One of Newmarket’s noted heritage buildings is now home to the glamorous creativity of super stylist Penny Ainsley and her talented team. After six years in the suburbs, it was time for a change for Ainsley’s Hair Design. The need for a fresh new space led Penny to the trendy loft space in Osborne Street in the heart of Auckland’s Newmarket. The glamorous new space is appropriate to Ainsley’s – Penny has been responsible for the immaculate hair of a number of high-profile New Zealand women

Redken performing artist Richard Kavanagh has just produced for the Rodney Wayne salons group a fabulous set of images for summer, inspired from his recent work on the catwalks of New York, Milan, London & Paris. Richard worked alongside famed Redken Artist Guido on some of the world’s most well known collections including Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang. Check out Richard’s new video and the amazing campaign images.

Emiliano Vitale, the award-winning Creative Director of Sydney’s é SALON, made hairdressing industry history on Sunday 16th October 2011, as he became the first Australian hairdresser to present at the global event of the year – the 29th Alternative Hair Show in London. Making a marked return to the prestigious Royal Albert Hall, this year’s London Alternative Hair Show was themed ‘ILLUSION’, creating excitement as perceptions were altered allowing for an alternative reality.

The word is out... ‘Craze’ has recently opened in Howick! Based in the newly refurbished Terraces Building in Wellington Street, this impressive new hair salon really jumps out at you street wise, from the moment you pull up outside. One of the first things to attract attention are the floor to ceiling Redken NYC window banners. Inside the salon interior, no expense has been spared. Owner Alex Douglas has left nothing to chance, sourcing the latest imported designer furniture

Hairdressing is a very social industry so you might think anyone who wants to hugely broaden his community links needs to seriously look at his time management plan. But you wouldn’t have met Tim Riwhi. He has simply the best time management plan. And it starts at 4.15am every day. This human dynamo is up at that time training for triathlons. Then it’s hours in the salon. And for four months of the year, working with the Redken Education programme.

Michael Beel, ghd Hair Director “The brief was 1940’s meets a futuristic Russian princess. There were 25 models and 25 different hair looks, split into three sections,” “The first section was ‘Future World’ which was scraped back silver hair with dramatic white wigs placed on top all of different shapes and blue lights placed underneath. The second section was ‘World Future’, inspired by the 1940’s with lots of fingerwaves, victory rolls and chignons,

The Huffer design team has worked tirelessly to ensure that the label stays true to its heritage of functionality. Military-styled, heritage-inspired uniform aesthetic features an earthy palette of army greens, greys, and maroons. After meeting with show stylist Zara Mirkin, KMS California Hair Director Greg Murrell created a look that worked with the nomadic inspiration behind the styling. The style had to accommodate extensive use

We were fortunate to catch Richard Kownacki in action at the Servilles Academy, presenting a De Lorenzo ‘Look & Learn’ seminar, one of many held recently around the country. John Myers New Zealand GM for De Lorenzo said “We were very pleased with the turnout, 174 attending our ‘Hands on’ workshops and 395 attended our ‘Look & Learn’ night seminars, a great success!” It was an opportunity to learn from an exceptional international hairdressing educator, author, artist and motivational speaker.

After 23 successful years in business, one of Auckland’s most well known salons has undergone a fabulous new makeover. Owners Tony and Debbie Wilson have revamped and extended their Epsom premises and the result is stunning! The theme is a classic black and white story, polished black wooden floor, white walls, black stone slab counter, Black lampshades and black central lighting station with the most amazing mirrors specially imported from Bali. Six large oval mirrors & six small

Empowering women and the importance of friendship was the combined mantra that started the latest venture for two old friends. And that’s just the case with Petra Rijnbeek and Kirstin Lloyd. The two old friends have embarked on a new venture after previously working together 12 years ago. With more than 35 years’ experience between them, Petra and Kirstin have combined their talents to establish Amica Boutique in Auckland’s Grey Lynn.

Emiliano Vitale, the award-winning Creative Director of Sydney’s é SALON, will be the first Australian hairdresser to present at the 29th Alternative Hair Show in London on October 16th 2011. Making a marked return to the prestigious Royal Albert Hall, this year’s London Alternative Hair Show is themed ‘ILLUSION’ and will create excitement as perceptions are altered allowing for an alternative reality.

With just a little effort, Wellington salon Blue Cactus is already reaping the benefits of a sustainable living and working practice put in place less than a year ago. A lower power bill, great client feedback and a much safer and healthier work environment. In 2010 Blue Cactus took out Wellington’s Top Shop Award in the Sustainable Retailing category, a reward managing director Larissa Macleman is extremely proud of. While Larissa agrees green purchasing

Win a year’s worth of colour services at a Goldwell professional salon Many women consider their hair to be one of their best assets. Yet when it comes to colouring their hair, many take the precarious path of DIY at the expense of right colour choice, condition and overall look. Goldwell believes the best hair colour happens at a professional salon. Not only is the experience better, the advice on the right colour, the professional application

All eyes were on London recently as millions of people from around the world watched Prince William and his bride Kate (Catherine) Middleton tie the royal knot at Westminster Abbey. The bride wore an intricate, off-white gown, designed by Sarah Burton, creative director at Alexander McQueen. Her layered veil was made of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers paired with a Cartier ‘halo’ tiara lent to her by the queen. The bridal gown’s sweeping train measured just over

For the second time in as many years, Wade Ambler has taken out the coveted title of Oceanic Grand Master at the 2010 Oceanic Awards in Christchurch. The first time he achieved this, it also made him the youngest competitor to win, at just 19 years of age! With sheer raw talent and enthusiasm for his chosen trade, Wade continues to impress both the media and his peers with his vision and direction within the hair industry. One of the driving forces behind his passion is the CHI range of products

The drive for a new challenge and fresh new space was the only incentive Kokomo Haircutters owner Richelle Gott needed to shift her successful Ponsonby salon. After 15 years gracing the western border of one of New Zealand’s best-known suburban precincts, Kokomo is now firmly ensconced at 51 Ponsonby Road in a “fabulous location”. Kokomo occupies a character building on two levels with a veranda off the upstairs ‘colour lounge’ affording ‘life-going-by’ views over the vibrant inner city

All the 'Beautiful People' turned out to the launch party of the new ‘Venom’ hair salon a few weeks ago in Invercargill. A crowd of 150 gathered to get the first look inside the stunning new salon in the Cambridge Arcade. Adrian Barclay the man behind the salon, an ambassador for L’Oreal, become recognised on an international scale when he won the coveted title of New Zealand Hairdresser of the Year at Australia’s Hair Expo in 2009. Adrian says the new

You’ve been selected as a finalist for the L’Oréal Colour Trophy Men’s Colour Award 2011, what impact will this have on your career? Having been selected as a finalist for the L’Oréal Colour Trophy Men’s colour award reinforces all the hard work I have put in over the past few years building my career as a top stylist. Opportunities such as this have an invaluable positive impact on any hair stylist

The New Zealand Association of Registered Hairdressers announced at its bi-annual Supreme Awards gala dinner the eighth recipient of the industry’s highest honour. The Award of Merit is awarded to members of the hairdressing industry for their outstanding service over the years. First awarded in 1990, the Award of Merit is presented to members of the NZARH who throughout their career have shown commitment to the industry

Auckland’s fashion capital, has a new hair destination ‘Hamilton Brooks Hairdressing’ at 23 Nuffield Street Newmarket. Hamilton Brooks has opened his first salon designed in collaboration with Finn Scot to create a light and airy space filled with recycled timber and the scent of freshly cut flowers. With environmental awareness a key value of the Hamilton Brooks Hairdressing philosophy, recycled plastics, wood, ethical paint and low emission hair dryers

Renowned hair stylist and ghd ambassador for Australia and New Zealand, Jayne Wild, appeared at this year’s Salon International, one of the world’s most prestigious hair industry events. Over two days, 16-18th October, thousands of hairdressers and industry professionals descended on ExCeL in the UK for an experience that promised great education, exciting new product launches and the chance to see top stylists from around the world

American college fraternities and sororities was the inspiration for Huffer. Aimee MacFarlane’s women’s collection contained a colour palette of neutral’s with splashes of detail such as knitted animal prints. The men’s clothing featured sorority-like patches to suggest that they belonged in a gang combined with an element of English street culture about the styling. Men’s hair was either long, relaxed and loose or cut very short

In order to obtain our backstage passes we had to endure the process of climbing the stairs to the Media Room at NZFW. There a lovely lady proceeded to issue our passes. It all came unstuck when the printer refused to print. We then had to witness the amusing spectacle of 2 IT guys running around trying to fix the PC to printer connection. Twenty minutes later we were on our way with our passes but not before I had made the comment that perhaps it was time to ditch the PCs

“I’ll just hold off re-booking as I’m not yet sure what I’m doing in a few weeks …” Sound familiar? It’s an all too common response. On average, half of all clients leave without re-booking! No one wants to miss a booking or risk losing a client completely. Now Kitomba have a solution to help make it easy and convenient for clients to re-book in a way that suits them best – Kitomba Web Booking. “Kitomba Web Booking provides a cost effective

Well respected stylist Dimitri Fronis conducted a creative workshop at ‘Killer Hair’ in Auckland recently. Dimitri has an amazing pedigree, Having worked with many designers at international runway shows in the US and Europe. The owners of ‘Killer Hair’ Steven and Mimi Kelly are a successful husband and wife hairdressing duo who worked for Tony & Guy hairdressing before opening their own salon in Newton.

In an exciting expansion to the ghd family in Australia, ghd Hair is thrilled to announce the official appointment of renowned editorial and session stylist, Alan White, to its creative and education team as guest artist. “I’m really excited about my collaboration with ghd, I feel it is a perfect match with ghd being passionate about the editorial perspective of my work as well as my commitment to the educational side of session styling.

Joico International has announced the overall winner for the Le Professional category, Suzanne Taggart and Renee Suzanne Tito from Who Me Hair in NSW they win a trip for 2 to Paris, 5 nights accommodation and a trophy… $10,000 in prizes. Drawing inspiration from the legendary French hairstylist, photographer, perfumer and Shiseido Creative Director, Serge Lutens; applicants from Australia and New Zealand were asked to create their chosen looks using Joico professional products

School children at Lakeside Junior High in Ghana will soon have access to cleaner drinking water and sanitation thanks to a Pureology gift with purchase promotion that ran throughout August. During the fund-raising promotion, customers received an environmentally friendly SIGG water bottle with the purchase of any two Pureology hair care products. Ten dollars from every SIGG bottle purchased by salons was donated to the ‘Smart Water for Green Schools

After attending L’Oreal Professional’s Business Forum at the Sheraton 4 points Hotel on Friday we made our way over the bridge to North Ryde where the new Tigi Creative Academy was celebrating its official opening that evening. Located in the new division of Macquarie Industrial Park in Eden Park Drive the Academy stands out from its prominent ground floor corner position underneath Tigi’s Australian & NZ Head Office on the first floor.

There’s a shift happening in hair care. And while it may be only a ripple right now, hair stylists are reporting more and more clients are seeking professional advice on the health of their hair. Many clients now expect a hair and scalp diagnosis before the stylist gets to work. The problem is, often it’s hard to diagnose issues, especially if the hair has been coloured. While we all love having at least a little colour in our hair, it’s a fact

On Sunday night, Hair Expo weekend we were off to The Ivy On George Street for the Wella Professionals Pret-A-Porter evening. Firstly we checked out the Ivy Pool Bar on the roof for Cocktails. The Pool Bar is a really cool place to hang out, with the decor absolutely amazing! Sort of like a Beverley Hills mansion with all the action around the pool. After soaking in the atmosphere of the Pool Bar we then headed down to the Ivy Ballroom on the first floor and joined the crowd of 500

As well as making clients look and feel great on the day they visit your salon, it is also a perfect opportunity for you to empower customers to take care of their hair in between salon visits. If you ask them how often they deep treat their hair at home, they will more than likely confess to.... 'Not as often as they would like'. Now thanks to the innovative Wondercap Gel Heat Cap you can now offer them a solution.

“The hair is inspired by an organic new world theme. Kirrily Johnston’s signature drape patterns and layering influenced four key tribal, primitive hair looks with lots of braiding and cornrows” said Renya Xydis, ghd Hair Director HOW TO RECREATE THE LOOK Look one – The Horny Goat 1. Cornrow the back section, nape to crown, braiding into the pony. 2. Bring the front section, unbraided, from ears forward, into the high pony. 3. Attach ‘goat ear’ braided pieces.

Jane Hassall has recently been appointed to head up KPSS NZ Ltd. Formerly from Schwarzkopf Professional where she held senior positions in New Zealand and Australia. Jane has recently returned to NZ with a focus to increase the distribution and brand strength of Goldwell and KMS California within the New Zealand market. With many years of industry experience, Jane’s knowledge of the industry and key relationships are an asset

The legendary Simon Forbes, founder and owner of Antenna Hair Salon, in London’s Kensington, invented the concept of hair extensions over 25 years ago, so it will come as no surprise to know that Antenna is the place to go for the very best in hairdressing services. Simon Forbes, strongly believes in a particular ethos when being artistic and in expressing this, he designed a creative salon atmosphere with inspirational surroundings, making Antenna stimulating, comfortable, chilled and fun.

The green revolution sweeping the globe is making its presence felt in salons worldwide and New Zealand is no exception. Leading the way in both hemispheres is Pureology from L’Oréal Professional Products Division. Pureology has announced it is now partnering with Green Cross International (GCI), the global ‘Red Cross’ for the environment.

Belinda and Jess, owners of Biba in Birkenhead, have plenty to smile about. Late last year they won the L’Oréal’s Window Display Challenge for New Zealand. And it’s not hard to see why. They have managed to transform their cosy little boutique with it’s cold, grey exterior into an attractive boutique thats warm and inviting. This challenge encouraged salons to use their windows to create the best visual impact. It had to be attractive, innovative and have a strong message that was easy to read.

Exciting news out of London - Top fashion designer Christopher Kane has entered into a 12 month partnership with the UK’s biggest selling hair brand TIGI. A rising star on the UK fashion scene Kane has shown at London fashion Week for the last six seasons to raving reviews and has built his label into an internationally recognized brand. His collections regularly generate global trends and demonstrate a contemporary progressive vision.

American Crew the world’s leading supplier of grooming products for men has just launched the Trichology Hair Recovery System. With more that 25% of men experiencing hair loss as early as in their 30’s, American Crew has searched for and come up with, an answer to this problem. American Crew offers men a simple solution for thicker, fuller and stronger hair through its patented formula of hops, rosemary, swertia japonica and silica which prolongs hair life.

Inspired by the gorgeous imagery and styling of L’Oréal Professionnel’s Precious Garden collection, Ponsonby salon Kokomo has put together a summer collection of its own.After 13 years in the Ponsonby boutique, salon owner Richelle Gott and her team made the decision to start producing a collection as a natural progression of their work. “Over the years we have helped put together numerous editorials and collections for other people and we figured it was time to start creating our own,” says Ric

It’s Slash, Pink and Katy Perry. They’re the favourite rock star looks of winning Matrix stylists nation-wide. Back in July stylists were asked to choose a picture of their favourite rockstar look and re-create that look using Matrix Design Pulse products. Drum roll please...and the winners are Arama Pake from Servilles Takapuna, Seth Dale, Rodney Wayne Timaru and Victoria Lindrea from Collective Hair Design Arama recreated Slash formerly with Guns n Roses and now from Velvet Revolver.

Renowned for its philosophy and for offering a unique Parisian experience, Mod’s Hair has over 400 salons worldwide, including four in New Zealand. According to company director Julianne Liebeck, the French brand is thrilled to be able to extend its popular boutique concept to Australian shores. “Mod’s has a very particular approach to our clients that means that every facet of their experience is a pleasure. Circle on Cavill therefore presented the perfect setting for our Australian launch.”

Ken Beguely is a stalwart of the Auckland hairdressing scene having been part of the Three Lamps Shopping precinct for as long as most of us can remember. Ken first opened Ponsonby’s Hair Establishment in October 1979 and at that time it was considered unique as the entire salon was set up with antique dressing tables as workstations which set the salon apart from from others because of its distinctive ‘Old World’ decor.