Kate Lee

About Kate Lee

Kate Lee’s background has its foundations in her country of birth, South Korea.
She commenced her 5 year training course in Hair Styling and Design straight from college and quickly found herself immersed into what could be regarded as one of the most comprehensive and demanding training courses of its type in the world.

As is evident on the streets of Seoul today, South Korea is acknowledged as a world leader in style and fashion. It’s hard to imagine a city more obsessed with personal image and fashion consciousness and a great environment for Kate to learn her craft. Working in the commercial heart of Seoul, Kate dreamed of one day owning her own business in the industry she loved and excelled in.

While still young and eager to broaden her horizons both personally and professionally, Kate left Seoul to commence her OE, firstly in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and later to Canada where she worked in downtown Vancouver for one year.

Arriving in New Zealand in 2009, Kate soon came to realise that this would be her adopted country.
To help with her integration into a very different culture and lifestyle, Kate enrolled herself in English language classes .
Kate is no stranger to hard work as those who know her will testify and through her determination and strong work ethic she finally achieved that dream of owning her own business when she purchased the existing business of Pia Hair Studio from the retiring owner Peter Baretta, in 2014.

Kates ability, in depth knowledge gained over nearly 25 years and professionalism combined with her natural and genuine personality has seen the business prosper and grow. The client base at Kate Lee is diverse but discerning , alongside those of local origin there is an interesting mix of many nationalities, women and men, young and old but all with one thing in common. They know that Kate Lee will make them look and feel amazing by the time they leave.

"I always look forward to my cut and colour with Kate and I always leave feeling glamorous...not to mention the frequent compliments I receive on my hair."

Wendy McLay

“The best haircut I have had,… ever ”

Alison Wright

“Extremely happy, I just wish I had found Kate earlier……. “

Jenna Thomson

“Thank you Kate, I’ve never had so many compliments about my hair “

Margaret Huang

“She’s very clever, I can’t believe what she’s done for me “

Phillip Lee

"I have absolute faith and trust in Kate's ability to colour and style my hair. I have never left the salon ever feeling disappointed. Having observed her working on other clients, it is obvious she has great knowledge of all hair types, with fabulous end results. With Kate's international experience I feel reassured she will continue to keep up with current trends."

Linda Frampton