Behind the scenes at hj's 2011 british hairdressing awards judging
Published
12th Aug 2011
by rachael
A prestigious panel of judges presided over HJ's 2011 British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional - here are some of their thoughts on the entries.
Desmond Murray
"Newcomer was an amazing category this year, the standard was great. It was nice to see people pushing the boundaries by using brighter, bolder colours rather than subtle shades. I was also impressed by the Avant Garde category; a few collections really took my breath away."
Tim Scott-Wright
"It's great that people are still investing in collections despite the economic climate. I thought Eastern and Southern were strong categories, and I found Artistic Team hard to judge. It was fantastic to see artistic teams entering and creating such lovely collections."
Jamie Brooks
"I thought the standard overall was pretty good, especially in the Southern and Eastern categories. I was very surprised by the number of high-quality entries in the Avant Garde category and I was incredibly impressed with the Artistic Team entries - good luck to all."
Tim Avory
"I thought London was very strong, as was Midlands and Southern. The standard of entries had gone up a level and some people had spent a lot of money creating beautiful imagery. However, there were others that had obviously done their collection on a shoestring and still had amazing results."
Akin Konizi
"There was a big polarity between great and not-so-great collections, with people being more adventurous and daring. It was good to see people aren't afraid to try something new and push their own creativity."
Errol Douglas
"The standard was high throughout and people had thought about the story of their collection, so rather than seeing four separate images, there was a theme holding them together."
Mark Leeson
"Judging HJ's British Hairdressing Awards is always such an honour, and seeing all the fresh new photographic work is one of the highlights of my year. I can honestly say that the standard this year was incredibly high. So many collections pushed boundaries like never before, and there was a real emphasis on high-quality hairdressing. The work this year demonstrates that British hairdressing is still on top and directing the world in the hair stakes."
Mark Hill
"I really enjoyed judging; the quality and standard was very strong. Overall the professionalism of the collections are getting better every year."
Carolyn Newman
"It was great to see a record number of entries in the Schwarzkopf Professional British Colour Technician of the Year category. The portfolios were interesting and it was good to see people technically challenging themselves."
Darren Ambrose
"Judging HJ's British Hairdressing Awards was a great experience, not only to see firsthand what's out there in terms of the talent representing British hairdressing, but also to put a worthy winner through and make their year. The standard of British hairdressing doesn't surprise me as I feel we have some of the best creative talent globally, a real raw collection of talented people. It was great to see such talent all over the UK and not in small pockets of the country. I was especially surprised by the energy and feel in the Men's category."
Andrew Collinge
"Some of the regions were very strong, and I thought Artistic Team was excellent. Creative boundaries were being pushed and it was great to see new skills and techniques coming through."
Robert Eaton
"I thought Midlands, Southern and Artistic Team were very strong categories. They were hard categories to judge as people were being more experimental."
- Follow @HJi on Twitter for all the latest news from this year's event
- Stay up to date with the British Hairdressing Awards 2011 with out news channel
- See all the finalists in the British Hairdressing Awards 2011
