We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lisa Von Kurvink. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lisa below.

Lisa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

I think I have been trying to ‘prove’ myself since I’ve started out in the industry. There tends to be a stigma that a hairdresser is ‘just’ a hairdresser, that it’s not that lucrative or a serious career. I, however, was drawn to the industry not only because it was something I really enjoyed doing, but I saw great potential in leaving a name behind.

The first hair show I went to while in beauty school, I saw all the platform artists on stage doing their thing and quite frankly was mesmerized by the cameras and lights, and thought, that could be me.

That was almost 22 years ago, and a lot has happened since. I became quite fascinated with Avant-Garde hair pretty early in my career, and eventually tried my hand at it. Turns out, I’m pretty damned good at it! I also found out that I absolutely loved being on set. Being able to create beautiful hair art and super cool editorial looks AND have it in print to live on forever is exhilarating! I hope someday for my great grandchildren to find old magazines in a basement somewhere, or more likely be scrolling through whatever Pintrest is in the future and see my work and be proud.

It turns out that is not the end. Once my kids were old enough for me to start spending short amounts of time away from them to travel, I started educating. I also have very successfully worked behind the chair for 21 years. and being able to pass along knowledge that was passed to me, has become very important to me as well. Hopefully, I can touch a few young hairdressers and give them the confidence and know how to have long and prosperous careers as well.

I not only want to push the boundaries of hair fashion and leave a trail of evidence behind, I want to push the younger generation forward. Most of all I want to be known for what I do the best, and that’s hair.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have been doing hair for 21 years. I started at one of the top salons in Beverly Hills as an assistant and went on to work there for 11 years. I was immediately thrown to the wolves, I was shampooing celebrities within the first week I was there. It was one of the most incredible yet humbling experiences of my life. However, it made me the hairdresser I am today.

I was given opportunity after opportunity while in LA. I have done more runway shows than I can count (I even showed for Ms. Anna Winters, herself!!!) I have had celebrities in my chair. I was a colorist on an episode of E Entertainment’s How do I Look. I have been published 100’s of time both nationally and internationally, donning many covers. I am an educator for L’anza Healing Haircare. I am a 3x NAHA (North American Hairstyling Awards) finalist, a 3x Oneshot Award finalist, 2x International Beauty Industry Finalist and Avant-Garde Hairdresser of the year for Southwest Hairstyling Awards. And through all of this I’ve built a successful business entirely on my own.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The hair industry is not for the faint of heart. It doesn’t matter how amazing of a hairdresser you are; you will have clients that are upset from time to time. sometimes it’s simply because you and your client have a difference of esthetic and taste and sometimes it’s because you f#*@ed up. But if I buckled and shut down every time this happened, I’d be working at the DMV right now. It’s incredibly important to take each and every single one of these moments and turn them into opportunities, ask yourself what went wrong and what can I do better next time. Maybe it’s communication, maybe it’s the color formula you mixed. It’s also important to accept that you simply cannot please everyone, there are situations where you felt proud of the work you’ve done, yet they call the next day anyway., but I always take this opportunity to try to please the client any way. If you can accept this, the easier it is to grow through the tough times. This applies to competition and editorial work as well. There have been many, many times I have put my blood, sweat and tears into a collection, spending months and tons of money on something I believe whole heartedly in only for it to never go anywhere. But I believe in myself, I believe I have a great eye, I believe have a vision to share, and this keeps me going. Every time I flex my creative muscles, they get stronger. I have shed tears and felt like giving up at times, but I always get up dust myself off and keep going.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I started my career very lucky. I was in the best salon with the best opportunities. Then my husband’s company moved to Phoenix, and my whole world changed. I went from being very privileged to having nothing but my resume. I had to unlearn that opportunities are not just handed out. If I was going to succeed in Phoenix, I was going to have to hustle and work for it myself. And that’s what I did. I made my own opportunities. I wasn’t going to let my location hold me back. This is really when got serious about competition, I started doing my own shoots and creating things for myself. I also had to rebuild a clientele from scratch. And truly at the end of the day, what I’ve done on my own I have so much more pride in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lisakurvink.com
• Instagram: @lisavonkut
• Yelp: Lisa Von Kurvink

Image Credits

all photos photographer Keith Bryce