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FOCAL POINT: ‘I have worked my way up’
The moment one sets eyes on Angie Marshall, one vividly perceives her quality of mesmerizing people, and that’s how she builds clientele who become her loyal friends as well as lifelong customers. Her affable disposition compels one to visit her salon whenever the need arises, for she is a lady who can transform the ordinary looking woman into a femme fatale all set to make heads turn.
Angie’s career kicked off with a single room salon in Defence given to her by her father. Reminiscing about the good old days she said, “I only had one worker at the time. Two huge, outmoded hair-dryers were all the paraphernalia required for a salon. It was my baby and I had to prove my dexterity. With the passage of time, I realized that in order to gain prominence I had to acquire expertise in the field, so I went abroad.”
Her quest for knowledge took her to England, Germany, Thailand, Canada and Australia. When she returned, she was well equipped and all geared up to carve a niche for herself in the vibrant arena of beauty. The road to success, though, was not an easy one. She soon realized that contacts with the high and mighty are of utmost importance in order to grab the top spot, but she was adamant to make it on her own.
“I knew many people who would have been of great help, but asking favours to make a name is not my cup of tea,” she stated, adding with a tinge of pride, “I am quite content with what I am and I am glad that I proved my mettle through my own labour and toil.”
‘I feel happy that I have worked my way up. It was not an overnight success, but a gradual process for me, and I believe those who reach the top through hard work stay there as well’
Another hurdle that Angie encountered was the attitude of the people associated with the fashion mafia. They had their own small circle, and in spite of the fact that she was good in her work, they were reluctant to include her, which was quite discouraging. But all’s well that ends well. She now enjoys the fact that she is among the handful who are considered to be distinguished in the vocation. “I cater to people from all walks of life because I think everyone has the right to look beautiful,” she declared spiritedly. “I think our prices are medium and anyone can benefit from the services we provide.” She is a staunch advocate of the fact that nowadays, visiting a salon is almost a necessity for women. “I think girls should be educated in this regard when they are still in the academic phase. They should be given grooming classes teaching them about basic hygiene and cleanliness, which is extremely important where health matters are concerned. A salon is the only place that gives such classes.”
Angie’s family has always been by her side. Her husband has supported her in both good times and bad. Mother of five-year-old Nicholas, she says, “I do not overwork. Family life for me is as important as my career. I come to work after my son returns from school. When he settles down, I always leave him with relatives as I don’t like leaving him alone with maids. His aunt has to be there for supervision. In the evenings, I am merely a housewife. I go out with my husband a lot. I don’t like leaving my family and going for shoots late at night. I arrange my schedule in such a manner that my family life is not affected.”
Her leniency gets her into trouble sometimes. Her customers try to exploit her in more ways than one which proves to be quite disheartening for her.
“I get many clients who can afford to pay but they ask for a concession,” she stated. “I believe that everybody can budget themselves in such a way that caring for one’s looks gains the top priority, and so does spending for it. I am an entrepreneur, not a social worker of any kind.”
Narrating a certain incident in this regard, she said, “I did the make-up of the models for a fashion show for someone I knew. She paid me some of the amount beforehand and promised to pay the remaining after the show. I trusted her and did what she asked me, only to be deceived later on. She never met me after the show. I kept on calling her on her cell phone for days but she didn’t answer. I am still waiting for the payment. In the past, many people have taken advantage of me but now, I’ve learned to be cautious.”
A few years back she ventured into make-up for shoots. The first step in this realm was a shoot she did for a magazine with Ayesha Alam and Seemi Pasha.
“I was supposed to do Ayesha’s make up,” she related. “Seemi liked my work and asked me to do hers as well. Since then, there was no looking back for me. One after the other I got assignments and now I am seen on the mini-screen as well doing a segment in Baatein mulaqatein.” She is also doing segments for other channels.
“I feel happy that I have worked my way up,” she said. “It was not an overnight success, but a gradual process for me, and I believe those who reach the top through their hard work stay there as well.”
She has no future plans of expanding her business, but if she ever opens another branch it would be in a hotel as she does not want to get into the hassles of administration which take up a lot of precious time.
“I’d rather stay at one place and maintain my standard than have a number of places with no quality work,” she said as a final note before we bid adieu.
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