Team Work, NAHA Style
Winning a North American Hairstyling Award (NAHA) is a big dream for many stylists. The prestigious awards honor the best in the beauty business in 14 categories ranging from Haircolor to Men’s Hairstyling to Avant Garde.
However, one NAHA category honors the work not just of the individual, but the entire salon team. The NAHA Salon Team of the Year award is one of the most highly coveted every year and the competition is fierce.
Below, Steven Robertson, co-creative director of Lunatic Fringe with 12 locations in the US (NAHA Salon Team of the Year winner in 2013) weighs in on his experience and gives valuable insight for any salon team that wants to enter.
AVEDA MEANS BUSINESS: How did you choose who worked on your team? How many people were on the team? How did you collaborate creatively and efficiently?
Robertson: Fumi Eguchi (co-creative director) and myself selected individuals who we felt had different strengths in cut, color or dresswork. We feel it takes all three aspects to create a strong and diverse collection.
AVEDA MEANS BUSINESS: How soon before the deadline did you start developing your concept? What was your timeline like (hiring models, photographer, stylist, make-up, etc.)?
Robertson: Fumi developed the art direction of the concept from a photographic aspect, as he is our photographer. Together we started hiring models—I oversaw the development of our wardrobe, and our make-up artist is a fellow stylist at Lunatic Fringe. All this happened about 45 days prior to the shoot date.
AVEDA MEANS BUSINESS: Did you have a specific vision from the start that the team helped execute or was the whole team involved in the concept? What was your creative process like?
Robertson: Each look desired was developed prior to our first production meeting, and each look was then given to two stylists to take on. They were to find a suitable model, approved by Fumi and I, and then schedule time to practice and perfect the look.
AVEDA MEANS BUSINESS: What would you do differently if you entered again?
Robertson: Work with stylists more closely on the final looks, paying attention to details.
AVEDA MEANS BUSINESS: What do you think set you apart from the others in your category, making you the winner?
Robertson: I had one of our NAHA team members, Jared Briggs, answer this question: “I think all the entries in our category were brilliant. The thing that stood out for us is a cohesiveness of the photos. We spent a lot of time planning our looks and had meetings where we talked about our overall vision of the collection. Having all of our team come together for the shoot was an amazing experience! To win NAHA was an amazing recognition from our peers in our industry.”
AVEDA MEANS BUSINESS: How important is the dynamic on the team? Did personalities ever clash? Were disagreements productive in the end?
Robertson: Of course when you have a group of passionate and creative individuals, opinions and clashing happen. We minimized this at our first meeting by having people discuss any ideas they wanted to bring to the shoot. After that initial meeting, the vision then stands, allowing very little disagreements to follow.
AVEDA MEANS BUSINESS: What advice would you give to a salon team that’s considering entering this category? Was it a good team-building process?
Robertson: The individuals need to feel part of the team. When micro-managing is present, creativity can not happen. The team members need to be felt as valued members; they need to be able to have open communication with the directors; and also need to be held accountable to the quality of the work they produce.
AVEDA MEANS BUSINESS: Finally, how did the experience help you in your everyday work at the salon?
Robertson: When producing or participating in a photo shoot, your attention to every detail is important to the overall end result. In the salon, if something comes along that wasn’t ideal, you generally have the chance to make any adjustments needed on your guests (hopefully!). In a photo shoot, what you see is what you get. Mistakes become very apparent, and even the slightest flaws in your cut, color or style will stick out like a sore thumb! Doing photo shoots helps you visually assess your skill level, with the ability to learn from and grow technically.