Ssssh Its a secret.
Over the last few years I have been asked many times what it is we do to build our profile, why are we getting so popular? I honestly don't do anything except use Social media. I have never paid for advertising and have not had PR until very recently . I use Twitter a lot and have two accounts @englishhair (which is just hair related stuff from the salon) and @stevieEnglish (mad ramblings of yours truly).I have asked all staff to have a Twitter account. I use Facebook to communicate with clients and friends about interesting salon news. That's the secret. Please don't tell anyone.
European car manufacturer #Skoda, in their wisdom, gave me a car for the month of June, our Hair Expo month. After December, it's the busiest month of the year. The reason for this was because I tweet and use facebook, and I suited the target demographic for the new Skoda Octavia. I'm not a car expert, but I did not want to give the car up at the end of the month. It's a diesel, Bloody lovely, loads of extras that was fun to drive and really economical. There were no strings attached to the loan, but I loved that car so much I can't help talking about it! Clever #Skoda marketing team. I want to drive that car forever. And I'm trying to get my lovely clever wife to let me buy one.
Still think Social Media is a fad?
Stoli Vodka contacted us about doing a video blog about our Original idea in the salon, as a part of the Stoli Originals online campaign. here they are on facebook. Stoli is the Original Vodka, and we follow an original philosophy here in the salon. I'm really happy to talk about an Original brand like Stoli, not only because they gave us vodka, but because we love the idea of promoting originality in any form. But why did they choose us, because they knew we like Stoli vodka? It was because of our online presence, because we have a pretty cool brand, and we are visible due to our use of social media.
And more...
I was given a whole collection of the coolest colourful watches from Plstc. Again, why? Because I love watches, yes! And these watches are well cool, I handed most out to the guys at work but kept my fave two colours. Again this was because we use social media. I'm not an "expert" expert. I'm social. I enjoy engaging with people. And that's the key for me: it's talking, it's not broadcasting. It's getting involved with what's going on, and making contact with people and brands who are interesting and engaging too.
I would like to thank #skoda, #stoli #plstic for choosing us and for the other brands that have given us drinks, plays,tickets to the footy and dinners. We are a social bunch here ate Stevie English Hair, and we love the Social Media!
Hair Expo 2011 Generation Next.
Hair Expo is the largest hairdressing conference in the southern hemisphere. It attracts some of the biggest names in the hairdressing industry, with over 200 exhibitors, 2000 models, hair stylists chopping, colouring and creating amazing styles to enthrall local talent and makeup artists helping. It's a big three days. 
This year, Stevie English Hair was asked to do a show at the prestigious Sunday night Generation Next night. It's a bit of an honor to be asked, but the invitation comes with a lot of pressure.
We decided an English theme was the way to start (obviously) our assault on the Hair Expo stage. We shot a collection with Nicole McCluskey in March and we had the awesome CNCphotography do are moving image for the collection, and we used these images as the start of prepping for the show. It took 4 story boards, and many hours of talks and meetings just to come up with the ideas . Stevie English Hair creative director Verity Griffths worked tirelessly on this show, it would be impossible to calculate the amount of time and energy she spent on every aspect . Now we have a top team with ideas and help, but nothing quite prepared me for the amount of work, time and effort that goes in to a 5 minute show. This is a summary of what went on:
* 8 models
*2 extras ( punks)
* 1 kid
* 12 separate looks
* 16 wigs and hairpices
* 10 fantastic vintage costumes, sourced from Grandma takes trip by our amazing stylists Kelly Hume and Mattie Cronan.
*1 handmade Vivienne Westwood-style skirt, made from Union Jack flags and Stevie English Punk Regal print fabric.
* 2 choreographers
* 3 photographers
* 5 makeup artists
* 1 manicurist
* 16 hairstylists
* 1 live stream blogger and technical manager
* 1 horse
* 1 dog (note: horse and dog did not make it onstage, the old saying about working with animals is true!)
It was the biggest team project we have ever undertaken, and we pulled it off. The show was incredible, everything we wanted it to be, and the realisation of Verity's vision. It's difficult to explain how proud we are of our whole team, and how much we appreciate the work they all put in. Can't wait until we have the video to post, but in the meantime, here are a few images taken backstage and on the night. What fun we had!
A special thanks to the companies who helped us with our show so a O&M , GHD , Prohairstylist and Skoda
Best Hairdressers in Glebe, Best Apprentice in Australia!
Last weekend was Hair Expo, the biggest hairdressing event in the southern hemisphere. The Stevie English Team participated in many elements of the Expo, including the very prestigious Apprentice Competition. This contest is no easy task, the young stylists are up on stage with their model and they are given 45 mins to finish a haircut in front of a packed auditorium. It's hard enough to do a haircut in 45 mins, let alone with the added pressure of being watched by all of your colleagues, peers and friends. To top it off, some of the best hairdressers in Australian scrutinise your worked and pass judgement on it!
This year we had two of our young superstars entering the Apprentice Comp- Joel Phillips and Stephen Grech. Joel was recently awarded Judges Recognition for his incredible photographic collection for Hair Expo, and both he and Stephen are prized salon assets. The fantastic news- Stephen was judged the winner on the day! His award is a credit to all his hard work and natural talent. We are all super proud of both our boys.
Stevie English Hair is proud of our team, we are proud of our culture too. We love hairdressing and we love to share our knowledge. We have a really strong team, who enjoy each others company and who enjoy sharing our talents and skills. We put a lot of emphasis on training. Our assistants are tomorrows superstars, and some of our young guys are really starting to shine. Georgie Won this award 2 years ago, and so for Stephen to win it this year was great and sets the standard for the students coming though are academy . There is a slight bias but the winner was going to be either Stephen or Joel, both haircuts were both technically good. Jade is the head trainer in the salon with Kirsty and Verity helping out to
show slightly different approaches to cutting and Stevie runs all the colour education. 
Here are two shots we took of Stephen's winning haircut back stage prepping for our #GenNext show.
Great colour, (someone has taught him well)and great haircut. Not bad for someone who has only just started the third year of his apprenticeship. We are really proud of Stephen and Joel, not only for winning and getting attention but for trying so damn hard. They have great careers ahead of them and we can't wait to watch.
Can You be Original?
The lovely people from Stoli, came in the other day and asked myself and Mel about our salon and originality. We were only too happy to discuss this with them. They also gave us some vodka. BINGO! The Original Vodka, for the Original Stevie English hair.
Stevie on Sunrise. (It's all about Big Hair!)
The team at Stevie English were asked to do a segment on Sunrise about the upcoming hair trends and what HairExpo is all about. Myself, Kirsty, Jade, Joel and Raquel and our models - Madeline, Madeline (yes 2 madelines) and our Zoe. As most of you would have discovered I'm a colorist and this works well with the talented team at Stevie English - #teamEnglish as we call ourselves - Kirsty and Jade worked their hair skills and Joel and Raquel did their makeup magic. We were up and prepping hair in the Salon at 5am (on a Saturday!) to be at at Sunrise studios at 7am. Myself and the three models were setup and I waxed lyrical about big hair. Phew! it was an awesome experience I was very chuffed to be asked. Thanks sunrise! (check it below)
Our Hair Manifesto or We Believe it takes time to make great style.
We all at Stevie English Hair want to create the most creative, stylish, loved hairstyles we can.
We believe that great hair makes you great.
We spend time on your hair to make you look great.
We cut hair not corners.
We have very high standards for the style we produce.
We believe that to make something great it takes time.
We believe that miracles happen with hair.
We believe everybody has a colour that suits them.
We also believe personality will influence your colour.
We believe in using gentle products for your hair and the environment.
We just love what we do.
Best Hairdressers in Australia? your choice #HairExpo2011
We have been asked to enter a show at Hair Expo in June- The Next Gen Show. It's really prestigious and we are thrilled. Hair Expo is the largest hairdressing convention in the Southern Hemisphere and it can be a tough nut to crack. Any hairdresser in Australia or New Zealand would agree that it's a big deal, and this year we have spent so much of our time getting ready to enter. We spent last Tuesday evening hanging out with hairdressing royalty, waiting for the verdict on who would be finalists in this years' Hair Expo. The whole team went down to the Blue Hotel in Wooloomooloo after work to check out all the great work that the countries best hairdressers had created. Hair Expo is a fair competition, it's judged on a collection of photographs and on what the individual or team has done for hairdressing in the year.
We are super proud of the work our team produced this year.
Elly made Judges' Recognition in the hardest category- New Creative Force
Joel made Judges Recognition in Apprentice of the Year
Stevie made Judges Recognition in Colourist of the Year
This means these three awesome members of #TeamEnglish are in the top 10 in Australia . And this is the first time that they have entered Hair Expo-for our junior staff members Elly and Joel this is a very big achievement. We knew ourselves what they we capable of, but it's nice for a bit of external recognition. We are now focussing on blowing everyone's minds at The Gen Next Showcase event!
Stevie English Hair Shaves for a Cure
Sunday has come and gone. And so has our hair. On Sunday we opened up our doors to all who wanted to have their heads shaved or coloured for Shave for a Cure and had loads of people to turn up just supporting mates. The event was a fundraiser for The Leukaemia Foundation, a cause that is very dear to our Jade and thus very dear to all of us. Jade worked so hard organising the auction, raffle, party, and shave participants and deserves full credit for the day's success. It will take a few days to get all the sponsorship dollars in, but we estimate our final total to be around $7000- $8000. We are blown away by all the support we received from family, friends, staff and of course our amazing clients. In the end, shaving our hair off was easy and we are very happy to have been a part of such a fantastic charity event. Can't wait for next year!
mel shaves - MediumStevieHairCuts - Medium Great day! Thanks to all who came out, and thanks to the awesome staff in the salon who helped out.
We Believe In your Hair
Why do you choose a hairdresser? Do you choose it because he/she was recommended to you? Do you love the look of the salon as you walk past?
Is it because you like the look of the hairdresser's tattoos, or their cool hair?
Or because you saw the salon had a write up in a magazine?
What ever the reason, i want people to know why we love hair.
I love when i have just finished a colour and i can see a client beaming. I love that when a client walks out of the door, she feels gorgeous. Of course this is not just limited to women . I asked the guys why do we like doing hair? guess the answers
I just love it, fun, creative, challenging, rewarding, inspiring.
We at Stevie English Hair make great hair. We love what we do. We believe in what we are doing.
Shave for a Cure
The crew here at Stevie English Hair are a pretty tight bunch, and when one of us needs help, we lend a hand. Our Head Trainer and Director, Jade Cohen, lost a dear friend last year to an aggressive form of leukaemia, and this year she has joined the Leukaemia Foundation's Shave For A Cure fundraiser. In true team spirit, we are all on board to help Jade raise as much money as possible for this great cause. And because we have the ways and means, we will be hosting a fun afternoon event in the salon on March 13th from 2pm-6pm. Our amazingly talented stylists are donating their time and scissor skills, so all the takings from haircuts on that afternoon will be donated to the Foundation. There will be drinks, snacks, music, and auction of cool stuff, and.......Stevie and his lovely pink-haired Mrs Mel will be taking the clippers to their heads and going bald
We would love for you to come along and have some fun and help us raise some cash for this wonderful foundation. If you can't come on the day, maybe you can support the cause by making a donation on our page at
http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/StevieEnglish
If you fancy coming along, and don't mind taking 2 seconds to click a link, please register here http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1348694983 so we know to expect you!
Or if you need a haircut- book in on Sunday March 13 between 2-6pm and your payment goes straight to the charity.
We understand it's been a rough summer on the charity budget, so we hope we're not being pushy. It's our first ever charity event and we're a bit excited!
Hope to see you in the salon soon!
O&M Video that was directed by Verity
The O&M video which was made during hair Expo by the awesome CNCPhotography http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHHgTrTTuAU&feature=player_embedded Verity Griffths directed all the looks. The O&M creative team out in full force. 8 of #TeamEnglish worked on this.
Safe Hair Colouring while pregnant
I often get asked, by glowing expectant mums-to-be, whether it's safe to colour hair when pregnant. The short answer is yes, as I coloured my lovely wife's hair while she was pregnant with both are children, naturally - I used our standard colour system we use in the salon -the Original&Mineral range which is ammonia free and environmentally friendly. I was recently asked this exact same question over at the Huggies website/blog about colouring hair whilst pregnant, so you aren't alone if you are wondering if your hair can match your natural glow you are rocking while pregnant.
I want to be blown by Stevie English Hair
Summer is fast approaching, and the social schedule is pretty close to being packed. This is party season people, and we are here to help, with a brand new social media competition:
Every Friday at 5pm, we have set aside an appointment with one of our talented stylists for a fabulous blowdry. This blowdry is up for grabs EVERY week for the winner of our new competition: Get Blown By Stevie English. It's pretty easy to enter: just send out a tweet or a Facebook comment on our business page saying why you want the blowdry. You must add the hashtag #BlownByStevie so we can gather up all the entries, and the winner will be announced each Monday. The only condition is: the appointment time is set in stone so you can't change the time or day. You can enter for your mum, your girlfriend, anybody really, but they must be available Friday 5pm.
Sound good? Nothing gets you ready for a great weekend like great hair, and we are here to help. Get the entries in before Sunday 4pm, and we look forward to seeing our gorgeous winners every Friday afternoon!
Betty's Back In Glebe
Now im the boss, at Stevie English Hair and i get congratulated by people even when i had nothing to do with there hair,I get emails and phone calls telling me how wonderful i am and there hair has never been better.I mention that i did not do there hair and the answer back is "yes but you hired your lovely staff" Genius why didnt i have a shop before. I'm going to copy and paste straight from Quelle blog, now miss Quelle is a very talented young makeup artist in thec salon, she loves evewrything fashion and hair. Great for Stevie English Hair.
"If there's one era I love for feminine chic, it's the late 40's early 50's. So you can imagine my excitement upon viewing the Dior Spring/Summer 2011. Revamping the pin-up girl look, models were sent down the wharf themed runway with signature red pouts teamed with electric hues on the eye. And the hair? Timeless Marcel waves worn with a fringe that Betty Page herself could envy. 
It seems like blondes and brunettes will both be on trend this Summer, so whatever your preference ladies, your stylist is sure to keep you fashionable.
One thing's for certain though, I need to get myself one of those adorable sailor hats!" from Quelles blog
Now you see how clever iam for just hireing her!