Stylists from across the mid-western states experienced TONI&GUY's "Reflective" collection from those most familiar with the styles and techniques -- the artists who created them.
Nearly 20 licensed stylists from Ohio, Michigan and Indiana attended a 2-day class Oct. 24-25 to learn the break down of "Reflective" from TONI&GUY Art Team Members Zak Mascolo, Joseph Marzioli and Laura Beth Wilson. For the Toledo TONI&GUY Hairdressing Academy students who had the opportunity to assist and observe during the class, the training was an incentive to raise their dreams and expectations of themselves.
"They are so fast and so accurate it's frightening," said Jen Bates, a senior student. "They're like ninja stylists."
Bates, who hopes to become a colorist at a TONI&GUY salon after her graduation, assisted in mixing and applying color both days of the training and said she was overwhelmed at all she learned in the short time.
"She just asked me to mix up color and the next thing I knew I was doing new color patterns on one of my classmates' heads who was a model for Zak," Bates said. "While she was working at the next chair she was telling me the next step -- all the sudden I had new patterns and new techniques in my brain and it was amazing."
"We used semi-circular patterns instead of the straight traditional patterns," she said. "We also used multiple colours within each mesh, so it gave it a shine effect in the back and in the front it made it multi-tonal without having to separate the processes. It made it much faster and it made it easier to blend."
Why is that important?
"Uh, time is money," Bates said with a chuckle.
As a stylist-in-training, the ability to observe the same training as the licensed, established hairdressers attending the class gave Bates an example of the academy's dedication to raising the standard for hairdressing education in northwest Ohio.
"Where else are you going to have the chance as cosmetology students to interact so closely with those type of people? It was amazing," Bates said. "Laura Beth could have ordered me around and said anything she wanted to me and I would have taken it, but she treated me as an intelligent individual and didn't look at me as a student. She looked at me as a colourist."
Junior Mandy Krohn assisted the educators on the first day of class, then was a cut model for the "Stella," a look created by Joseph Marzioli. Simply watching and interacting with the Art Team members the first day was the coolest part for Krohn -- the second day she was in too much shock from having nearly 12 inches cut off of her hair to pay much attention to the teaching on stage.
"It's good experience for us to see it. It's kind of important for us to go and do things and watch things to expose yourself to it," Krohn said, adding that the advanced classes are fantastic networking opportunities for students. "It creates more opportunities for you in the future if you really spend the time to talk to [the salon owners present]."
E-mail Recruiting Director Kristin Reichardt at kreichardt@toniguy.com for more information on upcoming advanced education opportunities.
Awesome article! What a transformation Mandy had; she was beautiful before, but really sophisticated after. Nice job Toledo!