Last updated at 09:45, Tuesday, 20 December 2011

ANITA Garnett, 51, is from Ulverston. She is brewer/co-owner of Ulverston Brewing Company.

SEASONAL BREW: Anita Garnett, head brewer at The Ulverston Brewing Company, with the new beer released for the Christmas Markets Milton Haworth REF: 50027606B000

What school did you go to?

Ulverston Victoria High School

What were your favourite subjects?

Art, cooking and needlework

What qualifications did you leave with?

I left school before I sat my exams after being offered a job as an assistant hairdresser.

Did you go onto further/higher education – if so, where and what to study?

I went to Lancaster College to train as a hairdresser and I went to the University of Sunderland to do the start-up brewers course.

What was the best advice/learning you got at school or college?

Always read the question before you answer.

What was your ambition before you got your first job?

I always wanted to be a hairdresser from when I was five or six.

Did you have a role model you looked up to and why?

I didn’t, I just knew the kind of person I didn’t want to be. I didn’t want to be selfish and only interested in myself. When I first went to get my hair done the girls were too busy talking among themselves and they just didn’t make you feel important.

What jobs had your family done in the past?

My dad worked at Ashleys and my mum was my child minder.

What was your first job?

I was the Saturday girl at Marjorie’s hairdressers in Ulverston.

What has been your career path between your first job and the one you do today?

I’ve gone from the salon to the saloon. In many ways there aren’t so many differences. When I started my clients wanted the new styles but as they got older part of the challenge was creating something to give your clients a buzz, and that’s the same with beer.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Overhearing conversations when someone has said ‘that’s a cracking pint of beer’ about our beers.

What one thing would you change about your job if you could?

Less heavy lifting

What advice would you give someone starting out today?

You only live once, life is not a dress rehearsal, never get complacent and always look for new ideas.

First published at 09:20, Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Published by http://www.in-cumbria.com