By Sonia Schnee | Posted Monday, September 30, 2019
What's your name and where are you from?
My name is Alex Giordano. I'm from Wharton, New Jersey, and I've been in the hair industry for about 20-something years. I can't tell you really how old I am. That's a secret!
What’s your position at Bishops Cuts & Color?
I am the Salon Manager, overseeing several employees here, making sure everything's kept nice and clean and making sure that the customers who come in are completely satisfied when they leave.
Salon Manager Alex Giordano (left) with Owner Scott Pringle (right).
How did you get interested in doing hair? Is it something you loved as a kid?
I've always loved it as a kid. Literally I used to take my sister's Barbie dolls and cut their hair. I would take Kool-Aid and try to dye their hair and everything and be like, "Look I created a new style!" I remember when I was about 7-years-old we had a family friend over, and I told her I was going to cut her hair and make her look like Kermit the Frog -- don't ask me what I was thinking! -- but her parents could have killed the both of us, and my parents of course could have killed me. I've always loved doing hair.
When I was a freshman in high school, my parents sent me to South America because that's where they're from -- Montevideo, Uruguay. I studied cosmetology there. So, I got my license first in South America when I was 15-years-old, and then I came back here and continued my education. Unfortunately, they didn't accept my hours from another country so I had to go back to cosmetology school here. So I pretty much have been licensed twice already.
You never stop learning in this business. Every day you learn something from everyone. All different walks of life and everything. It's a great business. I love doing what I do.
What drew you to Bishops?
What drew me to Bishops was empowering people to be whoever they want to be, judgment-free. I think that in this day and age, in order to go places and make it further in life you have to look straight ahead and not worry about what your neighbors are doing as long as they're not harming anyone. Just be proud of who YOU are individually and focus on yourself and you'll make it to better places in life. That's what drew me into Bishops, as well as letting people express who they are.
In this business, people fail to realize that when you're a cosmetologist, when you're a hair stylist, when you're a barber, self-expression is definitely key because it's an art. We're not robots. We don't come here and say everyone's going to get the same exact haircut and this how we're cutting it. No. We use our art, and we have a vision. Most people who do hair are very artistic.
I tend to look at us as hair doctors. You don't go into doctor's office and say, "Hey, my tummy hurts, I'll take like 20 Advil prescription, and I'll take some antibiotics, and I'll come back when I feel better or I'll come back if I don't feel better.” No. You go in there. You get your consultation like we do. What's the problem (we want to know what's going on), followed by your prescription after you're being checked out, so we perform the service (that's you being checked out by the doctor), then you're given a prescription. When you're given that prescription, that's us giving you or recommending you products to make sure you upkeep or recreate the look.
How many times do you go to a salon, you get a fabulous hairstyle, and you leave and the next day you're like, "Oh man, what did I do? Why does it not look as good as yesterday?" So we teach you to recreate that style. We teach you how to take care and upkeep your hair, and then we give you a date to come back, just like a doctor would, so come back and see me in about three to four weeks and we'll follow up and see how everything's coming along.
How would you describe Denville, NJ (for people who aren't from the area)?
I think Denville is very family-oriented, but it's also very trendy. It's beautiful out here. I think that everyone's cheerful and happy. It's definitely a great place to visit. Especially the strips. Come out, check out all the mom and pop shops or the businesses around here. I think it's a great place to be. People are amazing around here.
What words of advice would you give to someone wants to follow a similar passion?
I say, never give up. Like any job, you're going to be faced with hardships. There's going to be some days that you wish you never did what you did, but don't lose that passion ever because as soon as you lose that passion or you stop enjoying what you do, you kind of lose the momentum or the hope in growing within that career path. So don't ever give up, just always keep looking forward. We're not perfect and we all make mistakes. Don't let that be your judgement call of where you'll be standing tomorrow.
How would you like people to feel when they come in?
I've always said that I wanted to deliver "a million dollar style on a budget," and that's my personal theory. It always has been. I know that not everyone has tons and tons of money to get their hair done, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't give them the same style they would if they would have went to 5th Avenue in New York to an upscale salon. I'm going to give you an amazing style, an amazing hair color, an amazing fade or a beard trim or straight razor shave, and I'm going to make you feel like you were just pampered in somewhere that you paid a million dollars for that style even though you're paying on a budget. No one has that money this day and age to just go and throw out all this money. A lot of people are doing their hair themselves, getting boxed colors at a store, or trimming their hair themselves. I feel like you shouldn't have to do that. Everyone deserves to be pampered. You owe it to yourself and you deserve it. We all deserve to kick back and have a break every now and again. I want people to feel amazing. I want people to walk out of here and feel like a million bucks.