For the past 15 years Joseph McCalman and his wife Joan have been an integral part of Guyana’s multi-million dollar hair and beauty industry; their reputations extending beyond owning and operating a beauty salon and into what, these days, is the equally lucrative pursuit of training mostly young women searching for career opportunities.
Hair Tech International, one of the best-known institutions of its kind in the city has its roots in Joseph McCalman’s past as a sort of family stylist. Apart from serving as a barber to male family members and friends at weekends, he recalls assisting his mother with the application of then well-known Amritdhara brand, in the dyeing of her hair. In 1994, McCalman left Guyana for Barbados where he spent four years at the Caribbean Design Academy. He returned home in 1997 to practice his craft, working at various local establishments including Studio 7 on Duncan Street, GB’s in First Federation Building on Croal Street and Blue Flame on America Street. Eventually, he acquired the premises at 9 North Road, Bourda.
Fifteen years has been more than sufficient time for McCalman to develop an understanding of the sector that goes way beyond his professional attachment to it. He believes that the sustained popularisation of hairdressing is both a boon to the Guyana economy and a valuable avenue for the acquisition of a potentially lucrative profession, particularly for