It’s fortunate that Jordie Thompson is a people person, because she’s seldom alone during her hours of work.

Having graduated with a Certificate in Beauty Therapy (2013), then a Diploma in Beauty Therapies and Epilation (2014) from Otago Polytechnic, Jordie has gone on to set up her own Dunedin-based business, Mabel & Rowe Beauty Studio.

She opened in January and has since found her days filled with clients.

“I'm never alone for long,” Jordie says.

I love interacting with people and learning all about them as well as offering my knowledge to help them solve any beauty-related problems.

Jordie (Ngai Tahu) has dreamed about owning her own business since she was a child.

“Beauty therapy is something I’ve been interested in since I was pretty young, so that made it easy to pick it as a subject in high school and it meant no stress when it came to choosing what I wanted to do when I left school.

“The programmes at Otago Polytechnic covered far more than I expected. For example, the anatomy course was so detailed and in-depth. Now that I've graduated I realise how important learning all of that really was.”

Jordie says she enjoyed the mix of theory and practical learning which, when combined with industry placements, ensured a thorough understanding.

“I enjoyed studying all aspects of beauty therapy and found myself gravitating towards certain areas once I had worked in the industry for a couple of years. I had extremely helpful and passionate tutors that made learning so easy, interesting and enjoyable.

“I graduated with the top student award, which was a massive achievement for me and something I am still really proud of.”

The Otago Polytechnic programmes also taught Jordie plenty about creating her own business, including the rules and regulations that come with operating a beauty clinic.

“That knowledge definitely gave me the upper hand when it came to opening my own place, including how to deal with inspections, what processes I needed to have in place, health and safety information and so on.”

Although Jordie is focusing on the present, she envisages an exciting future, too.

“The beauty industry is always changing. There are so many jobs and opportunities.

“My number one goal is to continue growing and expanding my business, as well as upskilling and learning new beauty trends and treatments as they come.”