We were lucky to catch up with Juniper Rose recently and have shared our conversation below.

Juniper , appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I think I’ve always known. I’ve always been the type of person to be very stubborn and very determine to do what I wanna do when I want to do it. It also helped me that I had a few other artists in my family, not professionally but very talented and I was always inspired by that. I’ve been drawing for my whole life, i did art classes in school, was obsessed with Bob ross. I just got my keepsakes back recently and there must’ve been 20 plus sketch books just from middle school/highschool. Before I became a hairdresser I was determined to be a makeup artist. My Instagram account was originally a makeup account and over the years I shifted my goals, I figured I could have a better career in hair. It was a scary transition because it was a whole new medium that I wasn’t very good at to begin with. I wouldn’t have it any other way now. I love my job so much.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is juniper/june/junie

Im professionally Junie.p.rose

I’m a queer 23 year old hair artist in Portland Oregon. I’ve been doing hair for 3 years and I specialize in alt/gender affirming hair and textured hair.

When I’m not at the salon I’m at home with my two fur babies Palmer & Lola and my spouse!

I’m a creative person through and through, I find joy in many different outlets, painting, singing, writing, dancing, drawing and doing hair!

I always knew I wanted to be an artist when I was older, I just never knew specifically what I would be doing until 2020, right when COVID hit. I worked really hard to save up for beauty school all on my own, I had just moved in with my partner and started working at a professional beauty supply, I was 19 and very scared but ambitious. I’m very distant from most my family and not having that support is hard, but I could not have done this without the love and support from my partner Andrew, they are the best teammate and have been so supportive of my career.

I used to be a perfectionist, well I still am but when I first started out it really manifested into imposter syndrome for me and I never thought I was good enough. I think this helped me in a lot of ways as far as learning but it threw me into burnout quickly.

I went to a competency based cosmetology school for my license in hair design and I finished school in 11 months. One thing that was really difficult going to school in covid was my school didn’t allow the general public to come in aka no walk ins. I really had to hustle to get my mark offs and find people to do hair on.

The best advice I could give to people new to self employment is to just keep going, even when it’s hard. The bad days are hard and really test you, but the good days remind you why it’s all worth it.

My first salon was a 1099 commission which is technically illegal in other states besides Oregon and maybe a couple others. I didn’t let that deter me because I wanted to learn and build my clientele. I don’t regret being there even through the toxic times, I think most people’s first salon is a little toxic lol. It helped me learn boundaries and what I wanted in this career and who I wanted to be. After my first year being licensed I started booth renting. This was a huge scary leap of faith; there was so much going on in my personal life too, grief, our engagement, being diagnosed with a life long chronic condition and realizing I’m autistic. I was also healing from an injury that to this day I’m dealing with chronic pain from.

2024 was a very hard year. A lot of it was just learning how to run my own business, set boundaries, process my emotions and just keep living life lol. I felt very attached to my old salon and the people I lost in the transition; it was important for me to get myself out of an environment that wasn’t healthy for me and was no longer serving me or my goals. At the end of 2024 we got a months notice that the owner of the salon was closing permanently, as frustrating as it was to look for a new salon during the holidays and only a year after I left my first one, I was excited to find somewhere else that fit me better, I wasn’t super happy at that salon and didn’t realize how much that was affecting me until I left.

Despite being told by my first salon I wasn’t ready to rent, I’ve been successfully renting for almost 2 years.

I owe a lot of gratitude to somatic therapy and online education/ my hair community. I especially thank my partner Andrew. They are a big support for my career and it can be hard to be codependent but there’s always a balance in being a team with someone.

My current salon is a dream. My clients are my favorite, the joy I get to serve the queer community and be a part of it. The connections and community I’m building is such a joy & privilege. I’m finally at a point where im living my life by my rules and not giving a f**k who doesn’t agree with my decisions.

I wouldn’t have this career without the support of people seeing me. This career is not for the weak, it’s hard when you’re still building and you don’t see profit for months. I wouldn’t have it any other way though. I’m excited to continue growing and see where I’m at in even 5 years from now.

The last piece of advice I’d like to leave is:
How you treat yourself is very important. You need to be good at home and in your body. Treat yourself kindly because it will reflect on your business always. A big reason I chose this industry was to be able to take time to myself to feel joy! You might not be where you dream to be but you can still honor and love the ride life takes you on as you grow, you can tell yourself the things you need to work on but you can also tell yourself “I’m proud of you” and “good job you ate that up queen.” It’s all about perspective.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Just mind your business and let communities thrive . As long as no one is getting hurt there’s no harm in art. Art is a very queer thing. People are so scared of being perceived, being judged. They try to fit in and be what they think is acceptable. Artists show up in many different outlets but creativity forces you outside the box, challenges you to be different and for some reason people hate that. They’re brainwashed to think it’s wrong. Art is political it will always be, it tells a story. We need art because art is community and this society wants to take that way from us. Art is resistance. There’s power in people, art builds community so keep creating. STOP USING AI It’s literally rotting our brains and wasting an astronomical amount of water. Ai is so tacky please stop.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The trust I build with someone. The appreciation they have for my talent & art. The fact that I get to be my full self with no rules and no judgment. It’s the greatest gift I can have. Capitalism forces you to mask and hide, you must always appeal a certain way to the public. I hated working retail, it drained every amount of joy from me. I’ve never been so depressed and angry. This job allows me the freedom to be my own boss and I get to choose who I invite in my space. If you don’t respect my morals or craft then you’re not welcome.

Contact Info:

• Website: Junieprose.square.site
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/junie.p.rose?igsh=aWJiam15amo2N2p2&utm_source=qr
• Other: Tik tok : https://www.tiktok.com/@junie.p.rose?_t=ZT-8ykfGnLZeCN&_r=1

Image Credits
Cover photo : jaquelinaperezphoto, Me in the field: perspectivebykay_