00:00:01 My name is Claire Berretti and I manage and run Sejour Hair Salon in Chelsea. No two days are the same, you're working with completely diverse people. You know, there's different personalities, not just with the staff that you work with but also clients. I just love working with people, I like customer service. We all treat our clients the same so whether you're a celebrity or whether you're a working Mum, you get the same level of service.
00:00:28 It can, celebrities can be very demanding. But again, that's part of the job. You know, that's what makes it so different. I actually left school when I was 15 because I wanted to be a dancer and that's exactly what I did. My Mum and Dad had theatrical digs, they lived just along the road from the theatre and we used to have dancers and actors and actresses that stayed with us. It was a lot of fun. The best fun I've ever had.
00:00:55 My thoughts on the actors and actresses and dancers as a kid was they've got a nice life and they're all, they enjoy what they do, really. The main thing for me was the fact that they enjoyed what they did so that got me into that profession. When I said I was going to leave school at 15 my parents advised me not to. They felt that it was better that I had something to fall back on because you can't dance when you're 35 and being15 I didn't listen. I knew that I wasn't going to go onto university or college.
00:01:26 I knew what I wanted to do and I had the opportunity to do so I did it. I went straight into working in the dancing school. At first I assisted the teachers teaching the children and obviously I was still doing classes myself. Then I went onto working in shows at night and I worked up to getting my Equity Card which is a card that you need if you want to work in dance and professional shows. The kind of dancing I was doing was modern, on shows, in theatres, yeah, touring all over the place. That job was probably the best job I've ever had, I have to say.
00:02:01 I enjoyed the whole fitness aspect of it and dancing in shows was, you know, it was great experience, good fun. In terms of my career the most difficult thing was having to accept that I couldn't dance anymore. That was the most difficult thing in my career. When I got to 22 I had a hip injury and that's when in the back of my head I thought I should've listened to my Mum and Dad. I was sad because I really, really enjoyed what I was doing but then I just had to, you have to move on. The hardest part about having to give up what I loved doing was thinking, "What am I going to do next?" So, then I went to night school and I got and HNC in business admin. From getting my HNC I then moved to London and so I've been here and I've been working PA jobs, admin jobs and then this job. I've had to become a lot tougher, I've had to become stronger and I've had to become...I've had to learn not to take things personally.
00:03:01 When I first came into this industry I, yeah, I took everything personally, to from what a client would say to me to a member of staff. Yeah. Do I have any regrets about the path I took? Not one. I'm the kind of person that if I want something badly enough I will work as hard as I have to work to get it, but then I suppose one of my downfalls is if I'm really not interested in something then I won't do it at all.
00:03:28 Where do I hope to be in 10, 20 years time? Doing what I'm doing and being successful. I enjoy doing what I'm doing and I think at the age I am now I'll probably, I can see myself still being, you know, doing what I'm doing now.
ENDS
Claire Berretti
Claire Berretti
My name is Claire Berretti and I manage and run Sejour Hair Salon in Chelsea. No two days are the same, you're working with completely diverse people. You know, there's different personalities, not just with the staff that you work with but also clients. I just love working with people, I like customer service. We all treat our clients the same so whether you're a celebrity or whether you're a working Mum, you get the same level of service.
It can, celebrities can be very demanding. But again, that's part of the job. You know, that's what makes it so different. I actually left school when I was 15 because I wanted to be a dancer and that's exactly what I did. My Mum and Dad had theatrical digs, they lived just along the road from the theatre and we used to have dancers and actors and actresses that stayed with us. It was a lot of fun. The best fun I've ever had.
My thoughts on the actors and actresses and dancers as a kid was they've got a nice life and they're all, they enjoy what they do, really. The main thing for me was the fact that they enjoyed what they did so that got me into that profession. When I said I was going to leave school at 15 my parents advised me not to. They felt that it was better that I had something to fall back on because you can't dance when you're 35 and being15 I didn't listen. I knew that I wasn't going to go onto university or college.
I knew what I wanted to do and I had the opportunity to do so I did it. I went straight into working in the dancing school. At first I assisted the teachers teaching the children and obviously I was still doing classes myself. Then I went onto working in shows at night and I worked up to getting my Equity Card which is a card that you need if you want to work in dance and professional shows. The kind of dancing I was doing was modern, on shows, in theatres, yeah, touring all over the place. That job was probably the best job I've ever had, I have to say.
I enjoyed the whole fitness aspect of it and dancing in shows was, you know, it was great experience, good fun. In terms of my career the most difficult thing was having to accept that I couldn't dance anymore. That was the most difficult thing in my career. When I got to 22 I had a hip injury and that's when in the back of my head I thought I should've listened to my Mum and Dad. I was sad because I really, really enjoyed what I was doing but then I just had to, you have to move on. The hardest part about having to give up what I loved doing was thinking, "What am I going to do next?" So, then I went to night school and I got and HNC in business admin. From getting my HNC I then moved to London and so I've been here and I've been working PA jobs, admin jobs and then this job. I've had to become a lot tougher, I've had to become stronger and I've had to become...I've had to learn not to take things personally.
When I first came into this industry I, yeah, I took everything personally, to from what a client would say to me to a member of staff. Yeah. Do I have any regrets about the path I took? Not one. I'm the kind of person that if I want something badly enough I will work as hard as I have to work to get it, but then I suppose one of my downfalls is if I'm really not interested in something then I won't do it at all.
Where do I hope to be in 10, 20 years time? Doing what I'm doing and being successful. I enjoy doing what I'm doing and I think at the age I am now I'll probably, I can see myself still being, you know, doing what I'm doing now.
ENDS
Claire left school at 15 to follow her dream of becoming a dancer. After a hip injury when she was 22 she was forced to re-think her career and went on to study for an HNC in Business Admin. She enjoys her current role: "I just love working with people, I like customer service".
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