Featured Story: Urban Goddess

Joico's pigment-bender. Sue Pemberton. elevates The Colorist's downtown deity to a higher prismatic power.

by Jeryl E. Spear

After decamping Nottingham. England. and leaving behind family. friends and a full clientele. Sue Pemberton. Joico Vero K-PAK international artistic director. arrived in America in the late '80s with only $600 in her pocket and a suitcase filled with clothes. Overflowing with the kind of hope that's strictly reserved for those who dare to dream big. Pemberton adopted a determined approach to success that allowed her to become self-supporting while earning her cosmetology license. and then speedily building a client base on the California coast. It wasn't long before she caught the eye of a sales consultant who talked her into joining the Joico fold—first by using the company's products. and finally by becoming an educator. The rest. as they say. is history.

"I really do have an exciting job." Pemberton beams. "I travel the world for Joico and do everything from fashion and corporate brand shoots to platform work and hands-on classes. I love my job because it allows me to express my creativity and my love to educate colorists." When asked what her favorite part of her colorful duties might be. she passionately replies. "I love working with photography. I can create something exciting. unique_and it's captured forever on film."

As for her meteoric success. Pemberton metes out this important advice: "I've always believed that you can never know too much. When I first started out. and for years afterward. I would attend every educational event that came my way. I also collected—and continue to collect—mentors who've taught me everything from brilliant color techniques to how to have a wonderful outlook on life. And. of course. I continue to learn many things from the colorists that I meet and teach while working in classrooms and traveling the globe.

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