It started as a humble salon opened by a hairdresser with a dream in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Lush Hair and Beauty has grown into a business loved by locals and deserving of accolades.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Lush Hair and Beauty won the inaugural 'People's Choice' award at the EnergyAustralia Black Rose Excellence in Business Awards held on November 25 at the Lithgow Workmen's Club.
Owner of Lush, Michelle Dobson said her and the team were enjoying the evening's festivities and the moment they won the award came as a shock.
"It was not something that any of us expected. We were enjoying dinner and it took us a few seconds to realise," Ms Dobson said.
Ms Dobson said it was an honour for the business to receive the People's Choice award as it had a personal feeling around it.
"It was amazing. Of all the the awards we could have possibly won, that was the most special," She said.
"It wasn't some random people deciding 'that business looks great' It was actually the community deciding we're a valued business."
Ms Dobson opened 'Lush Hair Studio' as it was, after the birth of her middle daugther and working for Just Cuts when she decided she wanted to be her own boss.
READ MORE:
A premises on Wolgan Road in Portland was advertised For Sale and Ms Dobson was able to negotiate a leasing option with the owner.
"That's how Lush came about," Ms Dobson said.
"It was something I always wanted to do and I finally had the opportunity to do it."
As with any business, it was a gamble for Ms Dobson as she couldn't predict how things would go, but today she has a four person team and has expanded services.
"We've had our ups and downs like every single business, we're still having ups and downs. One week we're crazy, the other we are extremely quiet which is like every other business around here at the moment," Ms Dobson said.
"The biggest thing that's changed has been going from myself and an assistant to being busy enough to be able to employ more people, new clients and renovations. It's constantly evolving."
"We've finally opened our beauty side of things which was a huge change, we were purely hair and with Izzy coming on board we were able to add beauty services."
IN OTHER NEWS:
According to Ms Dobson, her apprentice Jess is also expanding her skills.
"Jess was interested in a few beauty services so she's doing courses," She said.
"We've also got a nail tech that does manis and pedis coming on, we've possibly got a tech that does acrylics coming on, we've got space for a massage therapist. We're doing facials and everything else."
"It's grown a lot since it was just me and Jess [as an assistant] and our two man team doing hair."
Ms Dobson said she couldn't be more appreciative of her clients and she hopes to continue building her service offerings into the future.
"I hope that my goal of making everybody that walks into Lush feel like family has come about," She said.
"I'm hoping it will continue to grow and we'll be able to bring more services in. Bringing more services into the town would be wonderful."
EnergyAustralia Black Rose Business Award Winners
- Excellence in Innovation - Westfund Dental Care Centre
- Inaugural People's Choice Award - Lush Hair and Beauty Portland
- Startup business award - Savage Speech Pathology
- Outstanding Community Organisation - Lithgow City Council Libraries
- Best apprentice or trainee - Cody Buck Black Gold
- Excellence in micro business - Pretty Party People
- Excellence in Small Business - Tablelands Sports & Spinal Physiotherapy
- Excellence in large business - Westfund Health Insurance
Reidun Berntsen
Reidun is a Journalist and writer who lives in a country town 3 hours from Sydney, Australia. From a young age, Reidun has been in love with words and the infinite possibilities they bring. Stories, features and poems have been a major part of her writing career.
Reidun is a Journalist and writer who lives in a country town 3 hours from Sydney, Australia. From a young age, Reidun has been in love with words and the infinite possibilities they bring. Stories, features and poems have been a major part of her writing career.
