“The day you plant the seed isn’t the day you eat the fruit. I tell my students that all the time.”
Barber School Instructor Holly Hui speaks about the power of perseverance from experience. She’s been working as a hair professional for over a decade, travelling from her native Winnipeg to Montreal, New York and now Vancouver with her kit bag. And she’s never been happier than now in her adopted home on the West Coast. Holly recently became the owner of UBS Cambie and now splits her time between her Barbering business and as one of the instructors at the Barber School of Blanche Macdonald Centre.
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“I’d mentored before but for me to be hired at Blanche was a big deal. I’d heard about the School for years. Blanche Macdonald is such a big name. I’ve always been up for a challenge and love teaching. And now I’ve been here for three years!”
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“Not long after I moved to Vancouver the owner at Sigma reached out to me,” she explains. “He said he needed me. As a manager as well as a barber I needed to rebrand the shop. I built a network of downtown barbershops to improve our education resources and help each other out during COVID, and we ended up increasing our revenue six times over.
“Sandra Perovic was working at Sigma and also teaching at the barber school in Blanche Macdonald. She needed someone to do a straight razor shave demo at Blanche, which is something I’m passionate about. I’ve taken a lot of straight razor courses over the years!
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“I came into Blanche Macdonald, met Phil Loiselle and we talked. He said I was exactly the kind of person he was looking for. I’d mentored before but for me to be hired at Blanche was a big deal. I’d heard about the School for years. Blanche Macdonald is such a big name. I’ve always been up for a challenge and love teaching. And now I’ve been here for three years!”
The long, winding journey that’s taken Holly from Winnipeg to the Barber School at Blanche Macdonald began when she was fired from her job at an insurance adjustment firm.
“It was very mundane stuff,” she recalls. “Not fulfilling or creative at all. I was bored and not engaged. My mom knew my heart wasn’t in it. She told me to go to hair school. I would style and colour my own hair growing up, but never thought it could be a career. I coloured my hair copper when I was 14 and I’ve been a redhead ever since. If people can’t remember my full name they call me Red or Holly Berry.”
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“What is compassion? What is empathy? As a society, we can be emotionally constipated. As a Barber, you can help people open up!”
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Holly shone at hair school in Winnipeg, where her talent and competitive spirit led her to be named among the Top Five finalists for the Student Hairstylist of the Year at the North American Hair Styling Awards. A year and a half after graduation she reached the finals of Canada’s prestigious Contessa Awards. But it was only when Holly decided to refocus her energy on men’s cuts that she felt she had truly discovered her niche.
“I was working at Inspired Hair Design in Winnipeg, the salon of my Mom’s friend Kristine. A lot of her clients wanted men’s haircuts and that became something I really wanted to learn. Kristine taught me how to use a clipper and how to do fades, and I found it fascinating.
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“I love dissecting the craft when I’m talking theory and I love connecting with students. I want my students to work as a team. I’m like a basketball coach. We’re going to win together!”
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“I had the style and the attitude. You have to be a bit spicy to be a barber. You’re a trendsetter. I was a tomboy growing up and always meshed well with men. I don’t shave my own face, which made me want to become great at shaving. Barbering was making a comeback and I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to be the top female barber in Winnipeg.”
That passion for perfection has never left Holly. Now she’s sharing it with the next generation of barbering superstars. And having fun while she’s doing it.
“I love dissecting the craft when I’m talking theory and I love connecting with students. But my absolute favourite thing is that first-day orientation with a new group. My challenge to every group is whether they’re going to finish alone or finish together? I want my students to work as a team. I’m like a basketball coach. We’re going to win together!
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“The day you plant the seed isn’t the day you eat the fruit. I tell my students that all the time.”
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“I’ve witnessed beautiful friendships come out of these barbering programs. You see people grow. I had good mentors and teachers, and the circle of life means I have to pay that forward.”
Holly loves sharing her artistry with students, but also understands that a successful barber career depends as much on communication as it does on technical ability.
“You have to connect with people to be successful,” she insists. “I can spark a conversation with anyone. You give people the chance to be themselves and to be seen and heard. When people trust you, anything is possible. My chair is full of secrets. People in my chair tell me things that they don’t tell anyone else. For people to feel comfortable enough to genuinely relax is special.”
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“I’ve witnessed beautiful friendships come out of these barbering programs. You see people grow. I had good mentors and teachers, and the circle of life means I have to pay that forward.”
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Keeping clients looking good may be at the core of the hair business, but Holly understands that the truly elite barbering professional operates on an emotional level.
“I talk about this with students all the time. What is compassion? What is empathy? As a society, we can be emotionally constipated. As a Barber, you can help people open up!”
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