Morgan Drew | OWNER
My name is Morgan Drew and this year i celebrate 7 years in business. I am the sole owner of Ataraxia by Morgan Drew. This business was started from scratch with only a dining chair and a random mirror in my mum and dads kitchen and it still to this day is a working progress. When I started Hairdressing I was 14years old and i fell in love. I traded in my saturday’s and social life for long days sweeping floors and washing hair. I then started my much anticipated apprenticeship when I was 16 at a local salon and I truly am grateful for the opportunity’s I was given and the hard, confronting lessons I learned at this salon. I completed my Cert 3 Apprenticeship in March 2010 when I was just shy of 20years old. Still craving to know and learn more I went on to do extra studies with the Australasian College in Sydney where I completed my Cert 5 Diploma in hairdressing. I felt that Hairdressing wasn’t for me and I did not have the skills needed to succeed so I left the salon behind and started teaching etiquette courses for a Modeling agency as my primary job in October 2012. Shortly after I was inundated with messages and phone calls off women wanting their hair done. I was missing being in salon, I love being hands on and constantly challenged, I love to create, inspire and break all rules and boundaries, I needed more. In January 2013 I had this crazy idea that ‘hey, maybe I am good enough’ So I took a leap of faith and opened my own business, my first ever salon. Now when I say salon, please don’t get excited just yet. I upgraded to two salon chairs and two standing mirrors in a garage with a basin that ran into my mum and dads bath tub with the attached chair placed in the shower entry. There was nothing fancy, just little old me with some colour tubes and a serious addiction to hair. Little did I know that this would be one of the most challenging experiences i am yet to come across in my life, but on the other hand equally as rewarding. I worked my f##king ass off in this space Day in and Day out I started at 7am in the morning and worked through to 11pm at night every day, 7days a week. I worked my way to a third chair, a designated makeup area and I hired a junior assistant not long after I reached the point where I was too overwhelmed and I hired a makeup artist to take over that side of things, did I mention I’m a qualified makeup artist? I had a full book of over 200 current clientele and a overgrown waiting list of new clientele ready to jump on board when the situation suited, I was booked ‘weeks’ in advance. ‘Morgan Drew Hairstyling Mua’ was a place where you wanted to be, a salon that was known by many. I grew my name and reputation with Social Media. I use to take photos of my work and gather my friends for photo shoots. I would convince them to let me stick feathers and shells to their face, wrap them with snakes and paint them gold. I would then use this content for branding and to create ‘talk’ I still to this day will gather my friends for crazy photo shoot ideas to create original content. I am my business, i am my salon. I find myself overcome with emotion when writing this because this is something I hold so much passion and love for. I am now 30years old and in January I will be celebrating 8 successful years in business. March 2016 ATARAXIA BY MORGAN DREW opened its doors, a 6 station salon with an extra makeup station and a beauty room. Myself and my apprentice. Since Opening Ataraxia has expanded our services and our salon to 8 stations, A Manager/Stylist- Lauren Pender, 2 Stylist’s Lauren Wheatley and Liz Hensby and amazing Apprentice Sarah Woodger, not only a salon but also an online shopping portal for all your beauty needs. Ataraxia now has their own Hair Extension, Accessories and Candle Ranges exclusively to Ataraxia. I personally have traveled to Sydney to shoot 'hair tutorials' for Fanola Australia in 2016, Added overseas weddings to my resume in 2017. Had my First Child 2018, Had my second child 2019 added a blog to my overflowing to do list 2020 and have finally NAILED IT when it comes to my staff! Even though there is plenty of hard road ahead for me, the amount of hard work that was put into the road behind me will forever humble me. I am an advocate for Strong Women, Success and doing anything you physically can to make your dreams come true! I am a Hairstylist, Master Colourist & Balayage Specialist. I have over 10years wedding experience in and 16years Industry experience And I feel it is my duty to you to introduce you to
Ataraxia - A state that comes when the mind is at ease
Lauren Pender
My name is Lauren Pender, I am 24 years old , a Senior Hairdresser and the Manager at Ataraxia By Morgan Drew.
I am fun , caring , quirky and a little silly but thats all part of the fun ! I love a chat and creating beautiful hair for my clients !
I specialise in all hairdressing skills but my most favourite are blondes , balayage , colour correction and creative cutting . I pride my self on customer service and always strive to do my best!
My journey as a hairdresser began at 14 , when I landed my first ever job as a salon assistant , after just a few shifts of sweeping the floor I quickly realised that being a hairdresser is what my dreams desired and I was eager to learn !
2 years later I started a 4 year apprenticeship where my skills developed and my passion grew. In 2018 , 3 years after completing my apprenticeship I needed a change so I went with my gut feeling and followed my heart to “ Ataraxia by Morgan Drew” in my time working with Morgan my hairdressing skills have broadened immensely, my passion for hairdressing is stronger than ever and my love for education and learning has grown. In 2019 I was given the opportunity to be the Manager at Ataraxia , and boy am i so proud to be !
So theres a little time line of my journey so far , 10 years in the industry later I now have a consistent booking clientele , confidence , leadership skills and a passion for hairdressing that keeps on growing !
I love seeing all off my beautiful clients every day , there is no better buzz than seeing your client love their “ new do “
Ataraxia is my hair home and boy does hair have my heart
Elizabeth Hensby
Hello My name is Liz hensby,
And I am 22 years young, and an emerging stylist at Ataraxia by Morgan drew.
Creating beautiful hair is my favourite thing to do, from extensions to that perfect blonde I’ve never faced a challenge I can’t handle!
My Ataraxia journey started just shy of 3 years ago and in that time I have not only grown as a stylist but as a person to.
My favourite thing about hair dressing would have to be styling! Especially a bouncy blowdry! Although I do enjoy a hair extension make over ! I pride myself in going that extra mile to make my clients feel comfortable, to not only be their hairdresser but their friend to. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing my clients leave happy!
I’m so passionate about learning and creating new skills and techniques.
My biggest supporter Morgs has helped me become the best I can be and i have learnt so much from her as a stylist and still continue to learn new things everyday. I couldn’t imagine my life without my Ataraxia fam and can’t wait to see where my journey takes me!