If you asked Adrian Carew he would tell you that he has been around the world of hair since birth, but he actually started in 1990.
“My mum June Carew was a big hairdresser here,” Adrian said. “I fell into doing hair. But, you know, sometimes there’s a path that’s made for you but you just ignore it, and then you turn around and come right back to it.
Adrian revealed that initially it was something he didn’t want to get into.
“Before I used to be in front of the camera. But now I’m behind the camera, prepping people and doing all that,” he said. “Hairdressing has so many things to offer other than standing behind a chair.”
Since he’s been living in Toronto, Adrian has been taking advantage of all that hairdressing has to offer.
“I’m just grasping the opportunities that have passed in front of me,” he said. “It’s taken me to film, it’s taken me to working with celebs, travelling internationally. I’ve worked with celebrities like Deborah Cox, Sheryl Lee Ralph, super models Coco Rocha and Tara Gill, huge fashion shows like Chanel and being the key hairstylist for a number of design companies in Toronto. There is a big company called Great Constantine which is soaring in Toronto. So it’s been fun.”
Adrian has had great success after transplanting himself in Toronto and opening his own salon, Hair2Inc.
“I look at myself as a hairstylist or hairdresser who has the ability to be able to do everything,” he said. “We do have our challenges but you have to be able to overcome those challenges and go after what you want. I’ve learned that if someone doesn’t think that I can do something, I just ignore them and keep on going. I’ve built a name for myself in Toronto and people know that I can do certain things.”
Adrian is particularly proud of an online tutorial that he recently did for Vogue Italia.
“Vogue is the highest acclaimed magazine in the world,” he said. “The tutorial is showing the simplicity of achieving looks from the runway from 2013.”
After 27 years in the business, Adrian has achieved a certain finesse in creating his looks and working with clients.
“I love change and for an individual to get their money’s worth,” Adrian said. “I enjoy my job because it makes people happy, and makes people feel sexy and beautiful . . . . My gratification is that smile.”
Adrian also knows the importance of a great hairstyle.
“It’s the image that you have, and hair is one of the key things in an image,” he said. “You can be wearing the best, most expensive clothes and from the neck up it’s not working and it takes you from that high to a low.”
Even after achieving the success that he has, Adrian will tell you that he’s the same person.
“This is my job and I enjoy doing it,” he said. “I like the fact that I can make people beautiful regardless and I’m always up for the challenge.”
Though he’s worked with some high-profile celebrities, he said that he hoped one day to work with fellow Combermerian Rihanna.
“That’s my other goal right now,” Adrian said. “We Combermerians always have to stick together and we put ourselves to always strive for the best.”