Young hairdressers have talent: talentspotting 2008

The semi-finalists for this year's Talentspotting competition have been announced after a tense day of judging the hundreds of moodboards that had come flooding into the L'Oréal Professionnel Academy.

This year, judges Errol Douglas MBE, Terry Calvert, from Clipso, and Brooks & Brooks' Sally Brooks had the additional task of judging moodboards from the exciting new Junior Art Team Category which encourages under-25's from the same salon to form a young artistic team.

There was an unprecedented amount of moodboard entries with all entrants bidding for an opportunity to win top prizes including a place on the 2008 L'Oréal Professionnel Exposure Tour to Barcelona.

Talentspotting judge and official mentor for 2008, Terry Calvert from Clipso was overwhelmed by the high standard and number of Moodboards entered this year.

He said: "It is so exciting to see so much young fresh talent being displayed. We need competitions like this to encourage and discover the hairdressing talents of the future."

The grand final will be held on Monday 27th October at the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in London.

Talentspotting 2008 Semi Finalists

London - Individual Category

• Spencer Hicks - Trevor Sorbie, Brighton
• Yann Byrie, Trevor Sorbie, London
• James Busby, Headmasters, London

London - Junior Art Team Category

• Cheryl Muffett, Kirsty Kavanagh, Rachel Clarke & Pauline Lacoste - Garrec & Webster, East Oxted
• Luke Reed, Joanne Thompson, Cody MacPherson - The Hair Advice Centre, Englefield Green
• Kieron Roberts, Ben Talbort & Zoe Warrington - Ego Hair, Queens Park

Irish - Individual Category

• Elaine Cooper - Cats Hair Group, Dublin
• Christina Lynch - Zeba Hairdressing, Dublin
• Dean Hickey - Kazumi, Dublin

Irish - Junior Art Team Category

• Laetitia Addis, Emma-Louise Spence & Suzanne Brooker - Natural Hair Company, Lisburn, Belfast
• Karrie Fitzmaurice, Niamh O'Sullivan & Joanna Clifford - Melo Yelo, Hugh Campbell Group, Limerick
• Leanne Arkins, Claire Sherldan & Natalie Johnson - House of Colour, Dublin

Scottish - Individual Category

• Bianca Gray - Gray's International, Airdrie
• Victoria Brankin - Salon Ian, Falkirk
• Lyndsay Speirs - McCallum Salon, Paisley

Scottish - Junior Art Team Category

• Bianca Gray, Lauren Gray & Karen Gibbons - Gray's International, Airdrie
• Lisa-Jayne Leiper, Connie Marshall & David Macintosh - Couper & Co, Falkirk
• Simone Miller, Nicola Holburn & Fraser Kerr - Charlie Miller, Edinburgh

Northern - Individual Category

• Andréa Daley - Barbara Daley Hair & Beauty, Liverpool
• Kylie Tidswell - Saks Hair & Beauty, Halifax
• David Steven Goodrich - Sutherland and Barnett, Nottingham

Northern - Junior Art Team Category

• Angel Montague-Sayers, Victoria Wood, Emmenuelle Montague Sayers & Chriss Halls --Sally Montague Hair Group, Derby
• Jonathan Weston, Lauren Twigg, Charlotte Clegg & Andrew Smith - RMUK, Leeds
• William Ackerley, Adam Odle, Jack Williams & Zoe Hanson - Baroque Hair Ltd, Harrogate

Midlands - Individual Category

• James Taylor - Georges Hair Salon, Leicester
• Kayleigh DeVries - Craig Chapman Hair Design, Cornwall
• Samantha Fairley - Saks Hair 7 Beauty - Bristol

Midlands - Junior Art Team Category

• Aysha Catan, Sally Gooch, Helen Buck & Marcus Wright - Mack Hair Salon, Chelmsford
• Stacey Dexter, Christina Mhadjicostas & Amber McCarthy - Novo Hair, Southend-on-Sea
• Kirsty Burns, Ashleigh Felton & Jenny Thompsom - Hair at Creations, Gosport

Talentspotting 2007

• Talentspotting 2008 semi finalists' moodboards
• Olive's Hair Heros win Talentspotting 2007
• L'Oreal Talentspotting 2007 Grand Finalists Announced 
• Hair Industry Competitions explained: Talentspotting