Catching up with the 2011 clynol protégé team
Published
11th May 2011
by rachael
The 2011 Clynol Protégé team was announced earlier this year - and now, four months on, HJi catches up with team member Annie Hindson (far right in above picture) who kept a diary of the team's first few challenges.
Day 1
We spent the first day as a team introducing ourselves and generally getting to know each other, along with those in the 2011 Schwarzkopf Professional Young Artistic Team. We all filled out a little booklet about ourselves for the press, to help them get to know us all a bit.
Day 2
Day two was spent with industry trainer Debbie G. She helped us to bond as a team and gave us advice to improve our presentation skills. We all had to do two presentations to the group, one about ourselves and one about 'our collection' which we had to present convincingly.
At the end of the day the ice was well and truly broken and embarrassing stories had been shared - but what was said in that boardroom stays in that boardroom!
Day 3
Our third day was spent working on our presentation skills again with Debbie G. We were all given a model head and had to plan a twenty minute presentation working on timing, methods and visual aids. In the afternoon we all had to present and were recorded too, which added another edge to an already scary prospect - especially when we had to watch ourselves back!
After a few cringe-worthy minutes we all relaxed and were able to judge both the positives and think about what needed to be improved. The two days we all spent with Debbie G were priceless. It felt like we'd known each other for years and are now much more confident about talking on stage.
Day 4 and 5
The next two days that we spent together consisted of intense sessions in both theory and practical skills. The theory sessions were really useful as it reinforced all the rules of colouring, while the afternoons took us right back to basics.
Day 7
Day seven was spent with Tracey Devine who demonstrated a cut and colour. It was really interesting to see someone who has achieved so much working up close, and I really felt like I had learned a lot.
In the afternoon we worked on models. Mine was fantastic and I felt that what I'd learned in the morning helped me be more creative. I borrowed a pair of Tracey's very small scissors to complete the cut - it was great to be able to try different tools, and I and was really happy with how the whole look came together.
Day 8
We spent day eight with Janer Stewart from Angels and again we enjoyed demos in the morning and practical sessions in the afternoon. Janer presented two models, including a cut with razors. This was particularly interesting as most of us weren't 100% confident with using them.The colour was also lovely and Janer showed us how using 'veils' of colour can create stunning looks, a technique which I trialled on the model in the afternoon.
Day 9
Today was spent with Vanilla's Sara Barlow. She was amazing and effortlessly created endless different looks from smooth, classic styles to more trend-led modern looks. Sara was hilarious and her energy was infectious, so we were all raring to go when the practical session started.
Day 10
I was really excited about the tenth day of training as we got to work with Gary Taylor on gents' grooming. I do work on men's hair in the salon but not very confidently and felt this was definitely a day I could take a lot away from.
Gary created three different looks and showed us loads of different tools and techniques. I definitely learned a lot from the sessions and feel much more at ease with using razors - although I think I will still be popping a couple of balloons practising using a cut throat razor!
Day 11
Our second day with Sara was just as interesting as the first but this time the hair was slightly more avant garde. I love doing hair up but this was slightly more challenging. Sara created another huge collection of creative styles and confirmed her love of bun rings, with six in the hair her current record - one which I plan to beat!
Day 12
I didn't really know what to expect from the day we had with PR guru Louise Wood, but it was very exciting. Louise had a mock model casting planned for a pretend photoshoot. It was great to experience a casting and learn what to expect and look out for. It gave us a great idea of what to do for our own test shoot, which is coming up soon.
To end our day we had to write press release about our day and what we had learned throughout the week. It was really hard to write, but we all really got into it and then had to present back to the group.
