I admit it’s been very hard to keep up on my blog since I’ve been home. It’s been a huge adjustment coming down from the adrenaline high of my trip and all the little projects it’s created. For example, I received an unexpected souvenir from my trip on my way back: a writer from HOT by Hair's How magazine contacted me to do a story about me. After long days at work, I’d come home to find phone or email messages asking for more information about my trip to write the article (you can read it at www.hairshow.us; thank you for taking the time to write about my trip!).

After catching up on all of my clients’ long overdue haircuts and grown-out colors, recounting my trip for the umpteenth time, and creating a new fan page for Scot Christopher Hair Design (which is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this week. Congrats Scot, and thank you for all of the support you have given me through the past several months! Love you to pieces!), I’m finally setting aside the time to write about the salons, classes, products and people I’ve experienced over the past several months and classes to come in the near future.

Trippin on Hair header: Angelo David Salon

Trippin on Hair header: Angelo David Salon

Angelo David Salon

There were a few people and salons I really wanted to wanted see while in New York, but I was unfortunately unable to contact all of them. One must-see salon was the Angelo David Salon, which specializes in custom-designed couture hair extensions are as unique as you are. They do beautiful work to give clients longer hair or enhance what they have, and also help clients who are experiencing hair loss, thinning hair, alopecia and early pattern or hereditary baldness.

 Everything I read about this place intrigued me. They offer dozens of types of extensions, as well as many different application methods. I’ve always been so interested in hair extensions, fillers, and wigs.

I decided to just give it a chance and go by the salon with no appointment. To be honest, I was very nervous about this approach. In fact, I walked by the front door of the building about four times before I somehow mustered up the courage to walk in and introduce myself. To my surprise, I actually met Angelo David in person (who is easy on the eyes). He was kind enough to give me a tour of his salon, which is a very hip smaller salon with only a few stylists, private rooms for applying hair extensions and hair pieces, and a room where wigs and hair pieces are custom made. We talked for about 45 minutes before Angelo turned me over to his assistant, Carlos. Carlos and I spent an about an hour together talking about different hair types and way they approach consultations. The Angelo David Salon genuinely cares about putting the right type of hair on each and every client.

I concur with Angelo that one line of hair extensions isn’t right for everyone. I’m certified in three types of hair extensions and searching for more. The time I spent here was very informative and I can’t wait to find some more hair lines to work with.  If anyone has advice on the extensions they use, I’d love to hear about it (just shoot me an email!). If you have the time, check out their before and after gallery on their website.

Not Sure how I'll top this one

So after six weeks, 22 states, and 8,891 miles, I’m finally home. I know I’ve been behind on the blog due to lack of Internet service and driving, but I’ll go back and recap some of the salons I visited and people I met soon.

This turned out to be an incredible journey, and I experienced more than I have possibly imagined. Despite my early doubts that I couldn’t pull it off, I did it, and the experience was so much more rewarding than I expected.

Driving on the open road, I saw so much of what our county has to offer: beautiful green rolling hills filled with the bright green trees and some of the most vibrant flowers I’ve ever seen, endless miles of wild rivers, the magical sight of lightening bugs, incredibly constructed bridges, and fledgling wind farms emerging throughout the countryside.  They somehow gave me a peaceful calming feeling on a long day’s drive.

Don’t get me wrong, there were some downsides to driving cross country, but most were comical in retrospect. Going to the Laundromat, sleeping in my car when I was too tired to drive another mile, blisters from walking all over America’s biggest, greatest cities, and yes, even blisters on my hands from driving so much, were all part of the journey. And the bugs, yikes! Yes I saw bugs the size of my dog.

The highlight of my trip was the many wonderful people I met, who were so passionate about what they do, so willing to share their ideas and tolerate my many questions, and  so willing to share their knowledge with a total stranger eager to learn and be inspired. I truly had some really touching moments that will stay will me for a lifetime, and I’ve made many new friends that I will think of often. I’m grateful for all the encouragement I received throughout my trip.

I hope I have inspired other people to step out their comfort zones and not hesitate to live their dreams and strive to be better at what we do as hairstylists. There is always something new to learn and share with others.  I’ve promised myself this is only the beginning of my newfound love of continuing education. I’m already planning more classes in the near future, and looking into becoming an instructor so hopefully I share my knowledge and passion with others

This was not only the ultimate journey of education, but also a reminder that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. We do live in the land of opportunity; you just have to have a dream.

My long awaited visit to New York City

About two weeks before I left on my journey, the hostel where I planned to stay in New York emailed me to say due to unforeseen circumstances, they had to close their doors. I was in a bit of a panic to find some place on such short notice, but I did get lucky. It turns out the place I’m staying in NYC—The Carter—is centrally located in the heart of the Theatre District on Times Square, within walking distance of Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, Macy’s, the New York City Public Library, Radio City Music Hall, and many major museums. What more could I ask for?

To pull this whole trip off by myself I’m on a tight budget, so I can’t afford the little luxuries. I was just looking for a place to take a shower and crash for a few hours, and the Carter fit the bill. The lobby looks like something you’d find in Vegas off the strip: very tacky. There was no maid service, but I didn’t expect much at the price. Anyway, it’s reasonably more comfortable than sleeping in my car and I feel extremely safe being right in Times Square surrounded by thousands of people and all the bright lights.

Shortly after I arrived I decided to hit Times Square. It’s great place to just sit, have dinner and watch people enjoy the many blocks of continuous advertisements. Bonus: you can now get free Wi-Fi, a plus when you’ve been traveling in your car for days and need to catch up with the world.

Wherever I was, I would just sit and listen to the chatter of tourists from all over the world here I met some wonderfully nice people from several different countries, including several people from Paris, and two couples who I enjoyed a coffee with down the way. I’ve heard time and time again that people from Paris and New York are extremely rude. I must say, all of the New Yorkers I met over my five day stay were very helpful and extremely friendly. Since I lived in DC many years ago, I decided people from bigger cities weren’t rude, just busy and on a mission to get to their next destination. I put my theory to the test and I stopped quite a few New Yorkers to ask for directions. Not only were they helpful, but most were quite eager to give me more information when I asked them to tell me more about their beautiful city. I even had a few people approach me when I looked like the lost tourist to offer assistance (a smile goes along way at times).

5 day class with Vivienne Mackinder

My time has been somewhat limited, what with the long haul from Florida to New York City. Needless to say, I’m now in the Big Apple.
Before I decided to take this journey, I would often get very flustered looking at fabulous hair styles in magazines, books, and the Internet. Even after hours of studying photos and online tutorials, couldn’t quite figure out how master them; I can’t always grasps the angles or the structure of what they are creating and how on earth they get them to hold.
On one of my late night attempts to master some of these creations (or even just one), I found Vivienne Mackinder. For those you who don’t know, she’s a London-born, world-renowned hairstylist, educator, and all-around incredibly amazing woman. She trained with Vidal Sassoon, Trevor Sorbie and other equally brilliant stylists for years. Vivienne produced and directed the documentary film series, “I’m not just a hairdresser,” is the Editor-in-Chief of MOD magazine and founded hairdesigntv.com (I believe any hair stylist who wants to achieve more knowledge should really consider becoming a member of this site). She has received many awards including the 2009 North American Hair Styling Awards Life Time Achievement award. All those accolades are intimidating!
The instant I enrolled, I was completely nervous (more like scared to death). I knew I had much to learn and I really needed to get out of my comfort zone. As the class approached, I got more and more nervous.
On the first day of class, when I arrived my heart was racing. As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about. There were only two other students—Jean Witte, salon owner and president of Inter Coiffure South Africa, and TJ Weaver, stylist and co-owner of Douglas J Aveda institute and Douglas J salon—so we had lost of one-on-one time with Vivienne. As it turns out I couldn’t have asked for better classmates. They both had great advice and were so helpful, and I haven’t laughed so hard in quite some time.
Viviane’s team is so amazing and so welcoming, they instantly put me at ease. Vivienne’s warm smile radiates kindness and brightens any room she enters. Even after years of doing hair, she still has so much passion for her work. You can feel the excitement in everything she does and speaks about, and she’s so willing to share her knowledge. She is truly one of the most inspiring women I’ve ever met. She definitely sparked a passion for hair I haven’t felt in a long time.
The class was intense. Though it was only five days, Vivienne had a way of squeezing in as much information as possible and keeping things fun just as they were getting tense. I’m surprised I didn’t  frustrate her, like when we were doing a precision start to finish razor cut (by the way, I did learn how to correctly use a razor).
I can’t possibly list everything I took away from this class; remember the finger wave we all hated so much in school? She made it so much easier than it had ever been. I learned more ways of back combing than I ever knew existed. I know I’ve said this many times before, but I have to say once again how important ongoing education is. I know there are so many things I need to learn. Even though I learned so much in this class, it just reemphasized how much more there is to learn about my profession.

Premiere Orlando Day 3

As day three of the Orlando Premiere show approached, I couldn’t image it getting any better than the past two days. When I arrived bright and early, demonstrations for cutting and styling were still going on full force. Even on day three, I still had so much to see. With all the new products, new trends, color lines imaginable, and the new haircutting techniques I learned at the Pivot Point class, the hardest part of this trip is not being able to run right back to the salon and try out all these great new finds (including my new blow dryer I waited MONTHS for).

I’ve had the opportunity to see some truly gifted stylists, including Robert Crimeans, Beth Manardi, Martin Parsons, (the man I dream about for days before I had an up-do coming in) and Philip Wilson, just to mention a few. I also had the pleasure of spending quite a bit of time with Philip Pelusi (more about this brilliant man later),

who just launched the Tela Beauty Organics Phyto Keratin Smoothing Treatment Blow Out with his amazing team. I’ll learn more about this product line when I spend a few days with Philip when I hit New York in a few days.  

My goal for this trip was to get more education, new ideas and be inspired. I’m not even halfway through my trip yet, and I’ve gotten so much more than I’d hoped for. I definitely have been inspired, and I’ve learned more then I could have ever imagined at this point.  I’ve also met some wonderful people I’ll never forget.

Off I go, back on the open road! I’m looking forward to what the next few weeks have to hold.

Premiere Orlando Day 2

The Première Orlando show officially started today. As I arrived, throngs of people poured out of shuttle buses and entered the venue. The orchestrated chaos of the day before had transformed to excitement as attendees clamored to see as many new products and attend as many classes as possible in two days. (There are over 180 classes to choose from, and that’s just the hair portion of the show; there are even more classes for skin care, nails, and so much more.) Countless stages showcased the latest trends and the most amazing big, beautiful hair styles nonstop. Though I wanted to experience the show’s sensory overload in all its glory, I committed to being a hair model the day before, so it was off to the prep rooms for me.

The makeshift pipe-and-drape rooms I described yesterday were packed to the gills with models, stylists wielding color bowls, whirring blow dryers and hair spray mist. The stylists who would be doing my demonstration were none other than Rocky McCormick and Joe Anthony Pena. These gentlemen helped raise over $40,000 for a children’s charity on Celebrity Apprentice last month (great job, guys!). When I sat down, I found out I’d not only be getting a haircut, I’d also be getting my hair colored. More specifically, they would be using MY hair to demonstrate highlights over color. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t really care for highlights on myself, but in the spirit of my adventure, I willingly went along with it.

After the base color was prepared, I followed Rocky and Joe through the long crowded halls around hundreds of exhibits to the stage. At this point, my heart was racing faster than the tiny feet of the lizards I dodged on my bike ride two nights ago. I’ve never been onstage before; in fact, I’d do anything to avoid getting up in front of ten people let alone hundreds. I told myself this is something I had to do for this experience; I had to step out of my comfort zone; all I had to do was sit there.

The stage lights blazing, I sat and listened to the demonstration.  Rocky started talking about being inspired. He said he hasn’t been inspired by someone in a long time. Then he put his hand on my shoulder and started to tell the audience how much my trip and my extreme journey to receive more education inspired him.

This was completely unexpected. If I was nervous before about the highlights or being onstage, my nerves were amplified tenfold; my heart was pounding as if it could explode out of my chest at any moment. Though I planned this trip because I needed to be inspired, it felt good to know I inspired someone along the way. (Thank you, Rocky! You inspired me as well!)

After a trip to the prep room for a shampoo and blow dry, it was back to the stage for the haircut. This time another model was on stage with me as Rocky and Joe took turns explaining what they were doing. As I tried to catch a quick glimpse on the big screen of what Joe was doing to my hair, I wondered if I’d have much left by time I left the stage. Thankfully, Joe was very kind; after cutting about four inches and texturing it just how I like it, it turned out GREAT (Thanks, Joe!).

After my fifteen minutes of fame, I could breathe and enjoy the rest of the show (and find the perfect blow dryer I’ve been in search of for months).While weaving in and out of the exhibitor’s booths, I stopped by the Pravana stage to watch Alan Papaleo demonstrate a short textured hair cut. He’s quite impressive to watch and explains everything he’s doing in SUCH detail. As I sat there watching, Vadre, the Pravana educator I met yesterday, pointed out to Alan where I was sitting. He stopped mid-cut and motioned Vadre to bring me on stage. I shook my freshly cut head no as she grabbed my arm and said, “Come on!”

Alan gave a brief summary of who I was and what I was doing, handed me a microphone and asked me to tell everyone about my journey. My knees shaking, my palms sweating, I tried to ignore the crowd, and imagine it was just Alan and I having a one-on-one conversation. That didn’t work. I knew everyone was watching, waiting to hear what I had to say. I honestly can’t even remember what I said (though apparently some universal force is pushing me to overcome my fear of public speaking).

To Rocky Rob Rita and Joe: I spent several hours the past two days learning so much from you. You gave me a lot of great advice not just about hair products, but about so many things in my industry. This has truly been a great experience.

Premiere Orlando Day 1

So much is happening, I can barely remember what day it is let alone how long I’ve been in the road. I’ll gloss over the “how I got from South Dakota to Florida” story for now and get to the good stuff:

After driving hundreds of miles, worrying about the where the next fuel stop would be, and wondering if my GPS was going to yet again steer me wrong, I arrived in Orlando, Florida for the Premiere Orlando hair show just as evening set in.  Though grateful to be off the road, the distasteful task of unpacking lay before me. Packing for six weeks is undoubtedly the least fun aspect of this trip; the endless cycle of unpack, pack, repeat is the low point of my adventure. Anyway, after a quick bike ride which involved dodging sun-worshiping lizards every few feet, I called it a night.

I eagerly woke Saturday morning, ready to hit the big event. When I arrived at the convention center, I was surprised I didn’t see more people. As it turns out, I was a day early (so much is happening, I can barely remember what day it is, remember?). I wandered around the building for a bit and then sat to wait for the next shuttle to my hotel. While waiting, I struck up a conversation with an educator for Pravna from Los Angeles. When I told her about my six-week road trip, she couldn’t believe I drove all this way alone.

A few minutes after she left, a girl approached me and said, “My friend told me I had to meet you and hear about your trip.”  After chatting for a bit, she asked if I would like a behind-the-scenes look at how they get ready for such huge event. I jumped at the chance without a second thought.

The scene in the convention center was one of orchestrated chaos: dozens of forklifts spinning every which way, a maze of boxes, and hundreds of people scurrying about making last-minute preparations. Next, we went to the area where models were being prepped for the next day. Keep in mind, the hair portion of the event alone had over 100 companies participating. Every company had their own room to keep their top secret new hair designs under wrap until their big moment, so there are literally hundreds of “rooms” made from drapes and piping. Each room was a flurry of activity as people rushed around with color bowls, curling irons, hair pieces, costumes and other artistic hairstylist necessities.

I ended up spending most of the day learning about new colors and blow-out treatments from some really amazing people. Towards the end of the day, a stylist from Farouk asked if I wanted to be a haircut model the next day. As I thought about the crazy “styles” I’d seen onstage at other shows, my initial reaction was “no frickin’ way.” Then I remembered I wanted a hair cut before I left home but I didn’t have the time. My spirit of adventure kicking in, I viewed it as an opportunity to see another facet of the hair show world.

Smoothing my humidity-frazzled hair, I said, “Sure! Why not?” I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see the results.  Even if it turns out horrible, I still have four weeks on the road for any experiment to grow out.

If today was just a behind-the-scenes look, I can’t wait for tomorrow!

I’ve been planning this trip for months. I’m a wreck when it comes to leaving for just 3 days, so you can imagine how nervous I was planning for a 6-week trip (by myself, no less).  I can’t even tell you how many long-distance phone calls I made to line up just the right class in just the right state at just the right time.  Some places I really wanted to visit just didn’t fit with my overall schedule, so frustration and discouragement were feelings I got really, REALLY used to during the planning process. Then somehow things just fell together, and I felt really good about this whole idea right up until a few days before I left.  

I had so much to do and I was so busy at work, I didn’t think I could possibly get everything done. When it was finally time to leave and the car was (over)packed, I was still worrying about forgeting something. Placing my nerves aside, I crawled behind the wheel and headed for my first stop:  Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

As soon as I hit the highway, my feelings of anxiety vanished. For the first time in two weeks, I felt calm. My feelings of peace and tranquility intensified as I drove through the Idaho countryside, including some places I never knew existed. As I approached the majestic Grand Teton Mountain range, I thought I must have taken a wrong turn. The Wyoming I remember as a child consisted of long open roads and brown, flat land. Before me lay the purple mountain majesties I remember singing about in school and herds of elk and deer roaming the lush green plains of late spring. Then, right there in the middle of the road stood six MASSIVE buffalo. Up to that point, I’d only seen them on television, and now, here they were, just a few hundred feet away.

At that moment, I realized my adventure had just begun, and all the worries and frustration and nerves leading up to the trip no longer mattered. From that point on, I didn’t care that the temperature dropped from 67 degrees down to 27 and I found myself suddenly surrounded by snow.  I didn’t care that the route to Rapid City, South Dakota, was covered with snow, then rain, then fog. We’re so consumed by our daily routines and responsibilities, it is a rare moment when we find ourselves with nothing but open road ahead of us and behind us, when our biggest concern is where to eat and when the next rest stop is. I just need to sit back, relax and enjoy this journey.

Kim VO Red Carpet event in Portland, Oregon.

 

Prior to my six-week adventure, I attended the Kim VO Red Carpet event in Portland, Oregon. For those of you who haven't been, Portland is an amazing city: great shopping, fantastic restaurants, lots of funky little boutiques and a thriving music scene with a plethora of jazz and blues clubs. Despite the rain (or perhaps because of it), it's a charming and impressively clean and lush city, befitting of the witty and charming VO, a judge on Bravo's Shear Genius. Owner of salons in Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Laguna Beach, and Las Vegas, VO is a master colorist known for his blondes.

The Red Carpet event was--unlike traditional classes--a cocktail party featuring hors d'oeuvres. The informal setting was an opportunity to mingle with other stylists eager to learn Kim's secrets for achieving amazing blondes. Kim is far more approachable than I would have thought, given his credentials and what I've seen of him on tv. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend catching one of his classes. Many of his tips were so simple, like the pasta trick: he marks his clients' cards with the color formula, and sizes his highlights with "pasta notes." For example, very thin highlights are angel hair pasta, slightly thicker highlights are spaghetti, and chunkier highlights are fettuccini. This tip is so simple, but it helps deliver consistent results, whcih keeps yoru clients happy. I couldn't wait to get home and use his tips on some of my more demanding clients; they've saved me a great deal of time and I've achieved some amazing results because of them.

Special thanks to Salon Services for offering such useful classes, and an even bigger thanks for coming to Boise. I’ve very much enjoyed trying all the new products you make available. If you’re a stylist in Boise, Salon Services is a must. Not only do they have some fantastic products but sales rep Shaylin Barlow is the best. She's been nothing but cheery and friendly whenever I come in, and is very knowledgeable  and helpful with my many questions.

 

The Big Plan

When my career in the industry began 15 years ago as a way to support my daughters and myself, I never anticipated I would love it as much as I do. It was basically a means to an end that turned into a great career path for me.

After working in a small salon, I knew I wanted more from my career and started working for the biggest salon in Boise at the time.  Though it was more challenging, I was restricted to using one product line and I got roped in to doing a lot of stuff that goes into managing a salon: IT, inventory, payroll and bookkeeping.  After eleven years working at that salon, I knew my career was headed in a direction I didn’t like. I wanted to do CREATIVE work, not clerical work, and I wanted to do something that allowed me to explore my potential. It took me awhile to finally break free, and when I did, I started working at a smaller salon with no restrictions on products or hair design style.  I was actually encouraged to explore! Wow!  This was a turning point for me, and I was finally awakened to what I really wanted to do with my career.  

Realizing now how amazing all the things I have learned in the past year and how good it felt to explore and be creative led me to a crazy idea I hatched one sleepless night. I never wanted to be just an average hairstylist who finishes beauty school and never takes another class.  I’m always interested in new products, new techniques, and new styles, and the few times I’ve gone to big three-day shows, I’ve come back so inspired.  I’ve always tried really hard to educate myself with products so in turn I could educate my clients with the proper tools to recreate their styles at home. Now that I’m ENCOURAGED to experiment with an endless array of products, I feel I can’t learn enough or try enough products or techniques.

So back to the crazy idea. I haven’t always had the opportunity to travel far to take classes and although Boise has grown these past years, the local beauty industry is still lacking in innovation, creativity and personal development. I also haven’t had the opportunity to see much of this vast country of ours, so I started thinking I should combine my love of learning with my yearning for adventure. The plan? Six weeks. Multiple cities. Multiple classes or shows I’ve been dying to take from people I’ve been dying to meet in salons I’ve only read about or seen on TV.  So far, my journey starts in Atlanta, Georgia at the end of May. Next, I’ll head to Orlando, Florida June 4-6 for the Premiere Orlando International Beauty Event, then it’s on to a few states I’ve never seen before hitting New York City June 12.  Then I’ll be in North Hampton June 18-22 for a hair technique class (stay posted for more dates and cities).

Given that I LITERALLY live on cutting coloring and styling hair and I’ll be spending money rather than making it for four weeks, this journey will inevitably mean sleeping in my car, staying in a few less-than-four-star hotels, hitting a few camp grounds (anyone who knows me knows I’m not a camper!), and getting out of my comfort zone.  I thought for a brief second making a documentary of my travels, but since I  can’t stand the sound of my own voice I’ve decided to blog and post pics of  this whole trip so I can share my experience with friends, family and anyone else who wants to come along for the ride.

Along the way, I’ll be posting more information of where I’ll be and what I’m doing.  You can be part of the adventure by playing my Road Trip Trivia game on Facebook (Hey, I gotta keep myself entertained somehow driving alone for days on end!). If you’re going to be where I am on any given day, feel free to send me an email at kimberlyaessmaker@hotmail.com, or just reply to my blog posts.

I would like to thank all the salon owners, directors, educators and stylists that I have spoken with in the past several weeks. Everyone has been so helpful and open to this crazy idea. A big thank you to Dina Reilly from Hair Design TV who has taken my countless phone calls and answered my many questions, and a REALLY big thank you to all my clients that have been so amazingly supportive! I look forward to meeting everyone on my journey!