Bha winners celebrate at the ivy

The winners of HJ's British Hairdressing Awards 2007, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional, gathered together at London hot-spot The Ivy for an exclusive lunch to celebrate their success. It was an opportunity to get a first glimpse of this year's winners' supplement, which they all agreed was the best in years, and to receive a copy of the DVD of the memorable evening. While some of the winners admitted they were a little nervous about seeing their speeches in the cold light of day, there was also the odd request for extra disks to give to their proud parents!Speaking to the hairdressers, it was really nice to hear that they each had different tales about their experiences in the awards: from Jim Shaw, who won the Men's Awards at his first attempt; to Liz Shipton, who won Wales and South West Hairdresser of the Year after numerous entries; to Errol Douglas who entered the Hall of Fame for winning the Afro Award three times, 12 years after his last victory; to Newcomer of the Year Anna Chapman, who put her initial photos together on a shoe-string budget using models she hand-picked in the street. While the hairdressers all had different tales to tell, there were recurring themes that all the winners agreed on:

• Entering is a lot of hard work and you have to do plenty of research and prep-work - but if you win, it is well worth the effort!
• Winning creates a real buzz in your salon; for both the staff and the clients. Some reported that business had increased by as much as 10%
• They couldn't wait to get started on this year's collections!

British Hairdressing Awards winners>> Pictures of the British Hairdressing Awards 2007>> Here's what some of the winners had to say...