Eve – “ I grew up in Casino, went to school at St Mary’s and hated it. I just didn’t like living in Casino. I moved to Sydney when I was 15 and got a job straight away. My first weekend in Sydney was Mardi Gras weekend so it was a massive culture shock. I moved there with an older friend who started Uni.
I told my Mum I was going down to visit my friend on a train but I got the job and I stayed. I came back about 9 months later. My poor Mum was horrified, she was worried sick but I was a little bit naughty. I ran out of funds and I came home, stayed for a while and completed my AIN in Nursing. When I was 18 I did a bar course and moved back to Sydney. I was nursing and doing bar work at the same time. The relationship I was in ended and I moved back home which was now Alstonville.
I went to a nightclub on the Gold Coast and that’s where I met my partner Nick. (laughs) Sounds really trashy! I saw him and for me it was love at first sight. I asked my friend to approach him and he didn’t believe her story so that was it. My best friend was dating Nicks brother. We’d all met up that night, he was 18 and I was 20 and nothing happened.
Another year went by without seeing each other at all. Nick was having a party at the parents house. My best friend, Nicks brother and I went along and Nick and I have been together ever since. That was 16 years ago this year. We lived here for a while in Lismore then we moved to the Gold Coast because Nick was working at Versace and I was working in a gaming room at a club. Nick hurt his back so we moved back here until Nick could have his surgery.
I had always wanted to do hair and an opportunity arose in 2004 to do my apprenticeship. I signed up and I haven’t looked back. I have worked around Lismore and Alstonville over the years and during that time we had our two children.
Nick and I had often talked about having a shop side by side, a hair salon and a coffee shop. I always knew I would open a salon but I wanted to wait until we had our children and they were school age. This shop became available after the flood which was a sad way to find an empty shop but the back doors met with my partners shop..Republic of Coffee and it is really convenient. We had friends come and strip the shop. We painted it all white to try and make it a clean, simple and comfortable space to work. I’ve been open for 6 months and I put the word out that I would like to have another professional hair stylist come in and share the space. Tom and I previously worked together in another salon and he had just come back from overseas looking for a new start.”
Tom – “I have been away for 9 months and I came back as a new person because I have changed my last name from Kolbe to Giles. My last name is now Rainer Thomas Giles which is refreshing because I got rid of the name of the guy who wasn’t really my Dad. My Mum told me when I was 16 that my dad wasn’t my real father.
The funny thing is my mum got married again when I was 21 and he was my real biological dad. They are still happily married. I married Brett in Germany and it was the first chance in my life to get rid of Kolbe which I never felt was my real name as he wasn’t my Dad.
We sold my salon ‘The Boys’ to Alex before we left and it was brilliant. Originally the deal was that I would come back from overseas after a year and work for Alex but it didn’t really feel right. I worked there for a week and it felt weird to work in my old salon and no longer own it. I decided I needed to do something new so now I am here with Evie. It’s really nice because I know Evie from working together previously.
My Partner Brett and I left Lismore to do some travel and to catch up with my family in Germany. We also wanted to get married as at that stage Australia didn’t have the Yes vote. We were married in September in Germany and the Yes vote came through in October here. We didn’t want to wait but in the end our wedding in Germany was awful. There was this very stern old lady who was almost yelling our vows at us like Hitler. We were like Yes! Yes!. The building was beautiful but she was not nice. The party after at my parents house was great.
Afterward we travelled to France by car then onto Portugal. Seville, Granada and then up to Valencia and on a boat to Ibiza for 2 months. It was in Ibiza that all our Australian friends came over. Everything in Ibiza closes down on the 1st October. It’s like a ghost town. It’s quite funny as you go to the north of Ibiza and you pay 1 euro for a beer and when you go to the beach in the South you pay 15 euro.
I’m really glad to be back, I’d had enough after 6 months. I love Lismore and I’m looking forward to working back in town.” https://www.facebook.com/sainthairlismore/
I told my Mum I was going down to visit my friend on a train but I got the job and I stayed. I came back about 9 months later. My poor Mum was horrified, she was worried sick but I was a little bit naughty. I ran out of funds and I came home, stayed for a while and completed my AIN in Nursing. When I was 18 I did a bar course and moved back to Sydney. I was nursing and doing bar work at the same time. The relationship I was in ended and I moved back home which was now Alstonville.
I went to a nightclub on the Gold Coast and that’s where I met my partner Nick. (laughs) Sounds really trashy! I saw him and for me it was love at first sight. I asked my friend to approach him and he didn’t believe her story so that was it. My best friend was dating Nicks brother. We’d all met up that night, he was 18 and I was 20 and nothing happened.
Another year went by without seeing each other at all. Nick was having a party at the parents house. My best friend, Nicks brother and I went along and Nick and I have been together ever since. That was 16 years ago this year. We lived here for a while in Lismore then we moved to the Gold Coast because Nick was working at Versace and I was working in a gaming room at a club. Nick hurt his back so we moved back here until Nick could have his surgery.
I had always wanted to do hair and an opportunity arose in 2004 to do my apprenticeship. I signed up and I haven’t looked back. I have worked around Lismore and Alstonville over the years and during that time we had our two children.
Nick and I had often talked about having a shop side by side, a hair salon and a coffee shop. I always knew I would open a salon but I wanted to wait until we had our children and they were school age. This shop became available after the flood which was a sad way to find an empty shop but the back doors met with my partners shop..Republic of Coffee and it is really convenient. We had friends come and strip the shop. We painted it all white to try and make it a clean, simple and comfortable space to work. I’ve been open for 6 months and I put the word out that I would like to have another professional hair stylist come in and share the space. Tom and I previously worked together in another salon and he had just come back from overseas looking for a new start.”
Tom – “I have been away for 9 months and I came back as a new person because I have changed my last name from Kolbe to Giles. My last name is now Rainer Thomas Giles which is refreshing because I got rid of the name of the guy who wasn’t really my Dad. My Mum told me when I was 16 that my dad wasn’t my real father.
The funny thing is my mum got married again when I was 21 and he was my real biological dad. They are still happily married. I married Brett in Germany and it was the first chance in my life to get rid of Kolbe which I never felt was my real name as he wasn’t my Dad.
We sold my salon ‘The Boys’ to Alex before we left and it was brilliant. Originally the deal was that I would come back from overseas after a year and work for Alex but it didn’t really feel right. I worked there for a week and it felt weird to work in my old salon and no longer own it. I decided I needed to do something new so now I am here with Evie. It’s really nice because I know Evie from working together previously.
My Partner Brett and I left Lismore to do some travel and to catch up with my family in Germany. We also wanted to get married as at that stage Australia didn’t have the Yes vote. We were married in September in Germany and the Yes vote came through in October here. We didn’t want to wait but in the end our wedding in Germany was awful. There was this very stern old lady who was almost yelling our vows at us like Hitler. We were like Yes! Yes!. The building was beautiful but she was not nice. The party after at my parents house was great.
Afterward we travelled to France by car then onto Portugal. Seville, Granada and then up to Valencia and on a boat to Ibiza for 2 months. It was in Ibiza that all our Australian friends came over. Everything in Ibiza closes down on the 1st October. It’s like a ghost town. It’s quite funny as you go to the north of Ibiza and you pay 1 euro for a beer and when you go to the beach in the South you pay 15 euro.
I’m really glad to be back, I’d had enough after 6 months. I love Lismore and I’m looking forward to working back in town.” https://www.facebook.com/sainthairlismore/