As a young gun, Londoner Mark Jones began his hairdressing career in Knightsbridge under Herta Keller, one time Vidal Sassoon’s European Art Director. She taught him the rules of the craft, and when Mark came to Sydney, Val Garland taught him how to break them. Part of an elite team, cutting and styling for fashion, film and television and the music industry, Mark was steeped in a culture of collaboration. From there to Helmet, where it was all about polish and restraint. Later still at Muse, Mark trained and mentored a new generation of cutters and stylists. In 2012, Mark and colourist Kathy Gilbert pooled their collective talent and vision to create Crown Hair.

Kathy Gilbert’s journey began in Melbourne at John Morrey, a Vidal Sassoon inspired hair salon that pioneered specialising in colour and cutting. A move to Sydney found her sidestepping into fashion and beauty, before rebooting her career in hair under her mentor, master colourist Bryan Thomson-Di Palma. Kathy went on to run the colour department at the groundbreaking hair salon Helmet, nurturing a strong collaborative ethic and close connections with the fashion and film industries. Kathy is a mutli award-winning colourist who has worked with a range of creative and celebrity clients. In 2012, Kathy and hairstylist Mark Jones began the artful collaboration that is Crown Hair.

When Sophie was growing up, it was hanging around her best friend’s mum’s hairdressing salon where she first heard the call to pick up the scissors. The first cut she ever gave was a blunt bob. From then she was hooked. Sophie started her training under Glenn O'Reilly at the in-house salon and spa at the Gibraltar Hotel, Bowral. Now at Crown Hair under Kathy and Mark, Sophie still loves everything about styling, cutting and colouring. Sophie loves to create colour that is not only compliementary to a clients face and skin tone, but to their lifestyle too. Handpainting (balayage) is a technique Sophie enjoys using on her clients; creating a naturally striking effect that looks effortless!

Ever since she can remember, Diana has had an affinity with styling her own hair, as well anyone else would let her! Now a qualified stylist under Kathy and Mark, Diana is quickly cultivating a style of her own. Diana is drawn to the angles and precision of cutting and styling, and loves being able to create modern shapes and textures for her clients. Working with textured hair is a particular interest of Diana's and she is becoming the salon go-to for Keratin smoothing treatments. Diana is also self-taught at braiding and loves creating the perfect braid for clients.

The foundation of Crown is a great team and our Senior Assistant Antonia provides the support that makes it possible for all of us to work at our best.

Our apprentices are really the most important people in the salon. They are our present and future. In the present, they make our days run smoothly but it won’t be long before they join our team of Crown trained hairdressers on the floor managing their own clients.

We take our responsibility to train and mentor seriously and set a very high bar which they show great commitment.