Mira was born in the small, very old village of Pasino Ruvci in the Republic of Macedonia. The youngest in a family of four girls, her parents had lived in Australia in the 1970’s, where her eldest sister was born before returning to Macedonia where Mira and two more sisters were born. When Mira was ten years old her mother died. By the age of 13 Mira had moved with her father and one sister to Sunshine, just north of Melbourne, where she had aunties and uncles. At 17 Mira met her husband to be and at 19 they married and she moved with him to St Leonards. She now has a family of her own – and a thriving salon – Mira’s House of Hair and Beauty.
Mira has not yet returned to Macedonia but may do one day to show her daughters where she came from. Mira remembers their life in the village as very simple. ‘Everything was baked or grown, its buildings ancient and its history incredible, including that it was once home to Alexander the Great – the King of ancient Macedonia (336 BCE) and his father before him King Philip’. Macedonia became part of the Ottoman Empire from the late 1500s until 1913. Macedonia has its own language, which has some similarities with the Turkish language.
When she came to Australia Mira had just finished grade six and did not speak or understand a word of English. She was enrolled in English language school immediately. However not before a few very scary experiences; like the time she was meant to get the bus home but found herself lost at the train station not knowing where to go, and finding everything unfamiliar; until she figured on following the direction of other people which led her to the bus station and finally home – an ordeal that lasted hours. Compared to her home in Macedonia, Mira thought her ‘uncle and aunt were rich, because they had ice-cream in their freezer’. There was a lot for a young girl, who had lost her mother only two and a half years earlier to take in. Mira said having a sister helped her to cope and that she felt like her mother was always watching. Including the time she tried to wag school, but turned around and went back to class almost immediately because she knew her mother ‘wouldn’t be impressed’.
At age 21 Mira opened the salon and has continued to work and grow the business with very few breaks. She even worked through her first pregnancy until the day her water’s broke during her first appointment for the day; her 12.00 appointment insisted she had ‘got to go home’. Her first daughter was born later that day. When she returned to work two weeks later her ‘sisters were not happy’. The tradition in Macedonia is to rest and bond with your baby for six weeks.
Mira says it is ‘lovely to come to work, I feel very attached to my clients and regards them as friends’. There are ‘times when we have cried together and we look out for each other – checking in to see if someone is ok if they have been ill or having a difficult time’. ‘Every day is fun and I look forward to coming to work’.
Mira has seen quite a bit of change and particularly growth of the town over the past few years. She said ‘it’s been good for businesses, making them more viable. For example, ‘before there would be days when I had no appointments, and sometimes thought I could go away for a couple of weeks and no one would notice’. It’s a different story now.
Mira’s is indeed a welcoming place, and she does a great line in hair and beauty. Josie the resident poodle – from her lookout at the front window – seems to believe the business is just as much hers, and everyone coming in is there to see her. Mira believes if she could talk she would insist on the business being renamed Josie and Co House of Beauty and Hair.
Humans in St Leonards 