Originally the name of the hair salon was my name and I hated it. Someone said “Do you want to be known for you or do you wanna be known as a salon?” So I just kept thinking “What can I name this business?”

I love the story of how the hair salon became 2545 and I love all the reasons people have told me it’s named that. Someone once said it was supposed to be for people between the age of 25 and 45… Haaa they put some effort into to that one!! 

When I first started, we only had to give people the last four digits of our phone number. In our general area there was no area code and the first three numbers were based on the area you lived on the Sunshine Coast. So 883 was Madeira Park, 886 was Gibsons etc.

 I’d be doing hair and people would open the door and say I can’t find you in the phonebook,(yes, phonebook) and others said  they couldn’t find me on Directory Assistance (so dating myself here).

One day I was blow drying away and someone opened the door and asked me “What’s your phone number?” and I yelled back “It’s two five four five!”

Yep, I had an epiphany right then and there. No more yellow page ads! 

Save a fortune. 

I’ve always loved two things: hair and design. 

Which explains my path quite well.

I worked in my first salon when I was 14. From there I apprenticed and trained with Axis Salon in Vancouver.

In the mid 90s I moved to the Sunshine Coast. After my first year, 2545 was born in Madeira Park: an 875 square foot hair salon with one tanning bed. 

I painted and renovated that space until I couldn’t do anything new to it and eventually made my way to Sechelt.

I operated in my second location in Sechelt for 11 years. It was over 3000 square feet, in warehouse style. 

That place grew and changed as much as I did. During that time I met the love of my life and married. 

Together my husband and I fully designed and built my dream hair salon utilizing many many ideas I had stored up in my brain for years. 

We always planned  to open a hair salon in Gibsons, but not so soon after opening Sechelt! 

It was just a chain of events that sent us there looking and unexpectedly we dove right back in and designed and built our second location. And to my surprise I still had more ideas.

I love both our locations! They each have their own character based on the community and its surroundings.

I was at Axis when they became an Aveda concept hair salon.

It’s stuck with me: more natural ingredients means safer for me, safer for my guests and the environment. Products that work exactly how they say they will and maintain the integrity of your hair. 

I can remember early on in Sechelt I was talking about Aveda and someone asking me “Do people really care about all that?” Becoming an Aveda concept hair salon IS my full circle. I’m very proud to have done it and yes we care!! 

We only use Aveda hair care, colour, skin care and make up in our services. If we want to sell something that they don’t make, then we only choose Aveda-aligned products. 

Inspiration is everywhere; that’s part of the design of our hair salons. Elements from the nature that surrounds us, the landscape, and the people that built this community. 

For hair inspiration, I watch everything on social media: Facebook, Instagram,  YouTube for sure. 

Education is key: attending classes and hair shows around the world. 

Inviting hair artists and educators to come share and train with us. Utilizing Aveda’s training videos and webinars. Inspiration: it’s endless, really, if you’re looking for it. 

As I mentioned, I was at Axis Hair Salon in Vancouver… amazing training.  It was adapted from the greats, Vidal Sassoon Trevor Sorbie , Vivian Mackinder. 

Education and upgrading is key to growth in this industry. 

I’ve taken so many classes over the years. I was doing like two a year and had the highlight of my career when I received a call to go train with a Vidal protégé Angelo Seminara; that was a great experience. 

Outside of my initial training, I’ve done every course Aveda offered. Some I  did twice. They have a lot of business classes too, which I found after my first 15 years to be really informative, heading into a new era of young stylists, their needs and how they work best. 

Continuing to build a happy and inspired team. Mentoring our new stylists and each other to enjoy a balanced work life and be successful. 

It’s been really great to step out from behind the chair a bit more now and work with our hair artists and spa professionals. Improve our services, run the salon more. Support how everyone feels about coming to work and your experience as our guest.

For me, now it’s a whole business. Not just doing hair. It’s all of it. 

Our latest endeavour is our e-commerce site for our products and some services. It’s a new world out there and I’ll continue to grow the business with it. 

Do what you love with passion and pride.