June 29, 2016

Meet Silver Lake / Echo Park Hairstylist: Sparrow Fox

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sparrow Fox.

Her story is one of incredibly resilience and perseverance. Laid off in the midst of the Financial Crisis, she didn’t skip a beat – she went to cosmetology school and made a total career switch from corporate to hairstyling. Her guts, her work ethic and her talent have helped her make a ton of progress in a short period and today she has built a strong foundation for a successful career in hair and beauty. Below you’ll find edited excerpts of our interview with Sparrow.

Sparrow, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?

I started doing hair full time in 2011. I had worked in a corporate environment for 15 years and got laid off from my last corporate job during the recession in 2009. I had always had “side gigs” in the beauty industry, doing makeup and hair for different events, friends and acquaintances. When I got laid off, I decided to go to cosmetology school and get my license so I could do the thing I’d been wanting to do my entire life – work in a salon environment with the goal of working for myself. I have worked harder than I’ve ever worked in my life (including University) and have been supported by family and friends to get where I am now. I swallowed my pride HARD and moved in with my mom while I was in cosmetology school (in my 30’s!) and it was one of the hardest things I ever decided. I now rent my space in a salon and run my own client business. I work with people I love, have the best, most interesting and kind clients, I am excited every single day to go to the place where I work (no bad days!), my co-workers are some of the best people I’ve ever known and they’ve become my chosen family over these years, and I am living my dream. I am an artist and I also love people! I get to create beautiful looks for people every single day, by using color and painting their hair, and I also get to hang out and chat and help create a social experience for people. It’s very fulfilling and I really love the freedom and excitement that being in this industry offers!

Has it been a smooth road?

It has not always been a smooth road! When you first start working in the beauty industry you do a lot of work for free and at odd hours. You aren’t guaranteed an income and there is SO MUCH to learn. Building a solid clientele takes a while and it takes commitment – things like showing up even when you feel down or disappointed and making sure that you have a smile on your face just in case someone walks through the door. The first thing is “Don’t Give Up”. It’s so simple, but it’s key in this industry. Just getting through Cosmetology school was tough for me – all of the people I was in school with were much younger than me and fearless in ways that I had forgotten how to be. I had to re-learn to ask a lot of questions and be willing to make mistakes. Of course, I also went through the struggle of trying to find the right place for me and who I am so that I could be in alignment with the team that I would be working with and also finding the right kind of clientele for me and the kind of work I like to do. One of the most important moments for me was realizing that I was sort of floundering where I was working and making myself get brave and reach out to someone to ask for mentorship. It worked and it’s how I found myself working at the salon I am currently at. Being willing to say no to some things, so that I could make room to say yes to what really works for me and my own creative vibe has been professional-life-changing and in many ways has spilled over into my personal life and empowered me to be more discerning about the choices I make in general.

What are your plans for the future?
Plans for the future: I want to continue to build my business as a colorist in East Los Angeles. I’m an independent contractor and I really enjoy the camaraderie that comes from sharing space with other creative in the beauty industry. I also want to continue to grow as an educator, to help stylists who are just beginning their careers. I’ve been invited to speak at different cosmetology schools about the business side of the industry and I’d like to continue to grow that as well. Helping young people who are entering this industry to understand what lies ahead for them is really a key motivator for me, both on the creative side and the business side.

Let’s dig a little deeper into your story. What was the hardest time you’ve had?

The hardest time in my life was when I made my career change to being in the beauty industry full time. In the space of two months, I had been laid off from my (last ever) corporate job (I had been in office administration for almost 15 years) and my partner and I split up very suddenly at the same time. I lost my job, my housemate, my relationship and one cat all in the space of two months. I was really lost. I had always made choices around my professional life that were based on stability and safety and I had never been fully engaged or enriched by how I spent my professional life. I cried for probably about 6 months and let myself really feel lost. The gift in giving myself this space was that I was able to swallow my pride, move in with my extremely generous mother for 2 years while I went to cosmetology school (on financial aid, mind you) and then start to build my business. I have never worked harder or with more focus in my life. Not even in University. I volunteered for every single job assisting, fashions shows, music videos, being an on-set runner, all while I was in school. I entered into advanced courses while I was still in school, saved my tips that I earned as a student while I was in school so that I could pay for classes at the local beauty supply stores with all of the major lines so that I could learn as much as I could while I was in school, rather than waiting until I was out and looking for a job. I made sure that my attendance was perfect so that I could participate in the assistant/mentor program with a local salon while I was still in school, and finally was asked to assist during one of the major hair shows in Long Beach (ISSE) for Martin Parsons, which was my first time being back stage with really big names. I met Tabatha Coffey during that show and she was wise, kind, and inspiring. I have never worked harder than I have to become the best colorist I can possibly be.

It has taken me 5 years to get where I am now. I am booked approximately 4 weeks in advance and I love my career. I never have a day where I don’t want to go in to the “office”. I have never called out “sick”. I got through all the of the struggle of being a student and choking back my pride living with my mother again in my mid 30’s by reminding myself that I had survived things that were way harder than kick starting a new career. Everything is temporary, this is why it is so important to soak up everything we can from every moment we can – challenging AND awesome.

Do you ever just stop and think WOW – I’ve made it?

I have two “ah-hah” moments for success: Being invited back to my own cosmetology school to speak to the students about the business and my path in the business, to help motivate them while they are in school, was one of them. The first time I ever did celebrity hair was a second moment. Growing up in Southern California is a strange mixture of assuming you’ll be a part of the entertainment machine at some point, and also not caring too much about celebrity in and of itself. HOWEVER, I have one client who was sort of my high school dream TV character who I never would have believed I would do her hair someday if you had told me when I was 16 years old. Life is a funny circle when you stay focused on your own goals and dreams. The universe usually delivers when you are kind and work hard. I still have moments when I can’t believe how much my life has changed in the past 5 years and I try to imagine how much more it will change in the coming 5 years. I’ve learned to really honor my own experience, and be more selective about who I allow real estate in my life. I wouldn’t change anything, and I’m so grateful that I got laid off in 2009.

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