In 1965, when Emilio Chiappetta left Italy as an excited 19-year-old, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do with his new life in Canada. A friend suggested he come work with him on construction. “I thought I was going to like to drive a backhoe,” says Emilio, “but then my cousin, he convinced me to go to hair-dressing school.” He laughs, a little embarrassed, as he remembers that they thought it would be a better way to meet girls.
More than four decades later, Emilio’s successful career as a hairstylist is no laughing matter, although he does enjoy it immensely. “Who would guess that I’d be working in the same salon for all these years?” he says. His popular business, Riviera Hairstylists, has been catering to men and women in Oakville since 1968.
“It was pretty tough for me at the beginning because I didn’t speak English very well," says Emilio. "I would get frustrated when customers didn’t understand me. But I never gave up… I thought, I gotta learn!” And learn he did. Thinking back on it now, Emilio realizes that hair styling was the perfect activity for mastering a new language since chatting with clients is a big part of the job. He became fluent in English without ever taking a lesson.
