I had so much fun in December visiting beauty schools that Nathan Rosekranz had spoken and done demos at during the Matrix Mannequin Mania Competition. Nathan, the Fashion Director of our studios, created Ava for the Matrix Mannequin Mania and first was selected by the team at Matrix as a monthly semi-finalist, then Ava was chosen as a finalist by the editors of our professional industry publications.

Then it was up to you, one vote per e-mail address and one vote by text per phone number. Because Nathan was in the Friends and Family Category, it was very competitive because everyone knew about it and had a vote. 

Knowing that this was highly competitive with a prize of $1,000 for the semi-final win and now $25,000 for the finalist plus a visit from our friend Tabatha Coffey, Nate got people involved. He did everything from singing at karaoke bars with his laptop so people could see his work and vote, to doing demos at beauty schools and then showing the students the competition online.

He won the contest, but that's not where the winning stopped. When Nate found out the details about when Tabatha was visiting, he immediately thought, "who can I share this with?" The answer—old mentors, friends that are hairdressers and beauty school students.

Nathan contacted the schools where he demoed and offered the students a chance to create their own mannequin for a chance to celebrate Nathan’s win when Tabatha visits our studio. We visited Metro Beauty Academy in Allentown where we judged some amazing mannequins created by the students and chose two winners who earned a golden ticket with an image of Nathan’s Golden Mannequin from his win, then I shared my ideas for success with the students. 

Next we visited Empire Beauty School in Whitehall to again thank the students by selecting two winners from the mannequins they created to again earn a Golden Ticket to attend Nate’s celebration. 

Both times it was so much fun to walk into a room and see the mannequin creations from the students. The judging was tough with a few standing out each time and then a lot of back and forth before we could get it down to the two winners. With lots of excitement both times the students hurried into the room in anticipation of announcing the winners.  The students both times were so supportive of the winners, which made us feel great and it was a real celebration.

I can't wait for them to meet Tabatha on Nathan’s day!

Patrick McIvor is the artistic color director with Matrix – the leading professional haircare and haircolor company in the United States and part of the L’Oreal USA Professional Products Division. He owns patrick mcivor color studio (Bethlehem, PA) and studio two (Allentown, PA) – the two hottest hair studios in the Lehigh Valley. As one of the most respected colorists in the industry, McIvor mentors his team by involving them in runway work at New York Fashion Week; fashion/beauty editorial shoots and interviews with publications like Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Real Simple, Seventeen, Family Circle and Allure (editors named him best colorist in the USA); and television segments on “The 10! Show”/NBC Channel 10, WFMZ “Channel 69 News” and “Good Housekeeping Reports.” His studio provides stellar hair services inspired by international cosmopolitan influences such as fashion, cultural and global trends. In other words, guests leave with beautiful, sexy believable hair. McIvor is also featured in the book “50 Hairstylists.”