Karen Hastings

As far as I can remember, I have always wanted to be a therapist.  My mum went to a therapist who worked from home and I would watch her have her legs waxed.  I guess this ignited the passion that I have for the industry which now spans more than 20 years.  I qualified in 1997 with an HND in Beauty Therapy and went straight to work in the World-Famous Old Course Hotel Golf Resort and Spa in St Andrews, Scotland. It was there where I was mentored by one of the best managers who taught me about high standards, which I still up-hold today and have done throughout my career.

The opportunity to come to London and work for Elemis to launch their Day Spa in Mayfair was too good to pass up and it was here where my love for holistic and complimentary treatments flourished.  I was very lucky to have been trained by their Director of Product and Treatment Development and one of the Co-Founders of Elemis Ltd.

I have dealt with a wide-cross section of the public, including high profile (celebrity) clients and Royalty. I also liaised with journalists and press within 5-star environments during open evenings, promotional events and demonstrations (some of the demonstrations were filmed on Lorraine on ITV and This Morning - when it was still Richard and Judy!).

I worked abroad in a prestigious Thalassa spa in Cyprus learning new techniques and gaining more knowledge and training and it was after working here that I was head-hunted to be part of the management team that launched a luxury boutique style salon in Selfridges London.
Throughout my whole career I have always mentored, trained, coached and supported new therapists and I decided to take this further.  I applied to a Further Education College and I was hired as an assessor initially, with no previous professional qualification and teaching experience. I was able to work and learn on the job to gain my qualification. The Head of Department was willing to employ me, she recognised I was passionate about maintaining high standards and the quality of assessments and of the next generation of therapists. I then progressed to gaining a full teaching qualification and then qualified as an Internal Quality Assurer.  The next logical step in my career was then becoming a Standards Verifier for an awarding body.  For 11 years, I worked within the Further Education field and gained a wealth of knowledge and experience.

I continued to build my own beauty and massage business alongside teaching, treating my private clients in their homes and at various events and last year made the decision to leave Further Education completely. I attended a couple of Gateway Workshops to refresh and to build on my own skillset and was impressed with the competency of the tutors, the structure of the courses and the consistency each time I attended. Not only that but each tutor was passionate and vibrant, and I loved that!  I was so excited when the opportunity arose to join the team.  I’m thrilled to be able to offer the same experience to others that I had when I attended a Gateway Workshop.  I look forward to welcoming you to my venue in South East London and to be a part of your journey in this great and ever-changing industry.

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