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Hair Power Couple Ed & Brenette Leifer
Ask most married men their number
one pet peeve and you’ll likely hear their frustration with the time it takes their wives to get ready for night on the town. Not Ed Leifer. He understands what his wife Brenette is doing in front of the mirror, and helps her by blowing out and styling her hair. It only makes sense. Ed, 62, has been a professional hair stylist for more than 40 years, having trained at the legendary Vidal Sassoon, and perfected his color and cutting skills with prestigious brands, including Goldwell, Toni & Guy, and Redken. He and Brenette, 56, will be married 26 years this July after meeting at Blades Design Group, the Spokane Salon they now own together, where at the time, she was one of his employees. She is now a master colorist and
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stylist with more than 25 years of experience in the hair industry. Ed grew up on a farm, but knew early on he’d rather cut hair than wheat. Even as even as a kid, his four sisters would pay him to brush their hair and curl it around empty orange juice cans. In 1978, a week before Ed’s 21st birthday, he became a player in the glamorous, bigger than life hair scene. “There weren’t many men in the business then,” Ed remarks. “It was really fun because every event you went to there were 5,000 women and one guy.” “He was a real hot rod back then,” Brenette says. “Women loved and adored him.” “I did like that Warren Beaty movie (“Shampoo”), and I had a motorcycle and a blow dryer,” Ed jokes. “I had long hair until it started getting all white and then I cut it off.” Playful banter aside, Ed and Brenette have a deep rooted commitment to the technical skills and creative inspiration necessary to give their clients the absolute best the salon can offer. They’ve even started an apprenticeship program to inspire aspiring stylists to build their career by training in the salon and grow with the business as a regular member of the staff. “We look at it as something very artistic, and we take a lot of pride in our work,” Brenette says. “We’re continually educating ourselves on the latest styles and techniques, and that’s one of the reasons we continue to be very passionate about what we’re doing.” “Being a hairstylist is like being a painter,” Ed adds, “and you get to sell every painting.” In recent years, the hair industry has seen a significant drop in women seeking to have their