Rubys blog

Okay, so the Stevie English Hair team have set ourselves a new target as winning the business awards isn’t enough for this year already. Stevie Corthine has entered colourist of the year and Verity Griffiths and Kirsty Abbott have entered the Mens hairdresser of the year. I'm the salons saturday girl and i was lucky enough to hang around the guys and the shop and watch the shoots in progress.

It worked out that the salon had three shoots in a week, the salon was filled with a photographer and his assistants (Andrew Goldie). Make up artist’s, clothing and models. So amongst all this, and the constant flow of coffee the stylist's got to work tweaking and carrying out the finishing touches on the hair. This year men’s hair was kept reasonably short, sharp with distinctive angles. And both Kirsty and Verity was keeping the perimeters slightly shorter. And the range of women’s colouring was vast from a natural medium brown, to a fun, soft candyfloss pink for those who want to channel the half lady gaga, half sugar plum fairy look this summer Stevie told me he wants to see colours that the grey rinse set would rock but on young girls. All of the colours and styling products were supplied by the fabulous ammonia-free 0&M range.

For Kristy’s shoot, the theme was kept really casual and cool. Kirsty told me she wanted all her influences to come together in a melting pot, she loves long curly hair short spiky hair, im not sure if she just likes hot boys, i couldn't complain. All boys the had there own style and look and she tried to keep the theme using the light and the window. The clothing was supplied by Dana from Mawlai and Alvin from st augustine's academy

This year Verity was inspired by the whole true blood, twilight, gothic movement which is going on recently and wanted her shoot to reflect that. All boys were styled with messy yet hard-hitting hair, teamed with ripped jeans and lose baggy shirts. The whole shoot looked amazing. There was a lot of undercuts, and texture in the hair this year with the boys. Add a little eye-liner and you have a great collection, dark and inspiring.

Every aspect of these shots screams glamour. Stevie’s shoot was all about natural beauty, but bringing the blue Rinse brigade to the party the make up was kept minimal and all focus was on the hair. The collections influence was about Mrs Slocombe and her pals. Well thats what Stevie said i wasnt too sure what he was talking about, but thought every model, looked cool with their own colour which was coloured by Stevie, and they all pulled it of so well. All of the hairstyles were full of volume and texture with Verity Directing the styling. Coming into 2010, we are going to be seeing loads more volume in hair, so you can forget those straightners. The photo shoot's was my first and i thought they went really well, and I couldn't believe how hard it was to get one shot! the whole team worked so hard.

Ruby

Great Mens Hair

Kirsty is in the salon today shooting a mens collection, and it got me thinking about men's hair styling. Long gone are the times when men would just go to barbers. We have a large male clientele, who enjoy coming into the shop for a great chat, a beer or two and of course a FANTASTIC haircut. We watch fashions, and we think the the male shape in hair is all about the exterior being shorter, with undercuts being an extreme example of this. Watch this space after Christmas for some hot new looks for men by the team at Stevie English Hair.

Best Salon in Sydney!

WOW, We went one better than last year, and I have to say that I was completely speechless- well almost.
The City of Sydney Business Awards were held at the Sheraton on the
Park, and what a night. We were sitting with friends who were also nominated in our category- the owners of Suki, Sandy and her great husband , the lovely Bretts and Leonard who owns Desmond and Molly Jones, and Jasmin his lovely wife . It was an honor to be nominated and to be in such great company.
For us to win a business award is amazing and considering we have not made the two year mark even more incredible! I would like to thank all our clients who voted for us, and special thanks goes to the Stevie English team. I went and collected the award but its my team that won this, we have a lovely team who work together amazingly and I feel so lucky.
I never realised that success could be so much fun!

London and NY Style

I have just returned from a whirlwind visit to London and New York. I was lucky enough to be in London while Fashion Week was on, and just missed New York Fashion Week. But there was a lot to see, style and hair-wise, in both cities.

I'll start with London. The general street style in London is so eclectic and edgy that it's almost impossible to generalise. I saw some fantastic creative fashion during my short time there, and the hair is equally creative. The undercut, disconnected looks that are seen on celebs like Rihanna and Ruby Rose are big in London, as well as a newer trend for volume. On the catwalks during Fashion week, there were a lot of designers showing models with big, messy, backcombed hair. Long gone is the dead-straight, ironed-to-death hair. Volume is BACK which we know but in a serious styled down way, Kevin.Murphy has been leading the way.

I also noticed some punters working a combination of the two major trends- undercut and volume. A MAC makeup artist, who I didn't get a chance to photograph, had a brilliant afro with shaved sides. She looked absolutely amazing, and it was my favourite look from the whole trip.

I just missed New York Fashion week, but spent some time with a Bumble and bumble stylist who was still in town- John Ruggiero. New York is a buzz of energy and although John is based in L.A. he took time to show me some cool hair and how Bumble and bumble work.

I'm not sure what i was expecting from New York, what I got was a great city, loads of people and a real mix of cultures,and some interesting fashion. I was supposed to meet up with Vivienne MacKinder who has just been inducted to the American Hall of Fame but our schedules didn't quite match up. Hopefully I can interview her later in the year for prohairstylist .

Having spent time around London Fashion Week and then coming to New York I was expecting a similar fashion, but I left in love with New York but not with its fashion and hair.It was a little conservative for my taste and nothing really blew me away in the street, which was in contrast to London. I went all over NYC- Upper East Side, West Village, Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Midtown, Brooklyn, everywhere! The style there is just not quite as edgy and cool as London. Don't get me wrong, everybody looks great, and there are millions of models in the city, but it just didn't set me on fire creatively. I guess I'll just have to go back to New York and have a closer look- any excuse to return is good enough for me! I <3 NY!

American Crew Shoot 09

We had another crazy day on Sunday shooting. We are just getting our shots ready for American crew. American crew is a preppy black and white shoot, which sits really well for the boys. We have quite a large male clientele and its great to shoot boys for inspiration

Watching Other Hairdressers Work

Last week I was lucky enough to be asked to fly to Melbourne to watch Chumba Concept Salons shoot with the rockstar photographer Andrew O’Toole. I arrived at the Ozdare Academy bright and early to meet Karl Keeley, artistic director for Chumba, and his talented team. They were: Belinda, Karl’s wife and a great colourist, Tanya, Marcus, Peter and Kate. And I was down in Melbourne to cover it for prohairstylist.

These guys are so amazingly prepared and organised, and it was a real pleasure to see their creative process from start to finish. It also made me realise how disorganised I can be, and how much smoother a shoot goes with proper preparation. Good storyboards and delegation makes all the difference. And don’t get me started on the technical skills- I watched Belinda colouring a model’s hair and was so impressed by her placement and toning ability.

Unless you have been living in Antarctica for the past 10 years, you have probably heard of Andrew O’Toole. He shoots a lot of hairdressing collections, from the UK to Australia. He definitely looks the part of the superstar photographer, but when I met him he was lovely. His team work really efficiently setting up lighting and it’s easy to see why he’s the best.

The magic happens on shoots when all the elements some together, and on this job it definitely did. Carls’ team did a beautiful job on the hair, Letitia Dare is an amazing stylist, Kylie O’Toole’s makeup was spectacular and the man Andrew behind the camera doing his thing- it was organised, but there was a great frenetic energy in the studio. I thing the secret is creativity and preparation, and the results were stunning!

Big thanks to the Chumba team for having me, to Andrew and Kylie O’Toole for chatting with me and giving me some great insights into their success. Can’t wait to see the final shots during the awards season this year!
Damn im lucky!

Final Shots for Isson Campaign

When you see this shot in magazines just know that it was done from one of the talented team at Stevie English Hair, Verity.
She could be your hairdresser!
This campaign is going in the following mags for starters

• Curve
• Harpers Bazaar
• Grazia
• Marie Claire
• Vogue
• Instyle
• Cleo
• Russh
• Fashion Journal

FINALIST City of Sydney Business Awards. AGAIN!

Wow we have done it again, Stevie English Hair is a finalist in the City of Sydney Business Awards. Thank you to our lovely loyal clients and friends who voted for us!
We are thrilled, this is our second year as finalist and hopefully we can go on and do one better than last year.

Stevie English Hair does City2Surf

City to surf is the largest fun run in the world. And some of the team from Stevie English Hair were mad enough to run it with Wiggs

Fashion Trends and Stevie English Hair

This is the link to the editorial shoot Verity just finished
http://www.fashionising.com/pictures/b--Siberia-2020-FASHIONTREND-Magazine-Issue-16-2015.html
Some really cool hair

City of Sydney Business Awards

It's that time of the year again. Last year we were surprised to be nominated in the City of Sydney Business Awards, and this year it has happened again. We would love to make the finals and get a chance to impress the judges, so please give us a hand and vote for us! You can vote via SMS or on the web.
online vote here Sms : Stevie 0407877677

Also, our wonderfully talented designers, Afficionados of the Nod, are also up for a prize. they are the geniuses (geniuii?!?) responsible for the wallpaper, fabric and interior design of the entire salon including our awesome logo. They are unbelievable. So while you're on the Awards website, could you give them a little vote too.
online vote here sms THENOD 0407877677
check out there website

Finally, our accountant Anna from AKA Group is nominated too! She is the best accountant in Sydney by a long shot, we would be bankrupt without her! So please show Anna some voting love!
online vote here sms akagrp 0437877677
check out there website

Isson Look book

Verity has just been out the shop doing the look book for Isson, she came up with the whole look, cutting and colouring wigs.

Twitter Tuesday Trim again

Everybody loves a bargain, right?
Ever heard of Tight@*s Tuesday? We are introducing our own bargain day-the last Tuesday of every month. We will call it #twittertuestrim and it will be a special offer for all Twitter followers of @stevieenglish @mellalicious @littlemumma @zoe_king . 20% at Stevie English Hair, just mention #twittertuestrim and book on the last Tuesday of the month. Deal.
Its such a great deal I'm posting it twice.

Fashion Trend

We are in the business of creating trends here at the English. Verity is leading the way. Here is a shoot that just got published in Fashion Trend.

Twitter tuesday Trim

Everybody loves a bargain, right?
Ever heard of Tight@*s Tuesday? We are introducing our own bargain day-the last Tuesday of every month. We will call it #twittertuestrim and it will be a special offer for all Twitter followers of @stevieenglish @mellalicious @littlemumma @zoe_king . 20% at Stevie English Hair, just mention #twittertuestrim and book on the last Tuesday of the month. Deal.

Barbie Awards

Jade and Georgie did the hair for the Barbie Awards it was a great night lots of cool dancers and some fun hair