Kate | Aorangi, Manawatū

“So, I’m a hair-dresser, and am obviously used to seeing people all the time, and caught up with one of my clients recently, and her and her husband separated during the lock-down, and she was pretty miserable, because they were stuck together.

That was pretty hard for me, because I’ve known her since I was 16, and just seeing people broken during lock-down and not being able to be there to help them. I have lots of pregnant friends, as well, that have gone through hard times in the last four weeks, that I can’t be there to help them. I found that pretty, pretty hard.

My husband and I bought a business 18 months ago, and we’ve got 11 staff, and just trying to get it to all work out because we’re obviously young and green in business. We spend a lot of time going over plans as our business is supported by our house, and our house is supported by our business, and just trying to get it all to work out. I think it’s been tricky with just the economy obviously, recently and not because of lock-down but just in general. Trying to get our name out there and stuff. But you have those nights you come home and you’re a bit broken, and have to try to get your head around it. I’m not an office girl, so sitting in an office is pretty hard for me, and being by myself in an office is even worse after hair-dressing for so long. I go to my friends and confide in them about how annoying he is sometimes, and vice versa probably. But I’m not really someone that looks at the hard things in life. I kind of try and focus on the positive things, and what comes out of them. So there’s always a silver lining at the end of most things.

Carrying around baggage is awful. You see it on people’s shoulders when they walk down the street but I guess it’s just hard to trust a lot of people, you’ve got to find someone that you trust, and if you don’t find that person, then it’s easily understandable why people do hold onto their baggage. You’ve got to find that person, because if you don’t, you’re just going to be making yourself a hell of a lot more miserable and everyone around you, as well. 

I grew up in the Waikato, in the middle of nowhere on a 7000-acre farm. I got sent to boarding school in Fielding, when I was 14, and been down here my whole life, but I was born in Kāwhia, on the West Coast. So, I grew up going fishing, and hunting with Dad. Stuff like that. So, I guess that’s why now I’ve got my little lifestyle block with all my animals. I try and get back up there as much as I can, but it’s a bit hard. Two little kids and life makes it a bit tricky.

I call myself half a therapist, and half a hair-dresser on most occasions. I think it’s awesome that my clients feel like they can open up to me and obviously, it goes no further, because you’ve got no-one to tell when no-one knows them anyway. But it is good seeing them get it off their chest, and knowing that they obviously feel safe enough to tell their hair-dresser, but I guess it’s like a lot of businesses. You end up being more their friend than just their hair-dresser. I get invited to a lot of my client’s social events and family occasions. So, it’s nice to feel that you are that person to them if they don’t have anyone else. So, I try to make as big an effort as I can.”