened in 2016, has twice been shortlisted for the “Oscars” of the hairdressing industry.
“We were shortlisted for training provider of the year at the 2017 and 2018 British Hairdressing Awards,” said Victoria. “These are the leading industry awards, so to be shortlisted among some of the amazing academies in the UK was a huge surprise but, needless to say, we were delighted.”
Not long after these highs, though, came the lows of Covid, which forced the business to close its doors.
“At first, we thought that we would only have to close for a month but, of course, things didn’t quite transpire like that,” reflected Victoria. “Although I always maintained that we would come out the other side, it was a very uncertain time, and everyone in the industry was worried about their businesses.
“When we were allowed to reopen, we tried to teach in line with all the social-distancing requirements, but we couldn’t offer students the right experience in that way, so we stopped all courses for a year.”
And that decision, said Victoria, had an impact on the industry.
“Although salons were inundated with customers as soon as they were allowed to open, the fact that there had been no training for a year affected recruitment, as there were no apprentices to go into the salons,” she said.
Despite this challenging time, Victoria is confident that the industry is in a strong position, although she does have one wish.
“Hairdressing isn’t an industry that can be transferred online or replaced by AI, so, from that perspective, we are in a good position,” she said. “However, recruitment has always been difficult, and I think more value needs to be placed on careers in hairdressing. There is a lot of focus in Jersey on careers in finance and I think that sometimes vocational subjects are sidelined.
“There are also misperceptions about hairdressing. A lot of people think it is poorly paid, or only for girls, but those are just myths. It can be very well paid if you put the work in, is open to anyone and the opportunities it offers are endless.
“You can work in a salon, build your own clientele – I still have clients from my early days in de Gruchy – and go on to manage or own your own business. It is also a brilliant career for anyone who wants to travel and there are brilliant opportunities to work on cruise ships or get involved with editorial work or filming.
“There are so many exciting things that you can be part of, and it’s also a great career to work around a family. I now have three children and I don’t know of any other job that would have given me the flexibility to run my own school and look after my daughters.”
It is also a job for which Victoria’s enthusiasm is just as strong now as it was when she launched Neon nearly a decade ago.
“I’ve been in this industry for 27 years and I still find it exciting,” she said. “No two days are the same, and I love seeing young people progress and go on to build their own careers. I also love the ever-changing nature of the industry. There is always something new. And, of course, I love my clients. When I have a day full of appointments, it’s like spending the day hanging out with friends. I’m not sure many other jobs offer that social aspect.
“I am so lucky, and I want to share that with other people, something which I’m hoping my new course will achieve, as we will bring Year 11 students into the salon and give them an introduction to hairdressing, which I hope will capture their interest and show them that there are other career options out there.”
And it is not only students who Victoria is hoping to inspire.
“For the past two years, I’ve been working with prisoners in Guernsey, overseeing a barbering qualification which the prison runs,” she said. “It’s been great to see some of these people qualify and secure employment on their release, something which is so important for reducing the risk of reoffending and helping them to rehabilitate in the community.”
With so many projects on the go, it is little wonder that Victoria is excited about Neon’s future.
“Every year, we see the demand for our services grow – something which may mean we have to look for bigger premises soon – and I have the joy of introducing more students to this exciting industry,” she said. “My challenge is to build a programme each year that will excite them and show them how much fun, and how rewarding, hairdressing can be.”
