Peace, Love, Happiness and Paul Mitchell

My eyes scanned the room. Lights over the convention center arena seats had dimmed as the beat of the music thumped louder. Huge screens at the back of the stage came alive with colorful images. The enthusiasm was clearly palpable…positively electric. The crowd was eager to get the party started. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2014 Paul Mitchell Signature Gathering!”

Capturing the moment is near impossible. First to arrive on stage, via motorcycle suspended  from the ceiling on wires, ala Cirque Du Soleil, is cofounder and CEO of John Paul Mitchell Systems, John Paul De Joria. He then introduced the co-owner, Paul Mitchell’s son, Angus, aka The Mitch Man, along with the World Artistic Director, Robert Cromeans.

They brought us up to date on the newest products and styling tools to be released in 2014 and 2015. And, back in the salon, we can’t wait to share these amazing innovations.

You asked for it, and it’s finally here. This fall the salon will update its software to include online booking. That’s not all. Hold on to your hats. ROK Mobile is on its way…bringing you unlimited talk, text, data, music and radio on any phone, anywhere for $49.99 a month! A portion of the profits will go to Paul Mitchell the Schools around the country.

This event is quite unique because the breakout classes are all hands-on. Each of us worked on manikin heads to actually perform the haircuts, hair color and up-styles. I often tell myself that I’ll get at least one thing from each class. This time, every single workshop was filled with useful, usable techniques that can be utilized in a myriad of ways.

The current Paul Mitchell trend collection is called Origami, from the ancient art of folding paper to create sculpture. This beautiful art form was reflected in everything we encountered over the two day show. From the hair color and styles we created in the classrooms, to the costume designs on stage, it was truly magical. I gained a ton of inspiration. The newest form of color blending allows for seamless dimensional shifts of light, medium and dark.You can never really tell where one tone starts and another begins. There is asymmetry in the haircuts. But, they are blended in a way that allows for more versatility in the styling.

It was a whirlwind trip. Five of us from the salon met at seven in the morning on Sunday. We loaded up a minivan and headed out from Savannah to Atlanta. Up, up and away, we flew on Southwest Airlines direct flight to Las Vegas. We were so pumped up, it felt like we could almost fly there ourselves. Among us was our youngest stylist, attending her first Gathering, and on her first flight! I loved watching her eyes grow wide with the wonder of it all.

Here we are, the Angelora salon team with Angus Mitchell and John Paul De Joria at the Peace, Love & Happiness party.

 

We were all far more subdued on our trip back which began at three in the morning on Wednesday, our heads swimming with new information and grand ideas.

Speaking for myself, I have just now begun to clear the fog of travel. I’ve already used some techniques from class. And speaking for our salon team, we are so very grateful to have had this opportunity to grow and learn. I’m already working on saving for the next time. Anyone up for Hawaii?