Akin Konizi's blog

Hair, there and everywhere!

2010-10-20T15:17:53Z

Christmas is looming and I can't believe it! From travelling to countries including New York and Germany through to working with Australian FAME Team and presenting at Salon International last weekend, its just been one thing after another but I love it! And obviously the 2010 British Hairdressing Awards are now just a month away!!!

Having presented at Hair @ Work in Mannheim, Germany with the team in September, a week later it was off to the ghd Leeds Academy to teach their advanced course. As brand ambassador for ghds, it's great to be able work closely growing talent and with education being so essential, it is fantastic to work with new audiences and those coming through the ranks.

Later in the month I met up with John Frieda as I presented HAIRraising with a cheque highlighting all the monies raised from HOB Salons' fundraising for the cause. With the support of our amazing team and clients, HOB Salons managed to raise a staggering £28,450 for the very worthy Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children's appeal.

Ending the month with a visit to New York, the HOB Education Team and I presented a show for Italian Product Manufactures Z-One Concept. After a busy few days we returned to London and October has continued with lots of shows, shoots and teaching.

Having just returned from presenting at Salon International 2010 where I got to view the gallery, the arrival of the BHA's is feeling very real. With the competition so stiff I wish all the nominees in every category the best of luck and look forward to seeing everyone on the 22nd November.

This weekend you can catch HJ's London Hairdresser of the Year and HOB Creative Team member Darren Bain at Britain's Next Top Model LIVE at ExCel at he styles the hair for the fashion catwalk and presents on the KISS Open Catwalk.

Until next time!

Looking ahead

2010-09-07T16:11:24Z

This year is flying past and now it's only a few months until the hairdressing Oscars - the 2010 British Hairdressing Awards! We started our shoots in August and the last few days have seen us wrapping up the second round as we prepare to meet this Friday's deadline. Although a really exciting time, the next few months will also be nail biting as we await the big day.

With next month seeing the arrival of Salon International all will be revealed as we get to see the collections that have been short listed in each category, all exposed in the much anticipated gallery - can't wait!

As well as our own shoots, I recently mentored the ghd artistic team as they carried out their own photographic shoot. As the Global Brand Ambassador for this cool styling tool it was great to be involved and see their vision come to life.

And that's not all! The next few weeks and months are going to be much of the same; very busy and very hectic! This Saturday will see me make my first stop in Germany as the team and I present to Hair @ Work in Nannhein. I always really look forward to visiting new places, seeing their culture and introducing them to different looks and techniques, it should be good.

Until next time, Alvederzane!

Time flies...

2010-07-15T14:01:11Z

It has been anther very busy few weeks and can't believe we are nearly in August! The last month has been filled with welcoming a host of new attendees to the HOB Academy as they fly in from around the globe including Spain and Italy to embrace HOB's unique teaching approach, as well as doing our photographic shoots in preparation for the 2010 British Hairdressing Awards and of course my HAIRraising commitments continue on.

The end of last month saw me invited, alongside some of the biggest names in British hairdressing, to the House of Commons for their annual Hair Council Luncheon. As a guest on the day, I was asked to give a speech about the importance of State Registration for hairdressers and then enjoyed the lovely meal served to us as we showed our support for this new legislation.

A few days later, as temperatures soared into the 30's and the England team exited the World Cup, I was at HOB Salons Ruislip for the co-founders HAIRraising day. Held on Sunday 27th June, it was great to see all the team getting in the spirit by donning fancy dress and I even brought my two sons along to enjoy the fun and games at the salon of the day. Raising over £1,200 on the Sunday alone, the team really did a great job and made it a true success!

With only 6 weeks more fundraising left to go as the August HAIRraising closing date nears, for those of you that are keen to get behind this great appeal but have not had the chance to yet, now is the time to make your donation! Every little helps so try to dig deep!

I'm in Leeds today as I continue my work as the Global Brand Ambassador for ghd but on Monday got the chance to see some of the rising talent coming through the industry at Fellowship Member's Night. I remember when Clive, Paul and I first started out and Ann Herman gave us the chance to also present our ideas on stage. It is daunting but equally very exciting so it was lovely to be there and see the growing creativity in our industry first hand. After being interviewed on stage by Terry Calvert, I finally enjoyed a day off on Tuesday but with a hectic schedule taking me to Italy this weekend to teach an Advanced Creatives course alongside Darren Bain, I guess it is true what they say, there really is no rest for the wicked!

Until next time x

WHAT A MONTH!

2010-06-02T16:22:03Z

How time flies when you are having fun and the last month has certainly been a quick one.

My new commitments as the Global Ambassador for ghd has seen me present at the London venue of the Choose Your Destiny Tour and hold a presentation course at the HOB Academy for the new 2010 ghd Creative Team, whilst the HOB Academy has taken me to Milan and Florence in the last 4 weeks alone.

If that wasn't enough to keep me busy, we also welcomed a large group of Italian hairdressers from manufacturers Z One Concept and D&D Trends to London for bespoke training. Now into June and I can hardly believe we are in the process of doing our shoots for the 2010 British Hairdressing Awards! My team and I have been working so hard on concepts, briefing the shoot team and booking models that I'm ready to collapse, but I always seem to get so much adrenalin from this aspect of my role, that I always have a reserve of energy for the shoot days!

With our 20th salon now open in Ruislip, we are set to hold a charity day on Sunday 27th June as part of the National Co-Founders HAIRraising Day at the new salon to continue our support of this fantastic appeal. Having already raised over £30,000 for HAIRraising, I'll be at the Ruislip salon with the team who are offering half price hair cuts, with all proceeds going to HAIRraising. With only 3 months left of fundraising for the appeal, I hope you are all embracing the cause and doing as much as you can to raise further funds and awareness.

So happy the sun is finally shining, it makes such a difference! Enjoy the weekend, it's meant to be a scorcher! x

HAIRraising success!

2010-04-30T15:39:43Z

Well I finally made it back from my Easter holiday safe and sound after having an extended break due to the Icelandic volcano crisis! With so much work to do back here, it was very frustrating although if I'm going to be stranded, then Antigua is not a bad place to be!

Back on British soil, I headed to HOB Salons in Camden the very next day to support the team in our company-wide HAIRraising day on Sunday 25th April and what a great day it was! All the salon teams really pulled it out the bag, going to incredible lengths for the appeal and the total - between £25,000 - £30,000 from the day, is testament to their amazing fundraising efforts!

From bake sales and raffles to live bands and even celebrity supporters including England footballer Jermain Defoe, the day was great fun!

I'm so inspired to see salons up and down the country going to great lengths for this fantastic cause and I really believe that together we can reach John Frieda's target of £1million if we all do something between now and August. Happy HAIRraising! Akin

EASTER BREAK

2010-04-12T15:01:02Z

With my two boys off school for Easter, we have all headed to Antigua for some much needed sun, relaxation and family time. It has been so lovely to take some time out and being away from the hustle and bustle of London has made me realise how important it is to take time out and regroup from time to time.

I'm sitting here, enjoying a cold drink, recovering from a great day at the beach with the family...surely this is the life!

Meet the new ghd ambassador - me!

2010-03-31T12:29:38Z

I am delighted to announce that I am now the newly appointed Global Brand Ambassador for styling super-brand ghd!

This exciting role will see me working on a host of projects including mentoring the new ghd creative art team, consulting on creative ventures, art directing shoots, delivering education globally and acting as a press spokesman for the brand.

I've already been involved in auditioning for the new ghd creative team and am delighted with the talented people that have been selected.

ghd is a brand that I respect and admire, so I am really looking forward to the collaboration and can't wait to get started!

HOB Amersham opens in support of HAIRraising

2010-03-30T12:12:42Z

I have to say a huge congratulations to our long-standing team member May Bukauskiene (in the centre of the picture) who launched her second franchise salon this week!

May is taking the HOB brand to Buckinghamshire, and her new team in Amersham did an incredible job for HAIRraising by donating ALL proceeds from their opening day to the charity, for which I am proud to be a co-founder.

Offering clients services at half price, the team managed to raise an astounding £1,575.00 for HAIRraising. If one salon can raise that amount in one day, imagine how much we could all raise as an industry together!

Fun and Frolics at the HOB Awards 2010

2010-03-29T12:24:44Z

I'm still getting over our company awards which took place recently at Gilgamesh in Camden - what a night!

Much like external awards, company awards have become such an integral part of our business strategy and are an effective way of motivating staff by rewarding those who have been fundamental in getting us to where we are today.

As you can imagine, the evening was full of excitement and anticipation as the salon teams celebrated and commiserated! Well done to all our worthy winners and thanks to all those who came down. You can find details of all the HOB award winners on HJi.

GREAT ORMOND STREET VISIT

2010-02-27T17:48:59Z

As a co-founder for HAIRraising, I was invited to visit the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital this week with London Hairdresser of the Year, Darren Bain.

We were both shown around the hospital by the lovely Lesley and Laura from the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity and got to see how our fundraising will help.

The differences between the older buildings and the newer developments were astonishing and really highlighted just how much the money raised will help the hospital, staff, patients and the relatives of patients. Back in the salons and our teams are coming up with some great ideas and it's fantastic to see them getting enthusiastic about such a worthwhile cause.

http://www.gosh.org/hair-raising/ is being constantly updated with information on the incredible prizes available so don't forget to check it for the latest updates.

BEST OF BRITISH

2010-02-26T10:42:43Z

With the music and film awards season in full swing, I was requested by Pixie Lott to style her hair for The Brits last week where she was nominated for three awards.

Pixie's flight from LA landed in London much later than expected, so we all had to muck in and work extra hard to get her ready in time for the red carpet!

Working with her clothes stylist and makeup artist to give her a sophisticated red carpet look, I created 40s-inspired waves with a high sheen, polished finish for old-school glamour.

Despite not walking away with any awards on the night, Pixie received lots of positive press coverage on her style, which was great to be a part of - check out Cosmopolitan's Beauty Icon of the Week.

HOB TEAM AT LONDON FASHION WEEK

2010-02-25T17:07:54Z

With LFW having come to a close for another season, it was great to see members of my team involved in three of the key on-schedule shows.

Kicking off LFW on Friday, Alex Green (2008 Wella Trend Vision UK Young Talent Award) was excited to be part of the Wella Professionals styling team for the Maria Grachvogel show.

The following day HOB Camden's Manager Sean Dawson was backstage at the high profile House of Holland show in his role for Sebastian Professional.

Rounding off HOB's involvement in LFW was the Marios Schwab show on Monday where our 2009 London Hairdresser of the Year, Darren Bain and HOB Leeds Franchisee Danielle Hollis formed part of the BaByLiss PRO styling team.

Show reports and video footage of the shows can be seen on our hob Facebook page and I now look forward to working with my creative team on our key AW10 hair looks for our next collection.

Behind the scenes with Pixie Lott

2010-02-12T11:16:32Z

As a regular client of mine, it was great to be requested by Pixie to be the hair stylist for her latest video and brand new single 'Gravity'. Set to be released on 21 February.

The shoot involved a striking series of set-ups and even saw Brit Awards nominee Pixie sporting a brunette bob - I just had to get my signature cut in there!

]]> Working with Claire Dawson we worked with everything from natural, free-flowing locks, to a Bardot-esque backcombed beehive and a triple bun updo.

Such a professional in her craft, her performance on the day was so accomplished and her openness to experimenting with all the different styles made her a delight to work with.

Having just seen it played on TV this weekend as it's promoted in the run up to the single release date, I am really proud of the final result. I'm now looking forward to styling Pixie's hair for the red carpet at The Brits which take place on 16 February at Earls Court, where she is nominated for three awards - Best British Single, Best British Breakthrough Act and Best British Female Artist. Good luck Pixie!

You can view Pixie's 'Gravity' single now at

WE LOVE HAIRraising!

2010-02-12T11:06:13Z

I am delighted to be welcomed as a co-founder of the incredible HAIRraising campaign that John Frieda has instigated. What a great opportunity to not only raise £1million-plus towards new operating theatres at Great Ormond Street Hospital, but to also bring together the whole industry for a common cause.

I'm so pleased to see all our salon teams showing lots of excitement and thinking up fundraising ideas for this cause and of course the fantastic prizes on offer are a great motivator! I'll keep you updated on our HAIRraising efforts and antics but for now......let the FUNdraising begin!

SIGNED AND SEALED!

2010-02-12T11:01:08Z

I am so proud to announce that the HOB Salons group is set to expand again with the addition of a new branch in Amersham in Buckinghamshire! This opening will see May Bukauskiene, our current Franchise owner of HOB Rickmansworth, open her second salon under our franchise umbrella on 25 March 2010, taking our company to 19 salons.

The first franchisee in our group to own more than one salon, this opening is so exciting for May and also for Clive, Paul and myself.

I feel like it was just yesterday that we were a small group of just 3 salons with each Director taking care of one branch, and now we have an international training academy, 400 staff, 19 branches and have expanded up North to Leeds!

I wish May all the best of luck with her coming launch and look forward to walking through the doors when HOB Amersham opens for business!