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Borealis one of the best

Brad Bird, Oceanside Star
Published: Thursday, July 24, 2008

 

          
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A Qualicum Beach hair salon has won second place in an international contest.

Virginia Worcester, owner-operator of Borealis Hair Bar 'N' Tanning 2, won the honour in the John Paul Mitchell Color Bar Salon Contest, based on her salon design and community contributions.

The contest was open to hundreds of Canadian and American businesses."It's a pretty incredible feeling," said Worcester, who has been in business here for 12 years.

She heard of the win on Friday, July 18, the day of the grand opening in her new digs. Borealis is now located in the Villa Rosa Building at 105-222 West Second Ave.

"I'm one person on my own who has designed it on my own," she said, noting that her submissions of photos and essays won over many other bigger salons in large North American cities.

Her community contributions include holding the Borealis Women's show each April and a secret Santa fund-raiser every Christmas.

Her clientele, both men and women, tend to be the younger set who fancy a funky salon, she said.

Her winnings include a spread in The Cut and Dry Magazine, money and other perks. "In the industry it's a pretty big deal," she said.

But she almost didn't get word of the win. The company phoned three times to tell of her placing and she put them off twice, thinking they were tele-marketers.

© Oceanside Star 2008