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 (Bryan Nunes, Beth and Ian Weber, Tina Morschauser and Gretchen Brown, Matthew Morris and Marvin Gutierrez, Susan Haise) 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.
What did you do when you found out you were a NAHA 2013 finalist? Who did you tell/call first?
"I had set a reminder on my phone for April 30th at 12:00pm, a week before I submitted my entry, because I knew the announcements would be made then. As fate would have it, I was teaching an in-salon class to our associates in our Blossom program and missed the alarm completely. However, when I picked up my phone during a break, I had an alert that a fellow PBA member, Kitty Tierney, tagged me in a post on Facebook. Although the alert gave no more details, I knew the significance of the day and assumed what it was about. I taught most of the day without telling anyone as I didn't want to disrupt the class. There was something quite satisfying in enjoying the moment for myself for a few hours. The word got out quickly so I didn't really have to tell anyone. It's amazing how big the spotlight is on NAHA and I feel privileged to have Blo named as a finalist for a second time."
Describe your inspiration, vision and theme for your NAHA entry.
"The inspiration for entering comes from a desire to dissect all aspects of my business and identify areas of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The entry process for the MBA provides a looking glass opportunity for me to identify areas that we can improve. I find it more challenging to raise my awareness about these areas without slowing down and reflecting on all the different aspects that make up a successful business. I'm extraordinarily proud of our team here and feel a responsibility to share that for them."
How has entering NAHA made you a better hairdresser?
"Competition makes everyone better. Competition under this sort of spotlight challenges a level of accountability. It challenges me to keep moving forward. This is a good thing."
What year did you first enter NAHA? Who helped or inspired you?
"I was lucky enough to be named a finalist last year on our first entry. The category was the inspiration. I love the business side of things as well as the creative side. I'm glad that NAHA continues to add categories that fall in line with the strengths and passions of everyone that make this industry strong. As far as help goes, every person who has ever worked for this company has contributed in some form to this entry. There is something to take from everyone."
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Beth and Ian Weber
Studio Be Salon
What did you do when you found out you were a NAHA 2013 finalist? Who did you tell/call first?
"Our management team was experiencing a little sleep deprivation the night before in anticipation. Waiting for the finalist announcement was almost agonizing, we must have clicked refresh on the website at least two dozen times. Being that we were the last salon to be announced in our category, it was almost surreal to see our name and photos appear on the screen. I would like to say that we handled it like true business professionals, but I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a lot of jumping up and down. This is something that we worked so hard for, so it was amazing to see that work be recognized. The first thing we did is share the news with our guest, team, friends and family via Facebook. One of the core elements of our culture is celebration and we typically don’t hesitate to share that celebration with the people who support us everyday."
Describe your inspiration, vision and theme for your NAHA entry.
"Our inspiration is and has always been our Studio Be family. Our team of wonderful professionals inspires us to be the best that we can be. We recognized immediately that even the accomplishment of being chosen as a finalist is so much more than a victory for the business side of our company. If it wasn’t for our brand ambassadors putting our systems into practice, we wouldn’t have this honor to celebrate. Beyond that, our vision is pretty simple. We have always been passionate about changing our industry as a whole. We want to raise up individuals to become not only great hairstylists but also, strong business-minded professionals. This is why it’s such an honor for us to be recognized for the salon MBA."
How has entering NAHA made you a better hairdresser?
"Speaking for our entire team, it can honestly be said that the inspiration and education that comes from both NAHA and the PBA as a whole is invaluable in making us better in every way. Seeing the absolutely astonishing work created by this year’s professionals has both inspired and pushed us to continue improving. Being a finalist alongside some of the best hair salons in North America, has encouraged us to set our sights way beyond what we thought could be accomplished."
What is (and when was) the most NAHA-worthy work you have ever created for an actual paying client?
"This is a great questions because we have the honor of creating MBA, NAHA-worthy work everyday. Our passion for customer service drives us to providing the very best guest experience to every single client. Our wonderful team of brand ambassadors is encouraged to treat everyone to the same consistent NAHA-worthy service regardless of the situation. This allows us to have passion when serving our clients and drives celebration even from small daily victories."
What year did you first enter NAHA? Who helped or inspired you?
"This is our first year. Our entire team helped and inspired us to create our NAHA submission. Every single person in our salon family plays a role in developing the systems and culture that we are bring recognized for and we couldn’t have done it without their help."
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Tina Morschauser and Gretchen Brown
REJUVENATION SPA, INC.
What did you do when you found out you were a NAHA 2013 finalist? Who did you tell/call first?
"I found out that we were nominated for NAHA by a Facebook status, a fellow colleague had mentioned it. I had actually just got to work and was sitting by Gretchen, my business partner, and screamed, “ Yeah baby!”
Describe your inspiration, vision and theme for your NAHA entry.
"Rejuvenation Spa has been able to show consistent growth even during the downturn of the economy. We believe part of that success is that we double shift, double book and supply all of our stylists with the tools, excluding shears, needed to be able to move fluidly from one station to another. We have also instituted the HeadMapping color system founded by Walter Claudio, which helps to eliminate waste of color and creates a systemized team approach to haircolor. The culture created is one in which all team members are aware of all team and individual benchmarks, and what needs to be achieved for continued success."
How has entering NAHA made you a better hairdresser?
"Filling out the entry makes me look into our business systems and operation with a fine tooth comb. I realized very quickly where we excel and what areas we need improvement on. We bring the application process with us to our yearly planning retreat to figure out what areas we need to focus on. I have a niece who works at Starbucks and a friend who works at Southwest Airlines, so I am constantly asking them questions about their handbooks, systems, operation procedures, customer service policies and training. We applied to NAHA in 2010,2012 and 2013 and were nominees all three years."
What year did you first enter NAHA? Who helped or inspired you?
"Rejuvenation Spa has been nominated as a NAHA MBA finalist in 2010, 2012 and 2013. The business has also been named the Salon Today Top 200 fastest growing salons for the past 11 consecutive years and was a Global Salon Business Award winner in the Team Category in 2004."
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Matthew Morris and Marvin Gutierrez
Matthew Morris Salon and Skincare
What did you do when you found out you were a NAHA 2013 finalist? Who did you tell/call first?
"My manager, who had uploaded all our entries, called me over to watch the video during a super busy day in the salon. As we watched, I was thrilled to see our salon was nominated three times. People started gathering from the salon around us and everyone watched it over and over. We posted it on Facebook right away. However, it was bitter-sweet, because I knew friends that entered some amazing image, who were not nominated."
Describe your inspiration, vision and theme for your NAHA entry.
"Honestly, we just followed the directions for commercial, wearable men's hairstyles. I pictured styles that were exaggerated, but could easily be seen on the street."
How has entering NAHA made you a better hairdresser?
"Entering NAHA heightens your attention to detail. If you think it's perfect, it's not. NAHA does you a favor by pushing yourself and making your work better."
What year did you first enter NAHA? Who helped or inspired you?
"I first entered NAHA in 2005, and won Editorial Hairstylist of the Year."
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Susan Haise
Neroli Salon & Spa
What did you do when you found out you were a NAHA 2013 finalist? Who did you tell/call first?
"We celebrated and recognized our leadership team. 70 hairstylists were invited with the company, covering hotel and NAHA ticket costs."
MS: Describe your inspiration, vision and theme for your NAHA entry.
"We know how hard it is to run a salon and spa and our inspiration, vision and focus was simple – giving real strategies that have real results."
MS: What year did you first enter NAHA? Who helped or inspired you?
"Considering this is a new category, our first time entering was 2011. Your creative business leaders are my inspiration to me."
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