NOT many first year apprentices buy the business, but this situation is integral to the history of a long-term Lavington family business.
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Mandy Sparks had to hire a qualified hairdresser to oversee her apprenticeship when she bought Lavington Hairdressing in 1983.
The salon celebrated its 40th anniversary on Tuesday at its Wagga Road site, its third location since Lyn Mantell opened in 1977 up the road.
Present owner David Langshaw joined the business when he married Mandy in 1988 and chose to keep it going when his wife died in 2008 after a long illness.
“We just have a loyalty to our staff and the community,” Mr Langshaw said.
“My wife-to-be during her schooling was going down there and working for nothing, she had a passion for hairdressing and eventually Lyn put her on as a first-year apprentice.”
Family connections remain strong at Lavington Hairdressing, with Mr Langshaw’s second wife Lyn another owner, his son Jarrod a casual employee and stepdaughter Audrey Bowman the manager.
And these ties also extend further, with Mr Langshaw’s uncle Peter Bluck a customer for more than 30 years.
“My nephew married the proprietor and we had no choice,” Mr Bluck said with a laugh.
Over four decades the business has employed 19 apprentices and 10 qualified hairdressers.
In 1992 Lavington Hairdressing bought the Griffith Road site that was formerly Rob’s Auto Repair. Nine years later, the business returned to Wagga Road and underwent extensive renovations.
Patricia Banks, another three-decade customer, said it would be one of Lavington’s oldest salons.
“I started mainly because it was so local,” she said.
“To begin with I didn’t drive, I came up on my bike.”
Weekly visits have built the relationships – Mrs Banks’ granddaughter did work experience at Lavington Hairdressing as well.
“You tell them all your troubles and they’ve all been very friendly,” Mrs Banks said.