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Monday, 21 September 2009


Buon Giorno!

My dreams have come true and i am jetting off to Italy to present the “Freestyle” course to our Italian distributors. After much preparation, and before I could blink, I was on a plane to Italy, next stop: Bergamo International - Milan. Katie and I were met by our translators, Elisabetta and Francesca, who whisked us off to our beautiful accommodation, which was in the beautiful village of Montichiari. There we poured over our mood boards and discussed the excitement that would ensure over the following two days before we turned in for the night.

The morning of the show saw Katie and I up early, enjoying some Italian conversation with our hotel attendant and after a tasty continental breakfast we head off to the distributor. Italy really is inundated with gorgeous people and this day was no exception. We were greeted by a beautiful hostess who had, in conjunction with the translators, provided everything we need to put together a wonderful 2 day course. With everything ready to go, Katie and I parted to our separate classes, armed with manikin heads and 4 concepts that were fresh and sensational to present to 18 hungry minds! Briefly, the “Freestyle” course is a presentation that focuses on stimulating the creative mind and inspires imaginative thought by moving away from consumer orientated looks and exploring the Avante Garde.

The focus on the morning of the day one was to present two of our four scintillating styles known as “Dripping and Torn” and “Incision”. I got into the groove fairly quickly and really started to enjoy myself and the presentation was a huge success. Lunch was served after and this, as anticipated, was a feast fit for any hungry stylist. Happily fed and watered, we then went about reproducing the looks in a coaching circle platform and the Italians were incredible, stretching their imaginations and exploring the looks to their full potential. The final looks were nothing short of spectacular and I found myself in a wonderful exchange of love and enjoyment for the industry as well sharing of different methods on how to get the looks we wanted to achieve. This really got me ecstatic about what day 2 would bring!

But first, a little surprise. Elisabetta and Francesca took us on a small tour of the surrounding areas and we found ourselves in another beautiful village called Desenzano, where we took a breathtaking stroll alongside Lake Garda, which has an awesome backdrop of the Italian Alps. We then had dinner, surrounded by the ambient sounds of an authentic Italian restaurant. The food was incredible and we even learnt some more Italian!

Our mission for day two: To present the final two looks for the “Freestyle” course, known as “Broken Glamour” and “Under Pressure”. The cut and colour techniques were fun and received very well. So much so that we even got to reproduce some colour techniques!

This was a truly inspiring experiences. We as hairstylists are always learning and sharing. Having the opportunity to experience Italy and present there was amazing and I look forward to going back in October. Becoming part of the Saks Art Team has been the highlight of my career and I look forward to the exciting future that the company has!

The next trip is a visit to the place where it all started, Darlington. Tracy and I are heading up there to present the Autumn/Winter Trends launch and I can’t wait.

Until next time, Ciao!
Clayde.

Thursday, 3 September 2009

A-Team Shoot

Hi again, it’s been an exciting lead up to the A-Team Shoot day and here we are. I can feel the nervous energy as I waddle around the London Academy, finishing setting up the rooms for the day ahead. The A-Team are congregating in the reception and already the banter has started. They are a dynamic bunch and I have thoroughly enjoyed our year together, this is the last A-Team day and the one we have all worked so hard to get to. Lots of planning, researching, building the concepts we set out to do 9 looks. The day runs with a comfortable ease, all that planning truly paying off. And I am really please with the out come. We did it 9 looks in 1 day!!!!!
Great work team…now time to celebrate.

The A-Team Shoot will represent Spring/Summer Trends 2010 so watch this space.

Alison x
Autumn / Winter Trends Glasgow

We continue our tour to promote the Autumn/Winter Trends.
This time we are in Glasgow.
Myself, Tracey and Lyn are working this event, which is held at Tiger Tiger to an audience of 70 strong.
It’s a 2 day procedure where we go to cast and prepare all the models on day 1, this was great, we had some lovely girls to choose from, who were open to all (always music to my ears). To help us with all the preparation we invited Christy from the A-Team who comes from our Aberdeen Salon. He was a god send and a big thanks again to him and Aberdeen Saks. Also Roy from Edinburgh was there to lend a hand, big thanks.
So the prep day came to a close and we decided to go for a curry, maybe not my best decision as I am about 8 and a bit months preggers. But the spices didn’t bring him on and we relaxed ready for the Seminar the next day.
Day 2 rehearsals and show time. The event was a great success and we really enjoyed the Seminar and the audience energy.

To get your hands on the new Autumn/Winter Trends poster please ask your Franchise/Managers to order the Marketing department.

The next Autumn/Winter Trends launch is in the London Academy 8th September 3pm-5pm.
To book contact Katrina Leonti on 0207 379 3622.

Hope to see you there!
Alison x
 
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