Paws for Thought

meets one of the latest rising stars in the grooming world….

Helen Kirby loves the world of dog grooming, and despite being just 30 years-old is already making her mark.

Taking up the profession aged 23, Helen has travelled to Malaysia to learn the art of Asian Fusion, appeared on Pooch Perfect riding her skateboard to work, and now teaches her skills at the Bone Idol Academy in Hove.

But despite earning her teaching credentials and serving up iPET Network courses to new groomers, Helen believes that in many ways her own journey is only just beginning.

“It was actually my mum that got me into dog grooming. I was doing office work before and I really wasn’t enjoying it, I was thinking “Is this really my life”.

“And then my mum said, ‘why don’t you just try doing level one and see how you get on?’

“She had looked into the qualifications too. I didn’t see any route into it other than doing the qualifications because I personally felt that there was no way I would want to start doing it without knowing anything about it.” Says Helen, with a story which will feel relatable to many people who are just starting out in dog grooming.

She added: “I was really surprised by how much work is actually involved with dog grooming. I always say, ‘practice makes more practice.’”

Helen never had her own dog growing up, but her auntie did, and the young girl loved doting on the pampered pooch. She has only recently got her first dog Sebastian the Standard Poodle, who gets a bath and brush every week.

She says that she considers getting Sebastian (alongside appearing on the Pooch Perfect TV show) to be among her greatest achievements, a statement

Helen Kirby - one of the grooming world’s rising stars

in-keeping with Helen’s spirit of constantly pushing forward and trying new things.

Speaking about how she feels the grooming industry is growing, she said: “I think there are so many more opportunities now than there have been previously, I don’t know whether that is to do with social media.

“There are a lot more people grooming dogs now and there are lots more schools to train with.

“I think by the power of Instagram and things like that, people are making a name for themselves. “There are groomers in lots of different counties that I would love to go and train with, but without that connection on social media it would be harder to find out about what is going on in other

places.”

Just before the pandemic in 2020 Helen travelled to Malaysia, where she learned from the experts how to perfect the Asian Fusion grooming style, at the Pets Icon Grooming Academy in Kuala Lumpur. Something that she demonstrates to students at Bone Idol during their course and recreated on the Pooch Perfect TV Show.

Speaking about the adventurous experience she said: “At the start of my grooming career I remember seeing pictures on the internet of dogs that looked like teddy bears. So cute that you questioned if they were real dogs! “So, I made it my goal to learn this style. As I have progressed through the years, I had worked out how to groom in that style at a basic level and knew that if I wanted to perfect the skill I would need to go to Asia and learn from the professionals.

“Before we were allowed to scissor anything, we had to draw the style of groom to absolute perfection. Their theory is if you can’t draw the shape with a pencil, how are you going to scissor it? “So, we spent a lot of time rubbing out and redrawing the perfect circular shapes.

“I learnt the correct shapes and techniques for Asian fusion on a dog model with synthetic hair before we got to groom a real dog.

I was honestly blown away with how mathematical, methodical and how each style is linked to the dog’s anatomy.”

Helen added: “I feel that this industry is about constant growth, we are looking to bring in Level Four Dog Grooming here at Bone Idol.

“Haircuts change throughout the years, from a 1960s beehive to a Mohawk in the punk era, owners are going that way with their dogs, so you have to be ahead on style and constantly learning new things.”

Helen’s journey to becoming a fullyfledged teacher at the academy began in 2018, when Bone Idol met the iPET Network and started planning for the academy site.

Helen relished doing the teaching qualifications alongside her work in the Brighton salon, and when Bone Idol opened the state of-the-art academy in Hove in May 2020 she was raring to go.

For a teacher Helen is relatively young, but she believes that her enthusiasm and ambition to carry on learning are what drives the academy and helps the students to shine.

She said: “I love meeting lots of people who love dogs, everyone is really enthusiastic. I do miss doing so much grooming a bit, but it is so rewarding to see people grow.

“If I was to give advice to another younger person about going into teaching I would say definitely, do it, as long as you feel you are ready to teach.

“You have to continue your growth too though, that is so important, you can’t just become a teacher and think ‘that’s it I’m not going to push myself anymore’ you have to keep wanting to learn yourself, to pass it on to other people.

“Brighton is dog friendly. Literally everyone has a dog! If you go somewhere and it isn’t dog friendly it feels odd. Even the higher end restaurants allow dogs, it’s really amazing and the perfect place to work and teach dog grooming.”

You can follow Helen on Instagram by going to @helen_jayne_kirby

To find out more about the Bone Idol Academy go to www.boneidol.co.uk/ pages/academy-home

Helen would ride to the Pooch Perfect set on her skateboard

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