Ruth Earle got creative as a young hairstylist looking for work. As she recalls, “I needed work and I had to create my own work because there was nothing available at the time.” In 1986 she completed her Journeyman credential in Corner Brook as a hairdresser, moving home to St. Lunaire-Griquet not long after and setting up shop in the Firehall in St. Lunaire. Her business operated there until 1991 when it moved to its current location. When she opened, Ruth remembers there being two or three clients visiting the Salon per day; now, they can see upwards of 15 to 24 clients a day, at times so busy they have difficulty keeping up with the phone!
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| Ruth Earle and Amy Patey at Ruth's Beauty Salon |
Ruth’s Beauty Salon is open from Tuesday to Friday 10am-5pm, and on Saturdays from 10am-2pm. They offer a wide range of services, including colours, cuts, perms, waxes, men’s cuts, and tanning, which they have offered since 1993. Recently, Ruth’s fellow hairstylist Amy Patey, who has worked with Ruth ten years this past September, began to offer eyelash extensions. The Salon sells hair products as well, in a variety of lines including Redken, Paul Mitchell, Milkshake, and Rusk. Ruth and Amy are constantly upgrading their skills and knowledge, at least once a year attending hair conferences in nearby Corner Brook. Ruth noted that she has observed “what goes around comes around,” when it comes to hair; many of the same styles she sees in her work today are the same ones she was familiar with when she began her work in 1986, except “with a new fling and a different product put in it.”
Ruth loves her work, and she is great at taking care of her clients. In fact, she often spends Mondays, when the Salon is closed, making housecalls to people who, for whatever reason, are unable to make it to the salon. Reflecting on this stage of her career, Ruth shares, “right now, I’m supposed to be retired; then I said, okay, I’ll semi-retire, but being here, since I love it so much, well most people when they retire take on another job anyway so I said, why do that when I can stay where I am, work the hours I want, take off time that I need.”
Thanks for the great chat, Ruth!
Kayla Carroll
Coordinator
Vinland Futures Research and Development Corporation
vinlandfutures.ca
