south BELFAST : PEOPLE In PROFILE
Diane Lemon, stylist at Peter Oliver tells us...
“WHY I LOVE... the lisburn road” WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR CAREER PATH TO DATE? My hairdressing career started 18 years ago when I got my first Saturday job in my local hairdressers. I loved everything about it, the atmosphere in the salon, helping the clients look their best. I then enrolled in a hairdressing course at college and completed my 3 years training, while also getting experience in a top salon in Belfast. My very good friend Emma has ran the shop with Peter for the past seven years, but from January 2015 Emma will be concentrating on being a mum, so I will be taking over the running of the business. I’m looking forward to continuing to offer the best possible service and growing the business. We’re fortunate that we have two of Belfast’s top stylists with us, Gayle Abusow and Aaron Raven HOW DO YOU SPEND A TYPICAL DAY AT WORK? A typical day for me is catching up with messages, emails etc on my journey to work. Once in work I check appointments, get our own espresso machine on for our clients. We get such a variety of clients, I always look forward to chatting to them all while making them look their best with a great haircut. We have a great team here at Peter Oliver’s and I enjoy every day here, it’s not like work.
they do the most amazing chocolates, my favourite being the salted caramel, and they are presented in a beautiful gift box - so they make a great gift idea. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE RESTAURANT/ CAFE ON THE LISBURN ROAD? WHY? My favourite cafe on the Lisburn road has to be the Yellow Door, they have fresh bread and pastries every morning, amazing sandwiches and salads, great friendly staff, great fresh food. I also love Porterhouse, if you are after an amazing steak this is the place to go, and for the sweet tooth I love the Cookie Box for their milkshakes! WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO SOCIALISE ON THE LISBURN ROAD? WHY? There is such a great choice. I love catching up with friends over food, so Rocket and Relish is great for burgers, Chalco’s serves very authentic Mexican, and they do great burritos. The Albany is also a great addition to the road.
Rocket and Relish is one of Diane’s favourite places to catch up with friends.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE LISBURN ROAD? I love that it has everything you need is on one road, great clothes shops, my favourite being Déjà Vu, I would get a lot of my clothes there, Ruth is great at putting different outfits together. The Lash Lounge is a wee gem, a great way to treat yourself for a night out. I actually get my own hair done at Andrew Watson’s, a lovely salon and Andrew is a great stylist. It’s also great having Marks & Spencer, as I can pop in after work to pick up dinner etc. There is something for everyone on the Lisburn Road. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE HIDDEN GEM ON THE LISBURN ROAD? WHY? With so many cool shops and boutiques it’s hard to pick one but I would have to say my favourite is The Chocolate Room, 32 South Belfast Life
Diane loves the steaks at The Porterhouse.
Ballyhackamore’s proximity to Stormont is great for Glyn’s day to day work.