In last month’s blog, I told you about how I’d been invited to join top session stylist Paul Hanlon in Paris and Milan. It’s been a busy, fascinating, and very exciting month, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to fill you in on what happened when I was over there…

I’ve totally fallen in love with Paris – the amazing scenery, the fast pace, the delicious food, and the cool night spots. We stayed in the Millennium Hotel, right in the centre of the city, and I spent a lot of time wandering down the street Passage de L’Industrie – a one-stop shop for hairdressers, with everything you could ever need to purchase for your kit and salon. It was a playground to me and I can’t wait to head back already!

While in Paris, I worked alongside Paul on two shows – Dior and Dries Van Noton. The shows were huge and very imaginative, with Dior set in an indoor tennis court (with ceiling completely covered in lights) and Dries Van Noton set in a huge museum with very high ceilings. Working backstage at two such high-profile shows was an amazing experience.

I didn’t have so much time to explore Milan, as our schedule was so busy – but the time I spent backstage definitely made up for that! I worked on Calvin Klein and Versace while I was in the city, with the highlight being the hair at Calvin Klein (very short, with tailored sides and length towards the front) and the overall backstage experience at Versace (I’m never going to forget that show!) I was lucky enough to be invited to watch the Calvin Klein show after finishing the hair and it was a fantastic experience.

Everything from the noise, to the crowd, to the models strutting down the catwalk took my breath away!
I had to pinch myself when I was working backstage at Versace – it’s one of the biggest fashion houses in the world and I couldn’t believe that I was part of it! I was lucky enough to cut the hair of Paul’s model and was pleased that he was happy with my work.

Some of the clothes were bonkers – bright, and totally over the top, but that’s what makes it such a great show! One of the highlights of my whole trip was when Donatella Versace strode backstage – the crowd parted instantly to allow her through and the models quickly lined up. One of Donatella’s friends ran down the line of models giving them a chance to have a drag of Donatella’s lipstick-stained cigarette before they hit the runway. Even the models that didn’t smoke had a go – truly Italian and something I won’t forget in a hurry!

Working alongside Paul Hanlon has opened my eyes to how different session styling is to cutting hair in the salon. It’s more of a ‘feeling’ than a mathematical approach – and I think that insight has helped me a lot as a hairdresser. Paul and I have discussed future work and I am, of course, very keen.

I’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Paul and his team for inviting me to be part of the shows and for making me feel so welcome. The memories from the past month are still making me smile and I have a feeling they will be for a while yet!
See you again next month!

Happy New Year everyone!

2012 is getting off to a great start, as I’ve been invited to head to Paris and Milan to work alongside Paul Hanlon. It’s such an honour to be invited, as Paul is easily one of the top session stylists in the world, working for fashion industry royalty that includes American and Italian Vogue, Dazed and Confused, Emporio Armani, Calvin Klein, Alexander Wang and Burberry (to name just a few). I’ll be heading off next week and I’m intrigued, flattered, and fascinated to be given an insight into Paul’s world!

So, how did it come about? Paul is an old friend, who I bumped into in New York when I was there for NY Fashion Week a few months ago.  Paul was heading up the Helmut Lang show and it was great to catch up. When I was back in Birmingham and Fashion Week madness had died down, he popped into the salon to see me and we had a conversation about future work. So here we are, just a few months later, and my bags are packed and ready to go!
I’ve never been to Paris or Milan, so I’m really excited about exploring the cities in between work. My salon partner Daniel Torres went to Paris Fashion Week with team member Rob at the end of 2011 and he’s been giving me lots of tips. I’m looking forward to visiting Rue du Pont Louis Philippe – a great little street that runs from the Rue de Rivoli to the Seine, and is apparently a must-visit if you like art, photography or fashion. I’ve also been told to eat at La Société, located in Saint-Germain-des-Prés – I can already taste the Steak Frites!

I’m hoping this trip marks the start of a globe-trotting year. I’ve worked in a salon environment since I was 17 and have a very close relationship with all my clients. I would never turn my back on that side of hairdressing, with the technical cutting and customer service, but I have a feeling that 2012 will hand me some exciting opportunities to further my career and get Bad Apple Hair noticed on an international level.
Is there anywhere I’d really like to head to over the coming 12 months? Beyond the fashion capitals, my heart really does lie in Spain. I dream about retiring there one day and living the rest of my days looking out at the sea and having BBQ’s with friends and families – but I have a lot to do before then! My favourite place in the country is the Catalans and I really hope to head back to Barcelona at some point this year.

January will be a busy month in the salon too. We have meetings to finalise between TIGI and Bad Apple Hair, which will hopefully cement the great working relationship we’ve had over recent years. We also have our staff AGM to look forward to, where we will share the salon’s long-term objectives and targets for 2012 – it’s an open discussion, as we believe the views of our staff are essential to how the business is run and I can’t wait to hear everyone’s ideas.

Have a great month and I look forward to sharing my experiences in Paris and Milan in my next monthly blog!

I can hardly believe that it’s already December! Christmas is a busy time at Bad Apple Hair and the salon is packed with pre-party appointments. Time is passing so quickly and it’ll soon be time to welcome in 2012 – so now seems like a great time to share a few of my highlights from the past year.

L’Oreal Colour Trophy
The year got off to a great start when we got through to the men’s category of the L’Oreal Colour Trophy. We progressed through to the Grand Final for the second year in a row and won the Western Region. I was so proud and am really hopeful that 2012 will be our year to win the overall title.

L’Oreal Evolution Team
I was proud and excited when Bad Apple Hair’s Kevan Carr won a place on the L’Oreal Evolution team. We’ve been working hard together and I have high hopes that he will make it onto the ID team in 2012.

Bad Apple Hair Photo Shoot
Our annual TIGI / Bad Apple Hair photo shoot was another big highlight – and this year, we stayed local and shot the campaign in Birmingham. The talented team included local stylist Pam Cheema and makeup artist Amy Streets. Creative Director of TIGI Nick Irwin came along and helped – and then span some records in the warehouse. What an amazing night!
L’Oreal H3 – A personal highlight was getting onto L’Oreal’s H3 scholarship. Only 16 people in the country are lucky enough to be selected, so I was flattered and grateful. The program has taken me to Cardiff twice and to my hometown of Birmingham to run the course.

International Jet setting
Salon partner Dan and myself had the opportunity to fly to Barcelona for work in the summer, making some great contacts and long-term friends. We were then invited to join TIGI team backstage at New York and London Fashion Weeks – an incredible experience and a real highlight of the year! My colleague and friend Rob Turner rounded off Fashion Week when he was invited to work backstage at Pam Hogg in Paris.

Inspirational Youth
I’m very proud that a member of the Bad Apple Hair team has been asked to join Inspirational Youth for the third year in a row! 2011 was the turn of Creative Director Harry Denning and I’m already looking forward to the final show in 2012, where Harry will present to over 1500 people!

Sutton Coldfield
Micheala became our first franchisee, opening our second Bad Apple Hair salon in Sutton Coldfield! She and the team are doing an amazing job and I really hope that the salons will be joined by a third in 2012!

The Coterie
2011 presented me with the opportunity to write a blog for renowned organisation The Coterie. Asked by Catherine Handcock, I was both ecstatic and nervous. I’ve been given some great feedback since the blog went live and it’s a real honour to be writing for them.

Overall, it’s been a brilliant year. I feel so lucky to be working alongside such a talented team and to have a business partner that always has his eyes on the ball and is full of ideas and enthusiasm for the future. We’ve worked incredibly hard to increase our brand’s profile in 2011 and it’s great to see evidence that the hard work is paying off.

I’d like to thank Nick Irwin and his team, Catherine Handcock and Michelle Gardner from The Coterie, Charlie who helped me to set up my website, and Louise who helps me to write my blogs. I feel honoured to be working with you and I’m truly grateful.
Here’s to an equally successful 2012! I hope to see you all in the salon very soon!