Styling queen … Hairdresser Audrey Gauci was named the Apprentice of the Year by the Essendon Lions Club last week. 59611 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By Natalie Gallenti
And Audrey Gauci was no different. The St Albans resident remembers being a five-year-old and knowing one day she would work in a salon and create masterpieces with people’s hair.
She wasn’t wrong. The talented 18-year-old was last week awarded the Lions Club of Essendon Apprentice of the Year Award. Ms Gauci was competing against the likes of apprentice carpenters, plumbers and electricians and said she was shocked when she heard her name being called.
“I was very excited when I received the award. I was so surprised and couldn’t believe I won,” Ms Gauci said.
The vivacious teenager put her success down to a lot of hard work from a young age.
Ms Gauci recalls her younger days working at her aunty’s salon in Sunshine before getting her first part-time job at Koukla Hair Studios in Niddrie, where she has been working ever since. From modest beginnings when she spent her days sweeping the floors and washing clients’ hair, she now manages the salon and has plans to one day open one of her own.
“Hair is my life. I learn something new every day and I never get bored.”
So passionate is she about hairdressing that Ms Gauci has never taken a sick day and says her fellow staff members and customers are like a second family, which makes work even more enjoyable.
“I get a kiss and hug from each of my clients because they are so happy and it puts a smile on my face.”
But perhaps it’s not just her hairdressing prowess that keeps customers happy but also the sound of her singing.
“I sing to my clients. I stand and sing all day and if I’m not singing they think something is wrong.”
