The show must go on.....

I arrived at work yesterday morning to find the ARDINO Salon shopfront completely smashed to pieces. I opened ARDINO Salon in 1991, 26 years ago and have created a respected Paddington institution that has supported thousands of men & women in the community for over 20 years.

This is the fourth time in two years that we have had to clean up the aftermath of what can only be described as, repetitive violent assaults, on my business and my life. We have the assailants on camera and the police are investigating. These attacks are quick. They only take a few seconds to perform but the damage that they do to me, to my business, to my staff and to my children is extremely upsetting.

This affects me, emotionally, financially, it affects my team, my kids.....this is a scary situation to face for everyone involved. If they think they are doing this to me, then they need to know that they are affecting other lives as well.

This is under police investigation, but we can see from the camera footage that the assailants are male. As a woman I can certainly speak out against the cowardly men who perpetrate such violent attacks towards women purely to instill fear. And in fact any violence of any sort against any human being, man or woman. I can't just stand by and do nothing.

This is a situation that has the potential to break you down until there is nothing left. I have built this business from nothing over two decades and I am extremely resilient. Sharing stories with my clients, both men and women, I have absorbed a wealth of information and knowledge and through this experience I want to share and help other people in similar situations.

I will be throwing all of my support behind the White Ribbon Campaign - To Prevent Men's Violence Towards Women. I am calling on my clients and the members of my community to rally behind this cause as the chances are someone you know, is either currently or has been the victim of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. The statistics provided by The Fact Sheet on the White Ribbon Website state that 1 in 3 women in Australia suffer physical or sexual abuse at some stage in their lifetime!

I have created a fund raising page and will be hosting an event on Friday 23rd March at ARDINO Cafe, right where this violent attack took place as a statement of defiance and to reclaim my strength with the support of my loyal community. I would be so honoured and so grateful if you would donate & attend.

With my deepest gratitude