Today I got to lecture/demo at PSC. I enjoy speaking to the bebes in the freshman class. They're so new and don't know what to expect yet, so it's cool to answer all of their questions and shed some light on the business. I went around the room and had them share why they decided to take the cosmo program, what their technical focus was going to be and what their ultimate professional goal was. There were all kinds of different answers, it was neat to see all of the options students have when they get out of school...in salon, management, photo stylist, special events, theater, education, sales, business, etc.
I also demonstrated an ombre technique on a student there, Racheal. She had uncolored, virgin hair and we put in some gradient honey toned pieces all around the front and razor cut her hair. She looked like a new woman. I wish I would've taken pictures...it was a cool before and after. All the other students seemed to really dig the technique. It's quick, easy and really popular right now. That's why getting supplemental education in school is so important because they would have never learned a new technique with the basic curriculum they offer there.
Today I did the most time consuming, involved color process I've done yet. It was A LOT of work and took forever it seemed like. Probably 4.5 hours start to finish (including cut, blowdry, flat iron and wax). It took such a long time because I had to prelighten her entire head in foils, isolating previous blonde pieces so I didn't overprocess them and other pieces that were dyed black. It took probably an hour to apply and another 20 minutes processing under heat. Then I had to shampoo,deep condition, completely dry and start to foil with the bold colors we picked. I ended up going with pink, blue, purple, red, red orange and dark violet. I did it in such a way to blend and layer the colors so they look really diffused. I didn't want it to end up with a chunky or block colored result. I wanted all the colors to fan over each other and look like a variety of color results every time she styles her hair differently. I wish I didn't get done so late though...we could've gone outside and gotten some photos in natural light. The shots I got were indoors and not as vibrant as they were in person. All in all, it turned out really nice and she was happy with it.
I'm gonna make this short and sweet tonight....I want to sleeeeep. I've had the worst insomnia lately :( I'm off tomorrow though. I'm pretty excited to have a free day to run errands, do some shopping and maybe grab some lunch with one of my buddies. I also have a lot of getting back to clients, photogs, models and other folks as well. I HAVE to get that done. I'm a notorious procrastinator....and I wait until the last minute to do things. That's probably one of my worst characteristics. I could use a life coach or something :p Or more seriously, an assistant. I've been thinking for a while about hiring someone to help me out. Keith does a lot to help me out at work and especially doing stuff around the house but he's in school full time and I could use some assistance. That's something for me to seriously look into at some point.
Blah, blah, blah. I almost got started on another topic. Goodnight :)
I came across a FB post from someone today that went something to the tune of....This person hated when people go on and on about their accomplishments on FB and when they try to make everyone think their life is perfect. This person thinks people that come off overly confident are attempting to give the impression their struggle for success is paved in gold and nothing bad ever happens to them. They went on the say that it's only done for a keeping up the Joness' effect and that you should post just as much about your trials, tribulations and personal problems as you do your successes. You should 'keep it real' and share just as much of your personal life as you do your professional life.
I respect what they're saying. I see their point of view but this had me thinking all day about the contrasts of opinion regarding their theory, especially because it could pertain to me and how I choose to portray myself and my business online. I sometimes wonder if people are like 'get over yourself' when I post pictures of my work, post blogs, talk about upcoming plans I have, being excited about projects, what have you...I don't want to come off as if I'm this self righteous, self absorbed monster with a perfect life. I don't want to seem as if I'm looking for validation or fishing for compliments either. But the more I thought about their theory the more I felt it unnecessary to post anything negative, ever. Why would I feel the need to post a failure to balance out the good things that happen to validate someone's opinion of me? If that's what 'keeping it real' is...naw, I'm good.
We all have 'friends' on FB that are notorious for being whiney, negative online personas. It's not a good look. I don't want people knowing if I had money woes, or my insecurities, past mistakes, beefs with people, drama or gossip. I choose what I talk about and I choose (90% of the time) to share the good things I have going on. It's all about the law of attraction. The more positive thoughts and actions you omit, the more that will manifest with people and situations and come back to you. I'm not perfect in any sense of the word and never claimed to. I make mistakes, I have a personal life and personal problems like everyone else but why would I need to mesh that aspect of my life with my business.
Hmph...I don't know. That person's post was just thought provoking to me and being the super analytical weirdo I am, I thought I'd yap a little about the topic. It's crazy that social networking sites are such a prevalent part of all of our lives but they are.
Tomorrow I'm going to PSC to lecture/demo for the freshmen cosmetology class. I've done it once before so it's not as intimidating as it was the first time. This is the class Keith's in, so this ought to be interesting. He knows everything about me so when I do my little speech about who I am and what I do...he's probably gonna be like *yawn*. I like going up to the college to speak. I loooove educating when I can. It's just so satisfying to teach someone just starting out a little trick or technique and see that light bulb go off when they get it. I remember being in school and having this instructor/mentor named Mary Anne Watts. Everyone thought she was a real hard ass because she was very structured and passionate about what she did and didn't let anyone take the easy route. I appreciate her so much for that now and even at the time I was like 'this woman knows her stuff....I should really be paying attention'. I remember learning little tricks of the trade she'd teach me and just be so excited to have it click. Now knowing what I do and having the experience I have...I'd like to be someone's Marry Anne Watts and make an impact on their career. That's my plan for when my shoulders are blown out and my knees need replacements from being behind the chair for 30 years. I'll end up being a teacher for sure.
Today at the salon one of my friends and clients, Julie let me do her hair however I wanted and I did this really nice espresso to rich chocolate ombre deals on her. It looked really good. I love when things turn out better than you expect. The lightener lifted to this perfect brown shade that didn't even need to be toned. I followed it up with a deep conditioning treatment and a cut with some blunt bangs and voila! I was pretty happy with it ;) You'd think the best case scenario would be when the client just gives you total creative freedom with their hair but honestly that tends to stress me out the most. There are just so many options at that point. Do I want to try a new technique, go bold, keep it simple...so many outcomes. I guess it doesn't stress me out it just forces me to come up with an instant plan of action with no direction. I feel like I always stand there for a few minutes looking at them like 'duuuuuh'. I'm sure it just seems like a few minutes and I can only hear 'duuuuh' echoing in my head.....they're not wise to it.
Well, I'm feeling a little sleep deprived and delirious so it seems like a good time to bring this here post to close. If I wasn't incoherent and all over the place up til now, I surely will be if I continue on.
Oh one more cool thing that happened today! So, if you know anything about this industry the name Sue Pemberton would mean something to you. She is one of the top 3 colorists in the world, several time NAHA (North American Hairstyling Awards=the equivilent of the Ocars for hairdressing), International Artistic Colorist for Joico, celebrity colorist, the list goes on and on. Well she is my idol. She is the reason I chose to be a color specialist....and a general badass. I wrote her telling her how amazing I thought she was and how much I look up to her body of work and what she's accompished....and she wrote me back! I just kept rereading the post in awe. It certainly was the highlight of my week :) I would love to assist this woman one day...hell, I'd love to be this woman one day. She's pretty damn impressive. Top of her game for sure.
Okay, I'm really done now. I feel like I need to balance out all this good stuff and positivity with something negative now. Ummm, my cat just took a righteous dump that's smelling up the house and I still need to do my taxes. How's that, am I keeping it real enough? Lol.
This is my first of hopefully a daily blog keeping track of my journey as a small town hairdresser trying to make it in the big leagues. I've been licensed for nearly 7 years and have made a lot of professional progress in that amount of time. I love what I do. It's beyond a shadow of a doubt my passion in life. I feel so lucky to have found something to make a living doing that makes me this happy. I don't feel like I'm working when I'm at work. Not many people can say that...and that's sad really. Your line of work occupies so much of your life and to dread going to work is just a bummer.
I'm very proud of what I've accomplished to date. I'm a self employed color specialist, National Educator for Joico/ISO (an exclusive international product and color line), a session stylist for avant garde and beauty photography, etc. I've styled for many local and national publications and will be styling for my first runway fashion show in Atlanta the end of this month. My ultimate goal is to avidly work with photographers and designers for creative shoots and runway shows and to travel to location to color/style for celebrities and public figures. I want to be a household name. We only have one life and I want to make the most of it. I want to be as successful as I possibly can be in this field and there's nothing to stop me from making it happen. I'm driven and motivated and I'm so excited for what's in store for me.
I feel like I'm interviewing for a job or something, lol. With this being my first blog, I just want to give it's readers a little overview of who I am and what I'm about. In future posts I'll get into how and why I started my career and how've I've gotten to the place I am now. I suppose my motivation for writing this is to document my life as a hairdresser to A. share my story with other stylists and to B. connect with artists and potential clients. We're a digital generation that needs to do no more than point and click and link up with people you'd never have the opportunty of meeting otherwise. The internet and social networking sites are the way to go to make connections and open doors for yourself. When I got started years ago I made a Myspace page, started posting portfolio photos and adding people left and right. I know that is one of the sole reasons I have the volume of clientele I have today. These sites make it SO much easier to share what you're about with the public....and it's free! Now I have Facebook page with 1,000+ friends, Twitter, a website, Pinterest and now this blog. It's an awesome way of sharing your talent with the world. I love posting pictures of colors I've done and images from photo shoots. It's great to get comments and compliments from people. It's a total ego boost and confirmation you're doing a good job. And besides, I'm in a visual field...it's all about image. So, if I'm just like "I'm a good hairdresser....I do good work. Trust me", that's kinda iffy huh? I need images to back it up. That's my advice to any up and coming stylist. TAKE PICTURES OF ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU DO. That's so important.
I feel like I have so much more general information about the business to go on and on about but I don't want to ramble and be boring. I'll have time for that later ;) I'm very opinionated about what being a good stylist entails. Much like Tabitha Coffey...I'm sure you've seen her shows on Bravo. She's all business and I love it. I love her calliber of professionalism. There are so many people in this business that think "Oh this might be fun to do....play with people's hair all day and sit around BSing and making money doing it". It's so much more than that to me. It's an artform and all about making your client feel good about themselves. It's not about you as the stylist, it's not 'your show'. I've heard about some ridiculous things taking place in the salon. Double/triple booking clients and forgetting about them, gossiping, price gouging, making the client physically uncomfortable (burning them or being rough with them), over processing or damaging their hair, preforming horrible cut/color techniques, not really listening during the consultation, etc. When I have a new client come in, I'm always sure to ask "What were some things that you've been dissatisfied with during past hair appointments?". I've heard some nutty things....let me tell you. It helps me set a standard of what NOT to do.
Right now I've really been into diversifying my editorial portfolio. I loooove color and in salon work, don't get me wrong but there's just something about creating some over the top looks for creative photography. It's so fun to me. It's like there is no wrong. You do have to take balance and symmetry into consideration, face shape, wardrobe etc. but ultimately you can be as creative as you're able to be. I've really been into getting these $2 bags of synthetic hair from my local weave shop and playing around with that. It's this really crimped, fuzzy texture and it's really pliable and easy to work with. It's a really neat material. You can get several colors and experiment with the depth from color and the different textures. I'm such a nerd....I just sit around thinking about hair and make-up ideas for photo shoots constantly. I wish I had more than just a couple days a week to mess around with this kind of styling for photoshoots. The only problem with photo styling is that it very seldom pays. That's one of the downsides of living in a smaller town and there not really being an outlet for this sort of thing. Now, If I was in...let's say NYC or LA I could get paid to do this all the time. So mainly 90% of my time is commited to in-salon work with an emphasis on color and cuts. I love color just as much, so it all works itself out. It's also a blast to collaborate with MUAs (make-up artists), photographers, models and designers. The whole process is super experimental and enjoyable for me. Especially getting the photos back and sharing them with everyone.
I have a multi model shoot planned for next Monday. I'm mulling over several ideas right now but sometimes it goes completely in another direction. I've gotten my best looks by just 'winging it'. That's the cool part when working with models on these beauty looks, they don't have the expectations that your normal in salon client would have....like for a wedding or special event. For this shoot next Monday Tiffanie Park is going to be the MUA. I beyond love working shoots with this chick. We've joked that we're a dynamic duo...it seems like we're always on the same page conceptually. The work is always stellar. She's like me though, very busy with a tight schedule and very much in demand with a lot of different people. So, when I get to work with her...it's always a good time ;) The photog is going to be Jessie Field. I've never worked with her but I really like all of her work I've seen. Very soft natural lighting and a really cool high fashion esthetic. The two confirmed models are Heidi Jo and Rose Bridges. Both of which are super pretty and exotic with great skin and long, dark, thick hair. So, needless to say....I'm pretty stoked about this project :)
I think this has been enough for my first blog. I blathered on and on about myself enough for one night :/ I'm looking forward to regularly writing and sharing my story and pictures with eveyone. I hope I wasn't too boring or self absorbed for you. I just really, really have a love for what I do and enjoy speaking on the subject and sharing with people. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
