Salon Marketing and Business
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Raise the bar in education
written by Mandy Zelinka, published in NW Stylist September 2008
http://www.nwstylist.com/features/2008/0908_features/0908_nw_raise_the_bar_in_education.html
September 2008
Raise the Bar in Education
by Mandy Zelinka
How do we attract quality students, how do we retain them and keep them interested and how do we better educate them while in school?
In a field that has so much glamour and income potential, one would think attracting students shouldn’t be an issue. In a field full of well-trained stylists, education shouldn’t be an issue. In a field filled with inspiration and endless possibilities retaining students after school should not be a problem. But these are all issues that need addressing.
Over the years, educating students has become more encompassing, adding elements that are part of the glamorous side of our industry as well as more business sense, but there is still much work to do. There is no reason students should not emerge from school fully trained in hair and business. Imagine, as a salon owner, the ease of hiring, the ease of training this provides. Does it sound like an impossible idea to you?
If We Are All Going to Raise the Bar, Then We All Need to Raise the Bar
Out of a personal need to give back, salon owner Mark Putnam, from Evolution Hair Design in Portland, Oregon, is putting that impossible idea into motion. The North American Hairstyling Awards winner has based it on rudimentary ideals such as “pay it forward.”
He has gathered some of his most esteemed friends and colleagues and has put them to work. “Calling in my friend card” is how he puts it. Every month he pulls out his card and assembles his colleagues to speak at a local beauty school.
One of Putnam’s closest friends is Winn Claybaugh, co-owner of Paul Mitchell the School, and although he doesn’t credit Claybaugh with his inspiration for the idea, his influence has indeed rubbed off over the years. “No garbage in, no garbage out” is a mantra he likes to quote, one that he just finally has been able to grasp 20 years later. In part, this stunted acceptance has propelled him to his latest mission.
“I want students to be able to accept this far earlier than I was able to. Partnering will help us better educate students and make them well-rounded,” exclaims Putnam.
If collaborating with seasoned stylists could become an effective education strategy, then students would graduate as highly trained professionals.
The European Institute in Portland has started integrating Putnam’s idea by inviting guest artists, local professionals, in to talk with the students. The seminars include showcasing a cutting technique, a successful salon owner talking about effectively marketing yourself, a masseuse delivering the message of proper posture when cutting hair, and so on.
As well, they host a photo shoot once a month with a local photographer. After witnessing a real test shoot, selected students are allowed 10 minutes with their provided model, and are given photos afterward to add to their portfolios.
“I just wanted to do something I was happy with,” said Dana Trafton, one of the students selected to participate in the photo shoot. It was hard, after an expensive private school education and parents that had always pushed traditional college, to make the choice for a trade. But days like this have helped to add credibility to her choice, and the ability to have physical evidence to show her parents, cementing their approval in her career choice.
Another student, Erienne Paquette, said the exposure to all the potential parts of the industry has really upped her expectations for a stylist career. “It really has expanded my horizons.”
The pay if forward philosophy works in circles today; the models build their portfolios, as does the photographer, as do the hairstylists, as does the makeup artist. Everyone gives up part of their Sunday, but in return leaves having an experience that would have cost much more than just their time.
These particular students graduate school with not only impressive resumes, but also visual support, a salon owner’s dream.
So get involved. We cannot expect students to just appear. The more you can get involved, the more they will want to work for you.
Admitted Putnam, “It is gratifying to see a difference being made in young peoples’ lives. You can be their cheerleader, their champion. I wish I would have started earlier.”
http://www.nwstylist.com/features/2008/0908_features/0908_nw_raise_the_bar_in_education.html
September 2008
Raise the Bar in Education
by Mandy Zelinka
How do we attract quality students, how do we retain them and keep them interested and how do we better educate them while in school?
In a field that has so much glamour and income potential, one would think attracting students shouldn’t be an issue. In a field full of well-trained stylists, education shouldn’t be an issue. In a field filled with inspiration and endless possibilities retaining students after school should not be a problem. But these are all issues that need addressing.
Over the years, educating students has become more encompassing, adding elements that are part of the glamorous side of our industry as well as more business sense, but there is still much work to do. There is no reason students should not emerge from school fully trained in hair and business. Imagine, as a salon owner, the ease of hiring, the ease of training this provides. Does it sound like an impossible idea to you?
If We Are All Going to Raise the Bar, Then We All Need to Raise the Bar
Out of a personal need to give back, salon owner Mark Putnam, from Evolution Hair Design in Portland, Oregon, is putting that impossible idea into motion. The North American Hairstyling Awards winner has based it on rudimentary ideals such as “pay it forward.”
He has gathered some of his most esteemed friends and colleagues and has put them to work. “Calling in my friend card” is how he puts it. Every month he pulls out his card and assembles his colleagues to speak at a local beauty school.
One of Putnam’s closest friends is Winn Claybaugh, co-owner of Paul Mitchell the School, and although he doesn’t credit Claybaugh with his inspiration for the idea, his influence has indeed rubbed off over the years. “No garbage in, no garbage out” is a mantra he likes to quote, one that he just finally has been able to grasp 20 years later. In part, this stunted acceptance has propelled him to his latest mission.
“I want students to be able to accept this far earlier than I was able to. Partnering will help us better educate students and make them well-rounded,” exclaims Putnam.
If collaborating with seasoned stylists could become an effective education strategy, then students would graduate as highly trained professionals.
The European Institute in Portland has started integrating Putnam’s idea by inviting guest artists, local professionals, in to talk with the students. The seminars include showcasing a cutting technique, a successful salon owner talking about effectively marketing yourself, a masseuse delivering the message of proper posture when cutting hair, and so on.
As well, they host a photo shoot once a month with a local photographer. After witnessing a real test shoot, selected students are allowed 10 minutes with their provided model, and are given photos afterward to add to their portfolios.
“I just wanted to do something I was happy with,” said Dana Trafton, one of the students selected to participate in the photo shoot. It was hard, after an expensive private school education and parents that had always pushed traditional college, to make the choice for a trade. But days like this have helped to add credibility to her choice, and the ability to have physical evidence to show her parents, cementing their approval in her career choice.
Another student, Erienne Paquette, said the exposure to all the potential parts of the industry has really upped her expectations for a stylist career. “It really has expanded my horizons.”
The pay if forward philosophy works in circles today; the models build their portfolios, as does the photographer, as do the hairstylists, as does the makeup artist. Everyone gives up part of their Sunday, but in return leaves having an experience that would have cost much more than just their time.
These particular students graduate school with not only impressive resumes, but also visual support, a salon owner’s dream.
So get involved. We cannot expect students to just appear. The more you can get involved, the more they will want to work for you.
Admitted Putnam, “It is gratifying to see a difference being made in young peoples’ lives. You can be their cheerleader, their champion. I wish I would have started earlier.”
posted by Mandy Zelinka at 7:31 PM
0 comments
Teals win NAHA
Teals win NAHA
written by Mandy Zelinka as published in NW Stylist magazine, August 2008
There has always been an overwhelming sense of childlike ambition in Ryan Teal. Upon first meeting him he seems like that big teddy bear of a man that at the end of the day just wants to be hugged, or patted on the head.
We as hairdressers, as artists, sometimes get a bit lost along the way, constantly pitting our elementary need for creativity against a mission to change the world – at least that is what the most ambitious of us do. The others just seem to be able to float through salon life, attend to clients, and go home. The Teals have never been the latter, and at the end of NAHA 19 they finally got this industry's most prestigious version of a pat on the head.
It was a real joy to see that they had won. As a young pup I apprenticed under the Teals, and many of the color techniques I learned from DeAnnalynn I still use today. Their teaching styles are both very different, each being effective in their own right. In my adult years I have often thought about the Saturday evenings we would spend at the local bar, talking shop, and obsessing about hair. If only I had known then what I have come to know now, that people like these two are not only rare in our industry, but are also responsible for maintaining a level of excellence that so often can get lost in the shuffle of the hair world.
The Teals have worn many hats, ranging from teachers within their own salon, to entrepreneurs, multiple location owners, platform artists, and so forth. It could be said that this year was an obvious year to win NAHA, as the two have somewhat come full circle, having lessened the distractions to what they are best at, at the root of it all - the art of the photo shoot. The realization that it would be best to close their second location is a very brave choice. It takes an extremely mature hairstylist to be able to assess a situation and come to terms with the fact that something may actually be out of their realm of capability, but also within this kind of decision comes the realization that you are really so exemplary at certain aspects of your being that it is quite okay to stick to what you simply are best at.
To visit Capello one would assume a tornado occurred, picking up this fabulously quaint storefront , with touches reminiscent of a French boutique salon, and dropping it in downtown Milwaukie – an area that makes up 10 blocks and is surrounded by the Willamette River on one side, but also boasts a restaurant placed in a double-wide trailer home. It is safe to assume that this area is on the verge of greatness, and the Teals' win could just be the propellent the little community needs. Either way, they are on a personal mission to educate the community about what the enormity of the North American Hairstyling Awards is. “We would like the local media to realize what it means, the world to us; we are a tiny salon that just cares about our clients.”
It is DeAnnalyn Teal’s compassion that wraps around you upon entering their doors. Ryan Teal’s hair career was born out of a job schlepping pies at Pizza Hut. With encouragement from his already successful hairstylist partner, DeAnnalyn, he was off to try his hand at hair. Today it could be said they are each other’s greatest inspiration, which is comical considering that Ryan said, “If you are constantly looking for inspiration you don’t find it.”
The concept for their NAHA winning photos was born out of a trip to NY after wandering into the Bumble and Bumble Academy’s hair library. They walked out with 3 books costing $300 a piece. The next 3 months were spent hand sewing hair ‘hats’ on their days off, and through the entirety of their two day photo shoot with BABAK, at the cost of $9,000 for the photographer, DeAnnalyn provided hand cooked meals for the entire team, while Ryan would have to take off to deliver their teenage daughter to her School of Rock appearances. The cost of the photographer would pay off in the end, but this choice wasn’t just about the money, and it needs to be noted that this was their first real financial expenditure on a photographer for NAHA after ten tries. “If you want something great something needs to be sacrificed – it’s biblical. In order for us to win NAHA we had to sacrifice something – money. When you pay that kind of money for a photographer you better bring it.” And bring it they did. Their NAHA victory in the team competition came complete with a trophy, speech, and press junket the following day. Not only that, but getting trapped in an elevator with Vivian Mackinder, one of the greates women hairdresser's of the world, as DeAnnalyn did, is not an everyday occurrence.
Unfortunately, it is hard to translate a NAHA award into dollars walking into your salon. It has troubled the couple that very little local media sources have taken on the story, but at least the Willamette Week has been more than giving in their attention. NAHA is a key to becoming the ultimate hairdresser, and within the industry it does elevate them to an elite status. Very few potential clients know the difference between a stylist having the potential to be among one of the greats and another stylist down the street, but as Ryan put it, “We have a personal victory of ‘I can’t do crap.’ Every haircut I put 100% into. My haircut value has gone up – my own personal value has gone up. “
find the Teals at www.coolestsalon.com
written by Mandy Zelinka as published in NW Stylist magazine, August 2008
There has always been an overwhelming sense of childlike ambition in Ryan Teal. Upon first meeting him he seems like that big teddy bear of a man that at the end of the day just wants to be hugged, or patted on the head.
We as hairdressers, as artists, sometimes get a bit lost along the way, constantly pitting our elementary need for creativity against a mission to change the world – at least that is what the most ambitious of us do. The others just seem to be able to float through salon life, attend to clients, and go home. The Teals have never been the latter, and at the end of NAHA 19 they finally got this industry's most prestigious version of a pat on the head.
It was a real joy to see that they had won. As a young pup I apprenticed under the Teals, and many of the color techniques I learned from DeAnnalynn I still use today. Their teaching styles are both very different, each being effective in their own right. In my adult years I have often thought about the Saturday evenings we would spend at the local bar, talking shop, and obsessing about hair. If only I had known then what I have come to know now, that people like these two are not only rare in our industry, but are also responsible for maintaining a level of excellence that so often can get lost in the shuffle of the hair world.
The Teals have worn many hats, ranging from teachers within their own salon, to entrepreneurs, multiple location owners, platform artists, and so forth. It could be said that this year was an obvious year to win NAHA, as the two have somewhat come full circle, having lessened the distractions to what they are best at, at the root of it all - the art of the photo shoot. The realization that it would be best to close their second location is a very brave choice. It takes an extremely mature hairstylist to be able to assess a situation and come to terms with the fact that something may actually be out of their realm of capability, but also within this kind of decision comes the realization that you are really so exemplary at certain aspects of your being that it is quite okay to stick to what you simply are best at.
To visit Capello one would assume a tornado occurred, picking up this fabulously quaint storefront , with touches reminiscent of a French boutique salon, and dropping it in downtown Milwaukie – an area that makes up 10 blocks and is surrounded by the Willamette River on one side, but also boasts a restaurant placed in a double-wide trailer home. It is safe to assume that this area is on the verge of greatness, and the Teals' win could just be the propellent the little community needs. Either way, they are on a personal mission to educate the community about what the enormity of the North American Hairstyling Awards is. “We would like the local media to realize what it means, the world to us; we are a tiny salon that just cares about our clients.”
It is DeAnnalyn Teal’s compassion that wraps around you upon entering their doors. Ryan Teal’s hair career was born out of a job schlepping pies at Pizza Hut. With encouragement from his already successful hairstylist partner, DeAnnalyn, he was off to try his hand at hair. Today it could be said they are each other’s greatest inspiration, which is comical considering that Ryan said, “If you are constantly looking for inspiration you don’t find it.”
The concept for their NAHA winning photos was born out of a trip to NY after wandering into the Bumble and Bumble Academy’s hair library. They walked out with 3 books costing $300 a piece. The next 3 months were spent hand sewing hair ‘hats’ on their days off, and through the entirety of their two day photo shoot with BABAK, at the cost of $9,000 for the photographer, DeAnnalyn provided hand cooked meals for the entire team, while Ryan would have to take off to deliver their teenage daughter to her School of Rock appearances. The cost of the photographer would pay off in the end, but this choice wasn’t just about the money, and it needs to be noted that this was their first real financial expenditure on a photographer for NAHA after ten tries. “If you want something great something needs to be sacrificed – it’s biblical. In order for us to win NAHA we had to sacrifice something – money. When you pay that kind of money for a photographer you better bring it.” And bring it they did. Their NAHA victory in the team competition came complete with a trophy, speech, and press junket the following day. Not only that, but getting trapped in an elevator with Vivian Mackinder, one of the greates women hairdresser's of the world, as DeAnnalyn did, is not an everyday occurrence.
Unfortunately, it is hard to translate a NAHA award into dollars walking into your salon. It has troubled the couple that very little local media sources have taken on the story, but at least the Willamette Week has been more than giving in their attention. NAHA is a key to becoming the ultimate hairdresser, and within the industry it does elevate them to an elite status. Very few potential clients know the difference between a stylist having the potential to be among one of the greats and another stylist down the street, but as Ryan put it, “We have a personal victory of ‘I can’t do crap.’ Every haircut I put 100% into. My haircut value has gone up – my own personal value has gone up. “
find the Teals at www.coolestsalon.com
posted by Mandy Zelinka at 7:30 PM
0 comments
Get an editorial look at home
Get an editorial look at home
Mandy Zelinka published article at www.clipblogazine.com
http://www.clipblogazine.com/beauty/36-beauty/54-get-an-editorial-look-at-home.
Every woman with a pulse shamefully sits with all of the latest gossip mags in her lap for the duration of her hair appointment. If she is fortunate enough she has scheduled a foil as well, allowing her more time to peruse the naughty publications. Inevitably, at the end of the beautification, it is bashfully acknowledged, "I wish I could do that at home." It almost becomes anti-climactic. She is sent out looking her absolute best, only to know the look will never ever be replicated from her own bathroom. That coupled with the photo montage of starlets running through her head because of all of the magazines that have been emotionally ingested. So what is a woman to do?
There are a few tricks up the sleeves of professionals, and most of them start with 4 items: blowdryer, curling iron, bob pins, hairspray. When editorial stylists are on a set for a photoshoot they don't have time to gunk up the models hair, much less use countless items to create the look.. Super! We can't afford to by a bunch of stuff anyhow, and all of these things can be purchased at your local drug store.
For volume: A blowdryer must be used. Sorry. If you are a lazy Daisy this is impossible to sidestep. But...To assist in your sleep apnea you can let your hair air dry for most of it, or you can even throw a volumizing product in at the root, on wet hair, before bed. Wake up in the morning, with a dry friction frow, and lightly mist. Now, take that blowdryer, toss your head upside down, and activate that volumiser with the heat from your dryer. Voila! We just saved ourselves a half-hour that we can now use to stalk on myspace.
An updo. Really? Surely, sister! And this can be done at any length. Tease (oh yes, I sure did say tease. Or rat. Insert fav word if you must) that crown. Get a bit of height. Spray if you must. Take the back of your hair and just twist a few sections and pin. And that is it. HUH? Yup, yah know how the models hair in magazines are that perfectly coiffed messy bunch of hair? These looks are created on set in literally 5 minutes. The highly paid photographer doesn't have alot of time to be messing around, so it needs to be done quickly and efficiently. If this becomes a completely mind boggling experience, then throw a pony in it, and randomly pin the tail. And, if all else fails, throw a stinkin flower behind your ear before you head out the door.
Gossip Girl curls. Where do these kids come from, because the chicks I went to high school with never looked like them. Regardless, this is the most envied look of the moment, and who doesn't want to be the smartest dresser of all her friends? (You can only be a smart dresser if you are accompanied with smartly done hair!) So, that curling iron I made you buy, this is where it comes in. Mid strand down on your hair, grab a pretty sizable fist full of hair and curl it from the mid-shaft, leaving out 2 inches at the bottom. Proceed around your head, you will need to curl no more than 7 sections. This technique is widely used on editorial photoshoots. Let the hair cool down (smarty pants insider knowledge: A curl is created when the hair is heated up, opening up the cuticle, and thus the curl is set as the hair cools and the cuticle lays back down.) and then run your fingers through to break up the curl. Throw your head upside down and shake if you will. Because we let the curl cool down in a curled position, this will last until you wash.
Mandy Zelinka published article at www.clipblogazine.com
http://www.clipblogazine.com/beauty/36-beauty/54-get-an-editorial-look-at-home.
Every woman with a pulse shamefully sits with all of the latest gossip mags in her lap for the duration of her hair appointment. If she is fortunate enough she has scheduled a foil as well, allowing her more time to peruse the naughty publications. Inevitably, at the end of the beautification, it is bashfully acknowledged, "I wish I could do that at home." It almost becomes anti-climactic. She is sent out looking her absolute best, only to know the look will never ever be replicated from her own bathroom. That coupled with the photo montage of starlets running through her head because of all of the magazines that have been emotionally ingested. So what is a woman to do?
There are a few tricks up the sleeves of professionals, and most of them start with 4 items: blowdryer, curling iron, bob pins, hairspray. When editorial stylists are on a set for a photoshoot they don't have time to gunk up the models hair, much less use countless items to create the look.. Super! We can't afford to by a bunch of stuff anyhow, and all of these things can be purchased at your local drug store.
For volume: A blowdryer must be used. Sorry. If you are a lazy Daisy this is impossible to sidestep. But...To assist in your sleep apnea you can let your hair air dry for most of it, or you can even throw a volumizing product in at the root, on wet hair, before bed. Wake up in the morning, with a dry friction frow, and lightly mist. Now, take that blowdryer, toss your head upside down, and activate that volumiser with the heat from your dryer. Voila! We just saved ourselves a half-hour that we can now use to stalk on myspace.
An updo. Really? Surely, sister! And this can be done at any length. Tease (oh yes, I sure did say tease. Or rat. Insert fav word if you must) that crown. Get a bit of height. Spray if you must. Take the back of your hair and just twist a few sections and pin. And that is it. HUH? Yup, yah know how the models hair in magazines are that perfectly coiffed messy bunch of hair? These looks are created on set in literally 5 minutes. The highly paid photographer doesn't have alot of time to be messing around, so it needs to be done quickly and efficiently. If this becomes a completely mind boggling experience, then throw a pony in it, and randomly pin the tail. And, if all else fails, throw a stinkin flower behind your ear before you head out the door.
Gossip Girl curls. Where do these kids come from, because the chicks I went to high school with never looked like them. Regardless, this is the most envied look of the moment, and who doesn't want to be the smartest dresser of all her friends? (You can only be a smart dresser if you are accompanied with smartly done hair!) So, that curling iron I made you buy, this is where it comes in. Mid strand down on your hair, grab a pretty sizable fist full of hair and curl it from the mid-shaft, leaving out 2 inches at the bottom. Proceed around your head, you will need to curl no more than 7 sections. This technique is widely used on editorial photoshoots. Let the hair cool down (smarty pants insider knowledge: A curl is created when the hair is heated up, opening up the cuticle, and thus the curl is set as the hair cools and the cuticle lays back down.) and then run your fingers through to break up the curl. Throw your head upside down and shake if you will. Because we let the curl cool down in a curled position, this will last until you wash.
posted by Mandy Zelinka at 7:30 PM
0 comments
