Press and Media

Mrs. Clarke & I: The Sydney Hair Studio

Redefining The Salon Experience

‘Hairdressing is a job you do from your head and your heart.’ – Garreth

Lenagh, Mrs Clarke & I

Facing a beautiful limestone church in Darlinghurst, you’ll find Mrs Clarke & I, an unassuming

hairdressing studio run by Garreth Lenagh. With two prominent tattoos poking above his shirt

collar and a thick UK Leeds accent, you won’t miss him.

Garreth’s illustrious career and effervescent personality have taken him around the world and

landed him here, as business owner and lead hairdresser at Mrs. Clarke & I. Cutting and

colouring, smoothing and extending styles for all genders and personalities, a visit to his studio

promises a great vision, a great laugh, and a great hair style.

Two years after its conception, the studio doors are opening with confidence, ready to welcome

new clients, colleagues and creatives. In conversation with Garreth, read how Mrs. Clarke & I

came to be, and find out who the studio wants to attract.

Who is Mrs. Clarke?

The Mrs. Clarke & I studio was founded on an ethos of inclusivity – providing a truly safe space

where talented individuals can practice hairdressing on a more independent level. Garreth is an

incredibly switched on and charmingly eccentric hair creative… But who is Mrs Clarke? He

might be the only person in the world who knows.

‘She's the old lady at the end of the street, that if you didn't know where your kids

were and someone said, they're at Mrs. Clarke, you knew they were fine. She’s like

Iris Apfel. She knows her stuff. But she's humble, she's kind and her house is a

safe space.’

Before Mrs Clarke came to be, Garreth started working as a freelancer himself at friend Josh

Jennings’ North Bondi salon, Mr & Mrs Clarke. After leaving his previous job at highly revered

Sydney studio Prema, he admits he was incredibly nervous. ‘What if the clients don’t come?

What if the other hairdressers laugh at me?’ The night before his first day, he found inspiration

watching a Dolly Parton interview, when the singer was asked about her striking image.

‘They said to her, ‘Dolly, you don't need all of this. You don't need the hair and the

makeup… you’re just an amazing singer’. And she said, ‘I know I am. But if they

ever come for me, they’ll only ever get her.’ And it just really resonated with me asall the fluff that’s often offered, all I

needed was to concentrate on producing incredible haircuts.’

And so Mrs. Clarke, borrowed from Josh’s middle name, grew into the voice that marketed

freelancer Garreth’s emerging brand, communicated with clients, and became her own

personna. ‘Then my friends were ringing and asking me how did I meet, how did I get the job?’

Mrs. Clarke could handle the ‘bad cop’ situations, while Garreth was still ‘the friendly

hairdresser’.

‘Josh gave me a place to hide and a place to heal. And it was a really good

transitional spot to sort of build up my confidence to open my own business with

my own bricks and mortar.’

The ‘and I’, then, is everyone else – not just Garreth. ‘It's the clients, it'll be the staff, it'll be

anyone who visits’. Now working out of his own studio, Garreth hopes he and ‘Mrs. Clarke’ can

offer the same support and armour for all who step inside, whether it’s a fresh look for a new

client, gentle therapy for a loyal customer, or a position for an emerging freelancer.

A Background Story: Who Is Garreth Lenagh?

Garreth has been working with hair for over two decades, allowing him to experiment within the

industry whilst continuing to grow his passion and talent.

‘The question was put towards me – ‘Where do you want to go?’ That was such a

limiting question because I feel as a hairdresser you get bottlenecked into salon,

editorial, or teaching. I said all three. And I got the question ‘Why not be amazing

at one thing, rather than average in all three? And my answer was ‘why not be

amazing in all three?’’

Once you sit in Garreth’s chair and begin to hear him talk about hair, it’s clear you’re in safe

hands. Garreth Lenagh has directed numerous shows at global fashion weeks for designers

including Aje and Carla Zampatti in Sydney, the Blondes in New York and various designers in

London. He spent a season in TV as hair director for The Voice Australia. He was also selected

Global Style Council for the

rebrand of haircare giant KMS where he seen his work displayed in Times Square NYC.

‘It was a self-achievement when I was stood beside him working with him, asking

my opinion. You know your worth when you're sat around a table full of people

you admire.’

This opportunity led into an ongoing collaboration with the production of the all-natural Anti

Collective Hair Care range, which is stocked in the Mrs. Clarke & I studio. Garreth settled in

Sydney in 2009, joining forces with Prema to start building his salon portfolio editorial career