During the late '20s my father left us. My mother was in a complete hole with no money, and we were evicted.

So I was shampooing at 14. But I've always thought that had I the opportunity for an education, I would have been an architect. There's no question about it.

We learned to put discipline in the haircuts by using actual geometry, actual architectural shapes and bone structure. The cut had to be perfect and layered beautifully, so that when a woman shook it, it just fell back in.

If someone were to ask me, 'What's the number one thing, in essence, that you left behind?'... it was the teaching of others, so that they could take my work and take it further.

Women were going back to work, they were assuming their own power. They didn't have time to sit under the dryer.

It's not recognized by enough people as a worthy craft.

My idea was to cut shape into the hair, to use it like fabric and take away everything that was superfluous.