Harriet White is an inspiration to all of you, especially those of you who are either fast approaching, or already in, your twenties. This woman has had a stunning career so far, and at the tender age of 24 can boast at parties that she is the Artistic Director for the very trendy and successful John Carne Group salons.
She began her hairdressing career when she was just 14! She says it was a natural career choice and says: “From a really young age I loved playing with hair and creating wild dos for my two sisters, and occasionally my brother! At primary school I always had a different hair style every day.”
A natural ability, determination and an eye for detail have contributed to Harriet’s storming career. Leading stylist and colour expert John Carne was quick to recognise Harriet’s natural flair with hair, and was keen for her to be a member of his team, even at a young age. He trained and moulded her, and today encourages Harriet to continue to exceed her own expectations by competing in international competitions and representing the John Carne brand at shows and seminars world-wide.
She has travelled far and wide to many countries, including New York, Belgium, Las Vegas and many more, allowing her the freedom to travel the world and the opportunity to promote British hairdressing abroad. This really should whet your appetite and excite you: these are the potential and very attractive benefits of your industry if you have the will and the skill.
Since qualifying in 1999 she has had an extraordinary time! She regularly takes to the stage at the infamous Salon International shows, and gets the opportunity to represent loads of top name brands on the international market, like Redken and L’Oreal.
Harriet also won the southern regional final for the L’Oreal Colour Trophy women’s section in 2002, and in the same year became an I.D artist for L’Oreal.
Harriet has proved her worth by playing a key role in achieving fame and excellence for the John Carne brand, and this was rewarded with a win at the 2004 L’Oreal Colour Trophy.
Then, in 2005 she boosted her profile even more by joining the FAME Team for the Fellowship for British Hairdressing. In doing so she follows in the footsteps of house-hold names like Umberto Giannini and Errol Douglas, to name but a few. This elite group of people have been recognised by the Fellowship as being talented, young hairdressers that have led, and will continue to lead British hairdressing into the next generation.
She regularly shoots with Glamour and Vogue magazines and takes an active interest in the photo-shoots for the John Carne collections. This is important for Harriet because it adds yet another dimension to her job role, and gives her another skill to pop onto her CV. Not that she will probably ever need to have one: her reputation precedes her!
Teaming up with Andy Smith (Harriet’s colleague at the Guildford salon) they managed to scoop the L’Oreal Men’s Image Award 2005, making her the second stylist to win a Colour Trophy two years running in the 50-year history of the awards!
Her achievements so far have earned her international industry respect and a place on the judging panel for this year’s L’Oreal Colour Trophy.
She says she is keen to leave her mark, but LearnXtra thinks she is way ahead of herself on this, and we wish her every success for wherever her career takes her next. May she long be standing in the business as a mentor and inspirer for the next generation of British hairdressers, that’s you lot!
Stand and take a bow Harriet – we salute you! Keep up the good work.
Harriet is exceptionally busy this year with her professional diary all-but filled already, but she promises to keep us informed of her progress this year, so keep your peepers here to find out the latest on this young, super-stylist!