Have your say on the new Fellowship Forum

Do your sometimes feel that you're all alone as a hairdresser and nobody's listening?

Need to chat, meet, discuss or simply let off steam online?

Want to pick Fellowship member's brains on topics that are bothering you? Surely someone else must have experienced the same problems or issues you are currently experiencing, but who? And will they share their thoughts?

What have you been up to - wanna tell people all about it?

Got an opinon on the Fellowship, or hairdressing matters in general that you're simply bursting to share with the world...?

All this and more can be found on the Fellowship Forum. The latest exciting addition to the Fellowship's website.

Many of the discussion areas are 'open' forums, so you and your staff or anyone interested in these issues can post and comment back. You can even create a new topic and set up a new discussion trail. Why not encourage your stylists and staff to chat online with us?

There's also a dedicated "Members Only" area that will be accessed via a secret password, so Fellowship members have an exclusive forum to chart and share their thoughts, ideas, issues, dreams and aspirations with other members. Just click on the e-mail the link to our webmaster on the Forum page and - if you are a member - we'll send you the secret password for "Members Only"!

It's your Forum, so please feel free to use it!

President's Night 2008

Sean Dawson bowed out of his extraordinary two-year term as President in the same inimitable style that we had come to expect of him. Over 350 guests descended on the Natural History Museum in order to celebrate the President who has helped to make the Fellowship both grown-up and cool in equal measure.

During his term of office Sean focused on nurturing relationship with key Fellowship supporters. One of his outstanding legacies will be the creation of the Partnership program, designed to focus attention on the financial support that the organisation is fortunate enough to receive. By building a stronger business relationship with sponsors and supporters Sean has helped to cement the Fellowship's financial future for many years to come. Something that should not be underestimated.

Sean also brought a maverick and highly personal touch to his Presidency that was highly appealing to a younger, cooler and hipper new generation of stylists - the very ones who will in time create the future of the organisation, and the industry itself.

After the huge success of his first President's Night in 2007, held at Madame Tusaud's, Sean had a tough job coming up with something different to follow. However, all were in agreement that the atmosphere at the Natural History Museum was more than a suitable final flourish for a President who will, without doubt, be a hard act for Steven Goldsworthy to follow.

Sean was clearly moved as he bade his final farewell to the role of President, but he has promised that he will maintain a hands-on, active and encouraging role to the Fellowship in future. His passion for the Fellowship and hairdressing has brought him a long way, but he has an even longer journey ahead. We wish him well.

Picture by Andrew H Williams.

Meet our new Patron of Honour - Ann Herman

Fellowship stalwart Ann Herman was named as our new Patron of Honour at the recent President's Night event at the Natural History Museum.

Ann was chosen for this ultimate accolade by a unanimous vote of the Fellowship Council and the decision proved to be a highly popular one with members. From now onwards Ann's name will appear alongside fellow Patrons, Vidal Sassoon and Trevor Sorbie, on all Fellowship stationery and she will be an honoured guest at future Fellowship events.

Ann chose her acceptance speech to explain her simple philosophy about why she supports the Fellowship so wholeheartedly; "I consider every day that I work for the Fellowship to be an honour. When I retired from the day to day running of my hairdressing business I was terrified. Fortunately the Fellowship was at it's fruition and what started as a rather small part of my life has now turned into the cog that turns the wheel. It's given me a fantastic life - I've got an enviable social calendar and I love it. From the minute I get up the phone starts ringing 'til the minute I hit the pillow - and it's great. I wouldn't be here unless I was needed, and I like that. Don't think for a minute that this is my swansong, because I haven't been everywhere yet... but it's on my list!"

Our picture shows Ann with fellow Patron, Trevor Sorbie, and outgoing President, Sean Dawson. Picture by Andrew H Williams.

Meet The President - Exclusive First Interview!

Steven Goldsworthy is the new President of the Fellowship for British Hairdressing. He was elected at the AGM and installed at the final President's Night event of the previous President, Sean Dawson, at the Natural History Museum. His appointment was greeted with a warm welcome and he received a standing ovation from the 350 Fellows and guests in attendance.

Amidst all the excitement we managed to get a few opening questions answered by the new "MrP" outlining his initial plans for the next two years...

Q. How does it feel to be the new Fellowship President?
A. I am so honoured to be President of the Fellowship as I believe this is the most prestigious and important of hairdressing bodies. All of the years I have been a member I have always admired the drive and committment of previous Presidents and now I am privileged to be a part of this historical group.
Q. How do you see the role?
A. I hope that I can continue the wonderful work already done by past Presidents and at the same time make my own mark. I would like to continue what Sean has started with regards to making the Fellowship a more consumer recognised brand.
Q. What will be the main theme of your time as President?
A. One of the main things I am passionate about is communication! Hairdressers love to communicate but by nature are quite mysterious about certain things. Quite often we encounter problems within our salon and do not know who to talk to about it, my idea would be to have an open forum or blog where we can post a query or question and if any other Fellowship member can answer this would provide an outlet to do so. This could also be useful for the Business partners to be able to communicate between themselves and the members directly. The Fellowship website is marvelous and I would love to help make it even more so.
Q. Where do you see the Fellowship heading over the next two years?
A. I hope over the course of my Presidency that the Fellowship brand will become a little more consumer recognised and that the expertise between the Fellowship salons can be shared to ensure that we maintain our "Strength Through Quality" motto.

Karin ffiske

With great regret we announce the death of our former Secretary, Karin ffiske.

Karin ffiske joined the Fellowship team in 1979, back in the days when the organisation was known as the Fellowship of Hair Artists of Great Britain. She took on the role of Secretary in 1980 at a time when the Fellowship had just twenty-eight members. From that point until 1992 Karin was a stalwart supporter to two Chairmen and eight Presidents, during which time the organisation grew enormously in both stature and membership.

Karin was well known as a tremendous supporter of the core values that have always been a mark of the Fellowship’s existence. She was a friendly voice on the telephone, helping members wishing to attend events and activities, and a strong presence actively supporting key events – especially the President’s Night and Fellow's Luncheon - for many years.

Karin maintained the Fellowship’s secretarial role and supported the work of the Council and sub-committees with great skill and diplomacy. She maintained close contact with the association and was always keen to offer support when needed.

Karin ffiske will be greatly missed by those who knew and worked alongside her, and her legacy to the Fellowship will never be underestimated.

A.G.M. - A WINNER!

The Fellowship A.G.M. took place recently at the L'Oréal International Academy and the good news is that the organisation is in a stronger position than ever. Chairman, Frank Shipton, outgoing President, Sean Dawson and Secretary, Carol Spencer each told those in attendance that the Fellowship was financially stable, supported by a group of loyal partners, and that both events and the organisation behind the scenes were all in tip-top shape.

The elections of Steven Goldsworthy as President and Terry Calvert and Mark Creed as Vice-Presidents were greeted with enthusiasm. Mark and Steven went on to interview 2007 Fellowship Award winners Lisa Shepherd, Toby Dicker from The Chapel and Peter Goldsworthy in an informal event held immediately following the A.G.M.

Fashion Focus - Spring/Summer 2008

The fashion seasons roll around with relentless regularity and every six months the Fellowship Fashion Focus event presents the key trends and predictions for the future of hair – from street to couture, and everything else in between...

Spring/Summer 2008 was showcased at the Lowry Centre in Manchester recently as 21 top teams highlighted a diverse and largely retro-flavoured season ahead. The 2008 F.A.M.E. Team provided an excellent opening to the event with a dynamic showcase featuring their interpretation of the “Futuristic Rockstars” trend. Each of the 5 talented team members styled their vision of what the modern rock goddess – or aspiring goddess - should be sporting. Its all 80’s stack curls, blocky, gothic-inspired colour and bags of attitude apparently – so now you know!

The main action followed with seven key trend predictions being interpreted by three teams each, to display a wealth of technique, style and attention to the “top-to-toe” look. Cutting trends were showcased by Keith Hall, Russell Eaton and Vidal Sassoon, with strong lines and Bauhaus-inspired precision and graphic flavour being the key messages here. Colour predictions were in the hands of Philosophy, Mahogany and Westrow. Each showed Neon Bright flashes of colour in styles that ranged from outlandish 80’s backcombed’n’messy to chic hidden colour panels that were right on the button with current trends. P.Kai, Marc Antoni and The Gentry showed that movement and texture were an essential part of today’s style scene. 40’s and 80’s inspiration was key here, with waves and curls very much in evidence. Long hair followed a very similar feel with Goldsworthys, Andrew Collinge and The Chapel each presented looks that were about adding style and elegance with a retro twist to hair. Falltricks, M&M and Hooker and Young showed fashion-forward, directional trends from doll-like to retro-futuristic and sheer show-stopping glamour with a very contemporary edge - all stunning technical and style creations. Men were not forgotten as Alan D, Steven Carey and Kennedys showed dandy and military-inspired styles demonstrating that longer, classically barbered and more dressed looks were the thing for the man of the moment. Finally... Royston Blythe, Sanrizz and Scully Scully showed hair fashion with an urban edge with Streetbeat style showcasing trends for tight curls, multi-texture, volume and asymmetry.

There’s plenty to choose from it seems, with many diverse influences this season. Stay on the button with Fashion Focus Trends at www.fellowshiphair.com.

Fashion Focus was introduced by Fellowship President-elect, Steven Goldsworthy and ably co-hosted by President, Sean Dawson and HJ Deputy Editor, Ruth Hunsley. The event was coordinated by Ann Herman and project managed by Mark Creed. Photos by Frank Shipton and Steve Eckersley.

Project X shoot at Bedhead Studio

Project X recently completed their first photo shoot of the year of exciting education, shows and photographic opportunities.

The day began with presentations of the participant's mood boards. Their brief was to research a well known photographer - not necessarily just hair, but fashion or lifestyle photography were acceptable - and also to look at lighting and really research the way a shoot is put together. This was a great way of getting everyone in the mood for a creative day ahead and really got a lot of ideas flowing.

The brief for the day's shoot was to create commercial looks with the emphasis on wearable salon-friendly looks with a modern, young, fresh and edgy feel, using a mixture of textures.

The team worked on six models and created as many looks as possible working as a team. As Art Director of the shoot Robert Eaton was very impressed with the quality of work produced and the results reflected this. The skills they learned about putting a shoot together and making it flow through preparation and planning should help them throughout their careers.

Summing up the day, Robert Eaton said; "The Project X team were brilliant. It was inspirational to work with the Bedhead team who provided us with amazing photography,creative make up and stunning clothes styling. Well done guys!"

Marathon Lady Yesmin O'Brien

Congratulations to Yesmin O’ Brien, seanhanna’s Artistic Director who recently took part in the Flora London Marathon. She trained hard throughout the winter months 3-4 times a week to endure the 10k run but due to an injury couldn’t train at all throughout February. Undeterred, Yesmin joined 34,000 participants and successfully completed the course in 4hrs 23mins.

“It was so cold I felt like a robot running in slow motion!” Yesmin recalls. “I ran the Marathon last year but this year’s run was more difficult with rain and hailstones. I was afraid it was going to start snowing at one point!”

Despite the typical London weather Yesmin enjoyed the opportunity of raising money and awareness for her chosen charity SENSE, which helps the deaf and the blind. “Running the Marathon is such an amazing experience. It was lovely to be amongst such a large crowd of runners and to experience how charitable and supportive Londoners can be.”

Michael Charlesworth

We regret to announce that Michael Charlesworth, founder of the Headlines hairdressing business died recently. With true ‘Michael Charlesworth spirit’ he defiantly and even humorously fought a debilitating lung condition over the past 18 months and sadly and suddenly passed away with his fiancé Andrea Carrington at his side - just two days before their planned wedding.

Michael’s fiancé Andrea said, “Although Michael was awaiting a transplant and was very poorly, he seemed indestructible. His heritage is that he leaves his hairdressing and property businesses with a core strength in their fantastic teams who’ve been a huge support. Although Michael had an incredibly successful property investment portfolio, his drive and passion was always his hairdressing business.”

Michael Charlesworth founded Headlines Elite over three decades ago he had a broader vision of business that wasn’t based on his singular ability to ‘do’ hair. Michael summed ‘what makes him tick’ best himself, “I’m not motivated by ego and our business is based on broad appeal with a standard of work and level of service that pleases rather than overwhelms clients.” Prophetically Michael said in his last interview, “My philosophy is to make myself redundant in order to make my business successful.”

Our condolences to his family, loved ones and colleagues on the loss of this unique and talented man.

NICKY CLARKE OBE

Congratulations to Fellow with Distinction, Nicky Clarke, who recently vistited Buckingham Palace to be invested with the OBE that he received in the Queens Birthday Honour list in 2007.

Nicky was surprised and delighted to receive the honour; "I accept it as a huge personal honour and a reflection of the hard work and support of my partner Lesley in particular, and all the amazing team at the Nicky Clarke Company."