2014 was a year packed with new opportunities for me, so I thought this would be the perfect time for a break and a little reflection.
I’m not one to take breaks, I don’t have the time – so I tell myself, “but every artist I work with seems to be on holiday”. I therefore took the plunge and flew off mid-December to warmer shores to escape the British winter blues – to Patnem Beach in Goa, India. Patnem Beach is where British high-flying execs come to relax for months at a time. There is a real community of expats, sunning themselves, drinking a little too much, allowing their kids – yes, people bring their children here for months at a time – to run freely up and down the beach. Generally, everyone is having just too much of a good time.
Oh! Did I say there is a line of women desperate for a trim? Yep! The rumour got out about what I do back in the UK and within days I was consulting frazzled hair issues. Love it! Hey, I get to enjoy weeks of intense, affordable yoga sessions and massages, recharging for the year ahead too.
As I settle into enjoying another beautiful sunset, cocktail in hand, I started to reminisce about 2014, the Academy and how far we have come since starting three years ago. Students are travelling in from all over the world to attend our courses. They understand that the need to gain as much additional knowledge about hair styling techniques as they possibly can is key to working their way up to the top and their dream careers as session hairstylists.
A burning passion is the doorway for you to explore every opportunity that comes your way. Myself, I could never stop learning – this constant interest in my own development is definitely what had me work on some great shoots and with high profile clients all last year. So it was our greatest pleasure to give back by standing next to each student and spending the time showing techniques, over and over again until each one got it right. Last year’s students were truly amazing to watch; I was so inspired by how they presented their thoughts and ideas on all the work they were able to achieve each day. It’s good to develop the ability to verbalize what you are doing/creating and why. I thought to myself: “This is what is going to make our students stand out.” So a HUGE thank you to all the people Martin and I met last year; I know the world is now their oyster.
The Academy’s now booking up for our first 2015 The Art Of Hair Styling course-series, commencing on February 16th. We could not be more excited.
There is a huge team effort involved in making it all happen. As you can see, on our December course, the stylists excelled themselves by taking our brief to heart and really playing with shapes and textures. We love collaborating with clothes designers, jewellery designers and photographers, to allow our graduates to push their abilities and we are so proud of what they have accomplished.
So, here’s to the New Year, let’s enter 2015 knowing we will exceed our own expectations. I look forward to sharing with you all the news I can about who I am working with and what I am up to over the coming months!
Now, back to that 11am cocktail…
XKevin