Trilby’s Story
Talk about dreams coming true …
From the age of seven, folding towels in my Mum and Dad’s hairdressing salon in Christchurch, dreaming of one day being a hairdresser just like them, to now – a salon owner myself, a hairdressing tutor, with 40 years’ industry experience … and I still get excited about my work.
I’m a local Rangiora chick and a second-generation hairdresser. My hairdressing roots go way back beginning with the ‘Shirley of London’ salon here in Rangiora’s High Street a long time ago. Shirley of London was owned by my Aunty Shirley who trained in London, alongside Vidal Sassoon – yes, a bit of shameless name-dropping! Aunty Shirley trained my mum, Maureen, and they worked together in Rangiora. Dad, a cabinet maker who created beautiful pieces for the upper-class London furniture shops, fitted out the salon, which mum and Aunty Shirley worked in for many years.
My dad, Ian Cowperthwaite, became totally inspired and caught the buzz and hype after attending a hairdressing competition with Uncle John where Aunty Shirley and Mum were competing. To everyone’s surprise Dad and Uncle John attended the Petrie’s International School of Hairdressing in 1962-63 where they did their basic training. They then went on to hone their skills and learn more under Aunty Shirley’s guidance, along with their friend Alex Alexander.
During the 1960s the two couples purchased a second salon in New Brighton, also named The Shirley of London. Mum and Dad ran this salon, achieving great success. Aunty Shirley and Uncle John continued to grow the business in Rangiora.
As the two businesses grew another four salons were purchased in Christchurch.
However, these were challenging times, with changes to government health regulations regarding fitting out salons and the huge increase in costs to support the apprenticeship programme, made it increasingly difficult leading to a restructure and downsizing of their portfolio of salons.
Changing fashion trends and the way geometric styles influenced the world of hairdressing, impacting hugely on the business model. Gone were the weekly shampoos and sets, with rows of women sitting under overhead dryers. More “healthy” styles were encouraged with Vidal Sassoon leading the charge in London. This meant a rethink in the way my parents ran their businesses.
In the 70’s a lease was taken on an Armagh Street property which became Modern Hair Fashions 1973 Ltd with men’s hairdressing upstairs and women’s downstairs. I can remember the salons being in a haze of cigarette smoke and the men being provided with copies of Penthouse as part of their magazine selection! I don’t recall what the ladies were given to read!!
My Grandad on mum’s side, Lawrence Jesney, began formulating hair products which were used in-salon only. Shampoos, conditioners and perm solutions were manufactured and produced for use in mum and dad’s salon. Dad and his friend Alex Alexander were also involved in this innovative strategy, which was never expanded commercially unfortunately … yet!
Dad was, and still is, hugely innovative in his thinking, and I am incredibly grateful for his knowledge, inspiration, guidance and wisdom.
hion percolated around the world. A restructure was needed, smarter business model and downsizing to be more profitable lead to the creation of a unisex salon in Colombo Street central Christchurch - Champers Hair Design was born. This is where I come back into the picture. At the age of 15 I joined the Champers as an apprentice under Bill Young, dad’s business partner. Dad had moved into education and had joined the Christchurch Polytechnic, later becoming programme leader in the hairdressing department. Dad was, and still is, hugely innovative in his thinking, and I am incredibly grateful for his knowledge, inspiration, guidance and wisdom.
I stayed at Champers in Christchurch eventually managing the business for many years. The salon was sold in the early 90’s and after a spell from hairdressing I, again, followed in my dad’s footsteps and joined the Christchurch Polytechnic as a hairdressing tutor which I did for around 10 years with time out to be a mum.
After the Christchurch Earthquakes I set up my home salon, Trilby’s Hair Boutique, which I am proud to say is now a fully operational commercial business. My son, Taynen, who has completed his barbering training, is about to start his journey as an apprentice in ladies’ hairdressing. I couldn’t be prouder of him!
During another stint of tutoring at Ara in 2021, I changed my business model and bought Katie Syme into the fold to work independently out of Trilby’s Hair Boutique. Katie has extensive skills and knowledge are far beyond her years. She is passionate and I am proud to have her as part of our team.
So, what does the future hold for me … I am passionate about building people’s confidence and self-esteem, self-worth and helping them to follow their dreams. I am privileged to work in the hairdressing industry, and love every day I can make a difference in people’s lives. I’m enjoying the luxury of having a more balanced life, still loving my hairdressing, and I’m excited about what next… I can’t help but feel that there’s something exciting brewing for me. Maybe something innovative like my dad…
Written by Trilby Keen
