It's that time of the year again. The North American Hairdressing Awards Ceremony or NAHA is here. Before we kick off the celebration, get to know our finalists for this year's competition. MODERN SALON recently spoke to the North American Hairdressing Awards or NAHA finalists. These uber-talented stylists invested considerable time, talent and energy into their entries. CLICK the name of the Student Hair Stylist finalist (Ali Deveraux, Saltanat Asbury, Kerissa Sample, Lizz Knaphus and Stormie Roberts) you would like to meet.
Don't forget to tune in on July 14, 2013 at 10pm EST for the EXCLUSIVE live broadcast of the 2013 NAHA Awards Gala at modernsalon.com/naha. And be sure to join the conversations on twitter with the hashtag #NAHALIVE.
ALI DEVERAUX
Aveda Institute Provo
What did you do when you found out you were a NAHA 2013 finalist? Who did you tell/call first?
"The past six months have been so long! The anticipation of waiting to hear the nominees was killing me. Then morning finally came to announce the nominees. I was nervous. I was shaking and my heart was pounding so hard. The entire school was standing behind me waiting to hear the results so that made me even more nervous. Luckily, Heggy Gonzalez and I were together waiting to hear if we had been nominated. Suddenly her name showed up on the screen and my body just went totally numb. By the time everyone had settled down, my name came up on the screen. Everyone started screaming and jumping up and down. I must have been very excited because I've never been able to scream that loud. I pulled out my phone to text one of my friends and I was shaking so bad I had to give the phone to another friend and make her text for me. It was so surreal. I am still in shock! I'm waiting for everything to hit me."
Describe your inspiration, vision and theme for your NAHA entry.
"For months before the actual shoot, I was able to have constant mentoring from the Inspire Greatness Artistic team. We spent months discussing my vision and refining it and shaping it into a NAHA worthy idea. I was going through hundreds of pictures just brainstorming and finding inspiration and the picture of Grace Jones popped up. She had a flat top and was dressed in a strong military outfit and I remember thinking, oh my gosh that's it. I am going to create a shoot that is just as profound and strong."
How has entering NAHA made you a better hairdresser?
"Entering NAHA has been such an amazing journey. It has shown me what I'm capable of and it encourages me to keep going and pushing myself as far as I can in the beauty industry."
What is (and when was) the most NAHA-worthy work you have ever created for an actual paying client?
"The only other NAHA worthy work that I have done would be another shoot that I did in school. It featured one model and it was my first experience creating work to be shot."
What year did you first enter NAHA? Who helped or inspired you?
"This is my first year entering NAHA and I am so fortunate to be attending a school that focuses on student success and pushing us to be all that we can be. Dale Lemonds and The Inspire Greatness Institutes have created a program where they select one student from each school and bring us all together to do a photo shoot with Babak and we also get to work directly with the help of the Artistic Team to create our inspiration. The actual shoot was definitely the hardest thing I have done thus far. It pushed me so hard and also showed me what I'm capable of. It was two days of preparation and then two days of shooting. I thank goodness I had Brad Van Dyke and Anne Skubis there to do the make-up, because doing both hair and makeup would have been so insane!"
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SALTANAT ASBURY
Aveda Fredric's Institute Cincinnati
What did you do when you found out you were a NAHA 2013 finalist? Who did you tell/call first?
"A group of my classmates, some of my educators and my husband gathered together in one of the classrooms at Aveda Fredric's Institute to watch the NAHA 2013 announcement video. When my name and collection came on the screen, everyone started screaming, I just started dancing like a crazy person! I gave my husband, my biggest supporter, the longest hug and started crying. It was unforgettable. I called all of my family members and my friends who had watched the video from their homes/work simultaneously with us."
Describe your inspiration, vision and theme for your NAHA entry.
"When I first thought of ideas for NAHA, I knew I wanted to work with textured hair. I also found large shapes to be very effective and attractive to go along with the different textures. I felt that the best clothing for this hair would be large shapes to complement the styles. Once we consulted with Babak, the amazing photographer, it was clear that these hairstyles would show off their best features in black and white, with lots of contrast."
How has entering NAHA made you a better hairdresser?
"I feel more inspired than ever since applying to the NAHA competition. I am only in the very beginning of my career as a hairdresser and so far it has been an amazing experience. This is a true calling for me. I have a long adventure ahead of me and my goal is to never stop learning. NAHA has given me even more passion and desire to become the artist that I want to be."
What is (and when was) the most NAHA-worthy work you have ever created for an actual paying client?
"Because I'm still a student, I haven't had any paying clients yet, but the future looks exciting and I'm already looking forward to submitting a collection to NAHA for 2014!"
What year did you first enter NAHA? Who helped or inspired you?
"This year was my first entry to NAHA. For me NAHA was definitely a team effort. Daniel Holzberger was by my side giving me tips and coaching me the entire time. Tiffany Cotterman, one of the educators at Aveda Fredric's Institute, helped guide me through the process from the very beginning. The incredible photographer, Babak, took me out of the box and created amazing photographs of my collection. Without them and Fredric Holzberger, who made it all possible, I wouldn't be here today.
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KERISSA SAMPLE
Aveda Fredric's Institute Indianapolis
What did you do when you found out you were a NAHA 2013 finalist? Who did you tell/call first?
"When I found out I was a NAHA finalist, I was more than thrilled. My educator called me into my director’s office and they showed me the website, which had my pictures and my name scrolling across it. I immediately sent out a group text message to my family letting them know I was a finalist in the 2013 NAHA Student Hairstylist category."
Describe your inspiration, vision and theme for your NAHA entry
"My inspiration for my collection came from group collaboration. We discussed ideas and visions for the collection. I knew I wanted something bold and precise when creating the NAHA entry."
How has entering NAHA made you a better hairdresser?
"I believe entering NAHA and becoming a finalist has made me a better hairstylist because it gives me higher expectations from others and a higher expectation for myself."
What is (and when was) the most NAHA-worthy work you have ever created for an actual paying client?
"The most NAHA-worthy work I was able to create for a client was a few months ago when a client asked me for the Miley Cyrus hair cut with Pure Pigment Red color all over."
What year did you first enter NAHA? Who helped or inspired you?
"I entered NAHA in 2013 for the first time. I entered as a student stylist and was given the opportunity and inspired by the Aveda Fredric's Institute and Van Michael Salon."
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LIZZ KNAPHUS
Taylor Andrews Academy
What did you do when you found out you were a NAHA 2013 finalist? Who did you tell/call first?
"I'm still in school, so I was in a sea of Taylor Andrews’ students when I found out I had been nominated. We were all piled into our theater room with bated breath. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my collection flash on the screen! The entire room erupted into a frenzy of cheers and hugs. I just remember standing up and sitting down then standing up, and sitting down again. Everyone told me I turned purple from lack of oxygen. The first person I talked to on the phone was my photographer, Keith Bryce. The second person was my fiancé, Dustin."
Describe your inspiration, vision and theme for your NAHA entry.
"My inspiration came from street art found in the wilderness which sparked the name of my collection, 'Graffiti in the Woods.' Imagine walking along a trail and stumbling across a misplaced, brightly colored piece of art. This is the type of hair I wanted to create. I wanted something mostly natural with pops of color to excite the eye. I feel like the student category is a fine balance between cutting skill, shape, texture and color, respectively, so those were also very important things to keep in mind and still have a creative edge."
How has entering NAHA made you a better hairdresser?
"Entering NAHA has changed my life as a hairdresser. I assisted six other NAHA entries before shooting my own collection, and I'm positive without the influence of the amazing people I worked with in those weeks of shooting, I would not have been as prepared for my day behind the camera. Without all the hours I spent watching and assisting the pros, I can guarantee I would never have been nominated. I know now how important it is to be patient, get great models and be present on set. If you can manage to not beat yourself up in the meantime, bonus!"
What is (and when was) the most NAHA-worthy work you have ever created for an actual paying client?
"Since I'm still in school, my clients aren't as daring as most NAHA work. At the risk of sounding silly, my sister’s hair color and cut is amazing! I do have a beautiful client who comes in for a different haircut every time I see her, and last time I gave her a faux-hawk with silvery-white hair. I have never seen a smile so big as when she leaves my chair."
What year did you first enter NAHA? Who helped or inspired you?
"As I'm a student, this is my first time entering NAHA. I was helped by everyone at my school, Taylor Andrews Academy of Hair Design, especially one of our fabulous instructors, Dallan Flint. I also bent the ear of Jon Kimble and Andrew Carruthers a couple times. One of my paramount inspirational hair geniuses I look up to is Dimitrios Tsioumas. It is crazy that I'm entering into the same award event as him, let alone am fellow nominee."
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STORMIE ROBERTS
Eric Fisher Academy
What did you do when you found out you were a NAHA 2013 finalist? Who did you tell/call first?
"When I found out I was a NAHA 2013 finalist, my Mom and I started screaming and jumping up and down. The first person I called was my Dad."
Describe your inspiration, vision and theme for your NAHA entry.
"My NAHA collection was inspired by a number of tear sheets with classical and elegant styles. I used this as inspiration but added a touch of edge to make the overall looks more contemporary."
How has entering NAHA made you a better hairdresser?
"Entering NAHA has made me a better hairdresser because it has boosted my confidence to do and try things I never thought I could do."
What is (and when was) the most NAHA-worthy work you have ever created for an actual paying client?
What year did you first enter NAHA? Who helped or inspired you?
"This is my first year entering NAHA and I could have never done it without the support from the incredible Eric Fisher, my amazing parents and all of my wonderful teachers at Eric Fisher Academy."
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