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SEARCHNews Editor Jan Hillenmeyer retires after 35 years with MODERN SALON.
Falling in love with beauty is easy to do. For creative, caring, passionate people, the attraction of hairdressing as a livelihood is strong, and MODERN SALON has been telling salon profession “love stories” for 90 years. Since February 1924, our pages and now online posts share and reflect back how and why you do what you do, how you touch clients’ lives and they touch yours, how you give back, and why a career in beauty is such a positive choice.
Professional beauty’s appeal also reaches beyond the artisans and nurturers who actually perform salon services. Those of us who have never cut, colored, styled, smoothed or manicured a single client, but were fortunate enough to choose, inherit or stumble into a job that supports the salon industry, often end up falling in love with it, too, staying longer than we’d planned or dreamed.
MODERN SALON News Editor Jan Hillenmeyer counts herself lucky to be one of those who discovered beauty early and never left.
“I’ve interviewed so many interesting people in beauty over the years,” she explains. “Famous stylists at both the beginning and pinnacle of their careers, and many executives with backgrounds in other fields like engineering, science, fashion or business who told me, ‘I never thought I would end up in the beauty industry and now I can’t imagine being anyplace else.’”
Hillenmeyer says she can relate. She joined MODERN SALON as a sales manager in 1978, and made the transition to editor and reporter a few years later. Most recently, she edited the News and Portfolio sections of MODERN, contributed to SALON TODAY and all online platforms of MODERN SALON Media and led the MEMO section, covering distribution, manufacturing and business. In December, she announced to colleagues and friends that she would be retiring from publishing. This February issue is her last edition on the masthead of MODERN.
“When I look back, I realize how much opportunity, how many different jobs I had within my 35 years here,” she refl ects. “MODERN has always been a great place to be, and the people in beauty are so creative, positive and interesting. I really didn’t want to go anywhere else.”
We are grateful she felt that way. Jan has served MODERN readers and our team as role model of editorial professionalism. We selfishly hope to tempt her back to help with special projects, but don’t begrudge her this time to write her own next chapter. She has our heartfelt thanks for all she has given to the MODERN community, and for the love and skill with which she created content for and about it.
When asked what advice she would give to new Assistant Editor Lauren Quick and recently named Associate Editor Chandler Rollins and all others starting their own journeys in professional beauty, Hillenmeyer said, “Keep your eyes, ears and mind open. You never know when or where the next trend, the new product innovation or ground-breaking stylist will emerge. Take it all in, this wonderful world of beauty, and enjoy it.”
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