Talking with Tuscany

Tuscany Hamel is forging her path in the hair industry: she’s worked at Australian Fashion Week and now has her sights firmly set on the rest of the world. She sits down with Metropol Deputy Editor Nina Tucker to talk brand building, boundary-pushing, and a pivotal career shift.

Over summer, Tuscany Hamel spent just a few sweet weeks basking in South Island sunshine, sipping, shopping, and strolling around a picturesque Lake Hayes and Queenstown. It was a Monday in mid-January and Tuscany’s only day off for the week when we caught up – those weeks of summer bliss were over and her schedule packed once again.

In a bright orange Ganni denim jacket, cropped shorter at the sleeves, Tuscany was a ray of sunshine. Long golden blonde locks caught the light through the café windows – it was obvious why she’s one of Christchurch’s most sought-after hairstylists.

Tuscany’s plan was always to become a world-class tennis player. She wasn’t far away, yet years of stress fractures and injuries chased her, causing complications in her right wrist. Once seen by a professional, it was too late. A surgeon told Tuscany that with so much damage, it was not a wrist worth operating on. “It was gutting. But I do think it was a blessing in disguise,” she says in hindsight. “I needed to be forced to stop.”

Losing tennis wasn’t just about losing the sport, it was losing her safety. “This is the only thing I’m good at, it’s all I’ve got. I’ve worked so hard towards this. If I don’t have this, what do I do?” Tuscany recalls those thoughts consuming her brain. For a moment, doubt almost suffocated her. On the flip side of that, it was an ether of possibility. Grounded by her faith, Tuscany knew there was a plan and purpose for her beyond tennis. “Once the door was shut for me, it gave me freedom.”

She searched for a purpose, a talent – only to find it was in her blood all along. Did it happen overnight? No – “I was in a weird space for a few years trying to figure myself out. It didn’t come straight away, which is ironic considering I was surrounded by it my whole life,” she reflects. Tuscany’s parents are Mike and Glynis Hamel, dubbed “hairdressing royalty” in the local industry – internationally acclaimed and experienced, with careers spent crafting hair on the runways of many top fashion shows.

Now, they are the founders of and still work daily in Christchurch’s GM Hair Gallery, where Tuscany is a leading stylist. A bigger inspiration than any, Tuscany credits her parents with unleashing her into the creativity of hair, beauty, and fashion simultaneously. She acknowledges the aid she gained in the industry because of her parents, however, a large portion of her trajectory was forged alone.

Unique, bold, full of life, and with an online platform to connect closely with her clientele, Tuscany found her audience, becoming a trusted name for beauty advice and a face of creative inspiration. Often an educator at haircare or styling events, she sometimes catches herself wondering how she landed such gigs. “Are people just going to think I’ve been asked to do this because of who my parents are?”

Pressure to perform creeps on her, “but I try to stay in my own lane and focus on my strengths. Everyone has their place in the industry”. When I tell you Tuscany grew up surrounded by creativity and pushing boundaries, I mean it. Her younger brother, Blue Hamel is a creative director and visionary in digital and CGI advertising. Everything in life was always more, and nothing was impossible.

Together with Blue’s creativity and father Mike’s decades-long understanding of producing healthy, clean hair products, Tuscany had a vision – Hair Candy – and jumped.
“My dad is the mastermind behind the ingredients, while Blue brings the creative vision and branding to life,” Tuscany explains. A keratin conditioning treatment using New Zealand sheep wool, Tuscany, tired of sacrificing beautiful packaging for quality, would launch something “both aesthetically beautiful and of the highest quality.”

With a “fashion-forward” design approach, Tuscany and Blue dreamed up how it might look – producing the signature eccentric packaging the brand is now known for. In awe of her brother’s skills, Tuscany explains how well they work together: “He can build what I’m fantasising.” Hair Candy’s sister brand, Lip Candy, was no exception: the Butter Up product’s bottle is free-form and fun.

These brands are all-consuming – admin, campaign creation, events – Tuscany juggles it alongside back-to-back clients and her online channels. “I work at a fast pace, I live at a fast pace.” Managing a front-facing job has made her “more extroverted”, so balancing socialising outside of work is ongoing. Above it all, Tuscany remains grounded in what she can offer a client during their time in her chair, and what their experience will be. She laughs and says “Sometimes my boyfriend doesn’t get the best of me at the end of the day.” Tuscany still dabbles in social tennis – admitting it gets competitive quickly – and explores new eateries often.

Day-to-day, her style never stays the same. “It’s always evolving. I can go from bold, chaotic and colourful looks like a unicorn vomited on me, to sleek, all-black outfits. That’s what I love
about fashion, it’s entirely personal and ever-changing.” We talk about how nice it is to see Christchurch slowly coming into its own, as creatives embrace the vibrancy of their visions. Tuscany credits her friends and family for her inspiration and also for the drive she has to move forward, both personally and professionally. “Being around like-minded people constantly sparks new ideas.”