We met while both working at TIGI back in 2012, but it definitely wasn’t a love story from the start! In fact, Alex was a bit of a hard taskmaster. I think we always liked each other, but at the beginning, we didn’t really get on. Because I was like the new kid on the block, I think Alex was giving me a bit of a hard time.
It took him about a year, but then he softened. I was with TIGI for about eight years in total, but around three years into my role, I was really missing the hands-on hairdressing side of things. When you have a global role, you end up sitting in leadership meetings, and there’s a lot of strategy planning, so you’re taken away from actually doing hair, and I missed that. So, I guess the reason STIL was born was because of my love for hair; I just really wanted to get back into the salon.
In the early days of STIL, Alex very much had his role at TIGI, so he was more of a silent supporter and partner at the beginning. After four or five years, the salon grew, and I couldn’t really do it on my own because of where it was going. Alex became more and more involved and then, after Covid, things changed. It was all just like a really natural progression.
We’re very similar. In any partnership, it’s really important that you respect and mentor each other. There are so many qualities Alex has that I really admire. He’s incredible because he’s got a real understanding of the creative process in terms of imagery and building a brand. It just works because we bring different things to the table. We’re both very driven and we have a very strong sense of brand identity. We know what our brand is and what we want it to feel and look like, and we have a very similar taste level. There’s also a lot of things that Alex is much better at than me. Often, I’ll have an idea, but Alex is the master of making it happen, and he does this to the very best standard.
Before I met Alex, I was always told that people can’t be two things at once. You can’t be creative and then be really savvy at business… but Alex can absolutely do both! He’s brilliant in terms of negotiation and business, and how things should be logically, but then he’s also very creative. You know when you go to school and there’s always that one really annoying person who’s good at everything? That’s Alex.
It is hard to separate our work and home, and there will always be an element of work in our personal life, but I don’t see it as a negative. That’s just the way it is; it’s a lifestyle.
When we met, we were relaunching the TIGI colour business, and Christel had just won her third British Colour Technician of the Year award. Christel always says that apparently there was an email I sent her that basically said, “Listen, this isn’t how you do things”. I think I told her she had to go and clean up the academy, but I don’t remember it!
Fairly soon after that, it was Christel’s birthday and I sent her a nice message. And then we were travelling a lot, so we were always with each other, working either on shows, shoots or education. To watch what Christel was doing when we were at TIGI – which was the fastest growing brand in the world for those years – came from an incredible amount of drive. Christel did incredibly well launching STIL in Notting Hill, but she very quickly outgrew it. We knew that we needed another salon. It was a full-on, two-year project, with me on site every day, so it was just a natural progression for me to then fully commit and help give it the legs that it needed.
I think I’m the luckiest man in the world to have found Christel. I know I’m not easy; I’m extremely focused on attention to detail, and I know that can really rub people up the wrong way. But Christel is exactly the same, so I’m very fortunate that we fell into each other’s lives. The word that I would use for Christel and myself is ‘obsessed’, but it’s very inspiring to be part of a partnership when it’s winning. What I love about Christel’s approach to the job is that she will never give in and she’s a pure perfectionist.
As much as we really try to leave work at the door, it always comes home with us – we’re probably better at leaving our personal lives at home when we go to work! It’s important to try to get some escapism by switching off, getting out into nature and disconnecting as much as possible when you are so invested all the time. We head off for a few days to a place in Somerset every now and again, and we’ve had some of our best memories there.
Where do we see STIL in the future? The truth is, we don’t want multiple salons; what we really want is to become iconic. For us, it’s about building a brand that you immediately associate with everything that we stand for and that’s synonymous with a culture and an ethic. We’ve got a long way to go, but we are so proud of where we are currently. I think that you’re only ever halfway to where you actually want to be!
Who’s the bigger perfectionist?
Alex: It’s equal, but I’m the most stubborn.
Who’s the chattiest?
Christel.
Who takes longer to get ready for a night out?
Christel.
If you had to describe your partnership in three words, what would they be?
Creative, respectful, loving.
Who is the hairdressing duo you most admire?
Alex: My dad always looks at Christel and I and says we’re ‘budgies’, and I suppose what he means is that we’re perfectly suited to each other. The only other couple that Christel and I also think of as ‘budgies’ are Anthony and Pat Mascolo. We’re very fortunate to have shared part of their journey, we have very similar DNA.
Christel: And, if it wasn’t for them, we would never have actually met!
