Emmy-nominated hair designer offers career advice during Joplin visit

By Scott Meeker

smeeker@joplinglobe.com

No matter how successful you are, you always need something to fall back on.

It was a piece of advice given to Diane Martinous by a theater professor at Missouri State University in Springfield, and it was one that turned out to be prophetic for her future career.

“When I decided to go to beauty school, I had no idea that it would be my destiny,” the Joplin native said.

The Emmy-nominated hair designer spoke about her career Tuesday at Hairbenders, 2201 S. Main St.

Kevin Lane, owner of the full service salon and spa, said that he contacted Martinous through the social networking Web site Facebook after seeing a picture of her and her mother attending the Emmys that ran as a Wish You Were Here photo in the Joplin Globe.

“I made contact with her and she said that she was going to be coming home for the holidays,” Lane said. “I asked her if she would give a ‘follow your dreams’ kind of speech.”

Employees of Hairbenders and other local salons gathered to hear Martinous talk.



First love: theater

A 1980 graduate of Memorial High School, Martinous said that she was bitten by the acting bug and decided to pursue her love of theater while first studying at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and what was then Southwest Missouri State University.

Her first job out of school was at a hair salon on The Plaza in Kansas City. She later worked at salons such as The Clip Joint and Woody’s in Joplin.

Twenty years ago, she made her way to Los Angeles to pursue acting. It was hair design where she really made her mark, however. She began doing hair for shows such as “You Can’t Take It With You” and making a name for herself.

“One show led to another,” she said. “You build it up and get a reputation.”

Her “bread and butter,” she said, is the studio she operates out of her home by referral only. She said she spends 30 minutes with each new client discussing their hair, what they like and dislike about it, and sometimes looking at old pictures of their hairstyles to see what works.

One of the best pieces of advice she had for those who came to hear her speak on Tuesday was for them to learn to do as much as they can.

“I cut, I color and I perm,” Martinous said. “Knowledge is power. It makes you more of an employable person.”

Because of her emphasis on learning, she was ready to step up when opportunity knocked.

A mutual friend introduced her to Bobby Grayson, an Emmy-winning hair designer who was supervising hair design for “Passions.”

“I met Bobby and we had dinner, and we talked shop the entire night,” Martinous said.

He soon called her to ask her to come visit the “Passions” set, but she was booked up with clients that day and preparing to come home for her parents’ wedding anniversary. Later, he called again to see if she would be interested in working on the show.

“I knew that I had to say yes,” she said. “It was my first television job.”

The show — which premiered on NBC in 1999 before moving to DirectTV in 2007 — was noted for its supernatural plot lines, such as a doll named Timmy that comes to life.

“They had the witches, the magic ... we never knew what was coming next,” Martinous said. “It was tons of fun and I got to use all of my theater background.”

When the cast and crew were notified last year that it was to be their final season and that they would have just three months to wrap up, Martinous was bumped up to second chair on the set, working with half of the show’s cast.

“To make a long story short, I got to take the show out,” she said. “The wedding scene took weeks to shoot, and (a cast member’s hairstyle) had to match every time. There was a lot of thinking on your feet.”

Martinous was nominated earlier this year for Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Drama Series for her work on the final season of the soap opera “Passions.” The award went to “The Bold and the Beautiful.”

“(Winning) was never my goal,” she said. “I was just happy to be invited to the party.”

On Tuesday, she focused on the lessons that she has learned that other aspiring hair designers might find helpful.

“You are all artists,” she told those gathered at Hairbenders to hear her speak. “Don’t undervalue what you do. And don’t ever call yourselves ‘hairdressers.’ You’re hair artists. You’re hair designers. Those buzz words are important.”

Success in the industry, she said, requires “a lot of luck, knowing your stuff and having fun.”

After speaking to the other hair designers, Martinous said she could see some of herself in them.

“I see their enthusiasm and their expectations. They are really focused, and that was very much me,” she said. “You have to dream. Do what you do well, no matter what it is that you do.”

Though where she is now is far from what she had set out to do, Martinous said that her career is keeping her busy. But most importantly, she’s having fun.

“I’m able to have a private clientele and do design for theater and film,” she said. “I can step in an out and never be bored. I love that.”