ReeRee Rockette has been making a name for herself in world with her blogging, a range of lipsticks featured in Hello magazine and Cosmopolitan…and then she began her biggest undertaking yet – a vintage hair salon!Since opening its doors in London three years ago, Rockalily has earned a devoted following of perfectly coiffed men and women.
Voted London’s best hairdresser by Time Out Rockalily Cuts is the place to go to get your hair coloured to that magnificent emerald green you’ve had your eye on (and if you’re a fella and fancies a ‘little off the top’, the barbershop side of things will have you well taken care of).I talked to owner and manager ReeRee Rockette about the shop and things to come.
Interview With ReeRee
You have a background in makeup, what made you take the leap to opening your own salon?
My background is actually in education, I was a teacher who escaped the rat race to create my own lipstick brand. The salon was a natural extension of this, I was ready to take a bigger leap into the world of business I guess!
Will you be going back to makeup? I’ve only ever read great things about your range of lipsticks.
The lipsticks were well-loved. I sometimes do mini batch sales for the hardcore fans to stock up, but generally that door has been closed, and I’m focused on the salon now.
I can imagine you having your own range of hair dyes, is that something you’d ever consider? Or are you done with product manufacture and production?
I can’t imagine wanting to get into product production again, there are so many hair colours already on the market, I don’t think I’d be bringing anything new to the table. But never say never!
You have a great selection of colours when it comes to hair dye, what’s been the most popular colours and what brand of dye do you use?
The mermaid colours are very popular at the moment, blues, turquoises and greens. These require a lot of upkeep and aren’t for everyone, but they’re a lot of fun! We tend to use Directions for these colours, which is just a temporary hair stain.
Who and or what inspires you? I read a lot of business and motivation books, as well as listening to podcasts, but I’d struggle to isolate precise people as my inspiration. I’m generally inspired by people who go out and create their own success, with a smile on their face and a sense of being in control of their own destiny. I believe we may not be able to control events that happen in our lives, but we can always control our thoughts and our emotional responses to them. This is how people create happiness; they choose their attitude.
Did you have to search for hairdressers with a certain talent for vintage styles?Y
es, hairdressers don’t get taught these styles at college, so naturally must have an interest in it. They need to have a strong basic skill set , and they then get to develop and challenge themselves on our fabulously bold and brave clients.
You’re known as a bit of a style icon through your blogging, how long have you been blogging for now and where do you see it developing into anything more?
Gosh I’ve been blogging for years and years, I’m not even sure how many! Six maybe? Blogging is great, and has allowed me to have a column in a tattoo magazine, as well as blogging for the Huffington Post, and giving a talk at Blogstock (a bloggers’ festival). The perks are fun (press events and items to review etc) but I take it very seriously. My blog is part of my business, and I treat it as such.
Anything exciting lined up for this year?I’m speaking again at Blogstock which was so much fun last year, and I’m just continuing to develop my salons and my blog. Who knows what the year will bring!
Rockalily has been been open for 3 years now, do you have any plans for the future?I’m not a big planner, I have been known to say that my plan is to make the best decision each and every time. Probably not the best plan! Ha ha.