ABOUT ME
The story of Verity Clarke Hair opens in 2008, when Live XXL’s ‘Cosmic Purple’ was the brightest hair dye you could find in Essex (if you know, you know 😄 )
What’s a punk/emo gal to do?! Well, I tried taking my colourful requests to a local salon, where the confused beauty professional would give me one of three answers:
😧 Why on earth would you wanna do that!
😇 What about some nice subtle highlights?
🙅♀️ Sorry, no.
I was a salon outcast!
I wanted unique hairstyles with vivid colours that expressed who I was, but no one provided that kinda magic.
So, it was DIY or no funky dye...
Ever since the day I left school, I’d been bleaching and dyeing my hair ALL OF THE COLOURS, because no one else would do it.
I sought out little pots of colour - my secret elixirs - in witchy shops. Y’know, those side-street sellers, flogging crystals and bongs and t-shirts with wolves on and left you smelling like incense when you left? They were like mecca for goths!
I started an art diploma, interning at graphic design companies. When it dawned on me - creating vibrant hairstyles made me happy.
But the stylist I needed - and a whole group of ‘alternative’ people needed - didn’t exist. So, I had to create her!
It was like the moment in Wizard of Oz, when everything goes from black-and-white to rainbow-coloured... ✨🌈✨ EUREKA! ✨🌈✨
Swoosh to the future - I dropped the art diploma for a hairdressing diploma and went to my first and only salon interview. As myself. 110% unapologetically myself.
Think backcombed pink-and-black hair, hot pants, neon tights, band tee, tattoos. No ‘interview clothes’, no pretending.
I got the job - *crowd cheers* - did my NVQ apprenticeship, and honed my craft at the salon for 10 years. They loved me for me, but did advise me to ‘tone down’ my look *crowd boos* 👎
For a decade, I worked hard and played harder, travelling globally to hair shows, styling shoots, and doing more creative, unusual hair in the salon.
Creating vivid, glossy styles was my happy place.
The day the world turned day-glo
Soon, my fellow salon outcasts weren’t the only ones requesting my brights and blondes.
The world began to change. Social media got BIG and people could see all kinds of wild and wonderful looks on Instagram.
More and more requests for bright hair proved what I’d always known - salon-goers everywhere craved alternatives. Not just the punks and magical weirdos.
It was my time to shine as ME. There was a vivid colour void... and a shake-up was in order!
The Experiment
My dreams felt bigger than the salon I worked in, but leaving after 10 YEARS was not something I ever thought I’d do.
It felt like an INSANE move, but I had to trust my intuition, spread my wings, and take a leap of faith.
So, I decided to do an experiment:
I’d trial my own business for six months, evaluate my achievements, then decide if it was the right path.
Well, thanks to the love and support from my clients, friends, and people in this industry (that I am SO proud to be a part of), I decided it was destiny in days - no evaluation needed!
Sometimes you just know, right? In my own business, I could be 3000% authentic. And my clients could be too.
There’s magic in being able to be yourself, on both sides of the salon chair 💖
Finally, this rainbow-obsessed, feel-good, Manic-Panic-sponsored colour expert was able to step fully into her magic self-employed slippers.
And then… PLOT TWIST!
Along came a Big. Bad. Pandemic (*crowd gasps*)
Not gonna lie, I was scared. The beauty industry was hit hard and the future was uncertain. In order to make things work after the shizshow, I needed to do something BIG.
So, I did the only thing any logical (read: downright crazy) colour magician would do. I took on an industrial unit and transformed it into an arty salon wonderland of colour 🧚
Whoooosh! All aboard, The Art House!
At last, this new space is our very own happy place, where all misfits can fit. A place to be creative, laugh ‘til our bellies ache, and enjoy an enchanting, uplifting salon experience with no boundaries, limits or judgement. And a salon pup named Klaus (woof).
This is our happily ever after, but also - it’s just the beginning 🎨 🐶 🌈✨
But I can't do it alone…
MEET THE TEAM
This is me. Apart from being-colour obsessed, my favourite things are mermaids, pirates, turtles and anything with a furry face. My favourite colour is glitter. Please excuse my inability to pose sensibly for a photo - ever!
Cat - my Left-Hand-Unicorn. The master of front of house, keeping things running smoothly and making everyone feel at home. She also makes a great cuppa. Cat's favourite things are rainbows, glitter, Disney, unicorns & horses.
Klaus - my Goodest Boy. He's in charge of meet & greet, in salon snuggles and snoot boops. Klaus's favourite things are squirrels, sausages and squishes. He's named after the original vampire - not Santa!