Andrew barton's redken debut and countdown to opening
Andrew Barton has had a hectic few weeks. His new salon just weeks away from opening, he has just been named Hair Magazine's Ultimate Hairdresser and made his debut as a platform artist for Redken.
"My little cotton socks have never worked as hard as they have this last few weeks! The first Andrew Barton salon is due to open on the second week in November so it's action stations!
"There are builders hard at work in the salon and I have just started induction training to get the newly recruited team ready for the launch.
"It's not just about teaching them the Barton way of cutting, styling and thinking about hair, we also want our customers to have the best experience of being at the home of Andrew Barton and it will be down to the team to deliver that.
"Of course everything else can't stop while I work on the salon. I am currently seeing clients at a friend's salon and I have just taken part in my debut show for Redken at TRIBE. 
"It was a fantastic show and we have had a great response from guests on the night and by email since. With all the doom and gloom and talk of recession I wanted the show to be lively, vibrant and fun rather than sultry and moody and that is exactly what we did.
"The show celebrated Redken colour and we had ten models all showing off the shades in the Redken brights range.
"Halfway through the show, when audience least expected it, the models pulled off their hair - which was actually brightly coloured wigs - to reveal a bevy of Redken blondes.
"We'd set about creating a Studio 54 vibe and we wanted it to be larger than life, but not in a weird way. So we created beautiful looking wigs, but with an exaggerated amount of hair.
"Each wig was hand-stitched with extensions to give it four or five times more hair than normal, so it felt like we were doing about 100 heads. It was hard work, but judging by the reaction well worth it!
"In other good news, this week I have been voted the Celebrity Hairdresser of the Year by readers of Reveal magazine and have also won the Ultimate Hairdresser Award and Hair Magazine's annual awards. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll make it a trio of awards before the year is out..."
