After serving in WWII, Mr. Josef used his GI bill and went to beauty school in 1946, he was one of only three male students at Fargo’s New York Hair Design Academy.
“In my day, they didn’t think about a man doing hair, but that’s what I wanted to do,”
In 1960, he started his own school with three students; within a year, he had 100. Josef’s has had locations in Minot, Bismarck, Fargo & Grand Forks along with dozens of salons he owed and operated.
In 1994, he turned the reins of the school over to his son, Mr. Mario, an award-winning hairdresser in his own right. As the beauty industry evolved, Mr. Mario has included a more avant-garde, competition approach hairstyling.
“But you can’t do that until you learn the basic fundamentals, so we honor our past, and we create the future’, Mr. Mario stated.
Josef’s School of Hair, Skin & Body is on the cutting edge in the beauty and spa industry offering in Cosmetology, Skin Esthetic and Nail Technology in its state-of-the-at facility in Fargo and Grand Forks. Mr. Mario continues to inspire a new generation of students.
In 2003, Mario married Elaine Olivieri, a young inspiring individual who now has over 2 decades of experience in the beauty industry and now leads Josef’s School of Hair, Skin & Body into this new era. In the course of her career, she has progressed from working in admissions to leadership at Josef’s. Much of Ms. Elaine’s work centers on supporting students, strengthening school operations and creating community events like Confidence in Beauty summer camp and JAFA (Josef’s Annual Fashion Awards).
Josef's is second generation, family owned. We are actively involved in our communities. Josef's is all inclusive with no bias on age, sex, disability, financial status, religion, ethnicity or national origin.
