News

Pro Hair Graduate Sarah Jane Taylor: Catching the beat at Barbarella

Main Street is the beating heart of Vancouver. More hometown than downtown, it’s where you’ll find the best coffee shops and the hottest boutiques. It’s also home to Barbarella Hair Salon, one of the very coolest places in the city for a cut.

With its unique combination of stylish décor and relaxed informality, Barbarella perfectly reflects the attitude of its Main Street location. As does its newest stylist, Blanche Macdonald Pro Hair Graduate, Sarah Jane Taylor.

“Everyone here likes to have fun,” she explains. “We try to keep our styling as up to date as possible, while incorporating elements from the past. 

“I did my work placement at Barbarella when I was at Hair School at Blanche Macdonald. It was where I wanted to be. I lived on Main Street for a while and often walked by the salon, although I’d never been in there. I wanted to try something new.

“I wanted to work at Barbarella after graduation, but at first they didn’t have any room. Then, when a space opened up, they called me. They had kept me on file. That was a big compliment. That was eight months ago. Now I’m working my way up. You have to start from the bottom, build your clientele and make people think you’re rad. Those people are starting to come back to me!”

There was little doubt that Sarah Jane would eventually win devoted fans. She’d always been artistic, and she’d always had her hands in someone’s hair. Including her own.

Ever Dreamt of Styling a Rock Band?

Calling all Makeup, Hair and Fashion Students and Grads! Don't miss this unique chance to break into the take-no-prisoners world of rock and roll styling. And win up to $2000 while you're doing it!

If you ever dreamt about having a band of your own to mould into the epitome of cool, you’re in luck. You’ll need to act quickly though. The competition is closing and we need entries in before August 6.

We're giving Blanche Macdonald students and graduates the opportunity to create a new look for one of Vancouver’s most promising young rock acts, The Colin Grieve Band! 

Your work may be used on the Band's promotional material on their rise to national and international glory. It may even end up on the album cover. On top of that, there's the added bonus of up to $2000 available in cash prizes!

Here’s what you need to do.

We want you to form teams of three: made up of one student or graduate each from the Makeup, Fashion and Hair programs. And in your teams of three we want you to present us with:

• a unified visual portfolio of your ideas for the band’s wardrobe, makeup concepts and hairstyles
• a 300-400 word written proposal explaining your plans
• a portfolio of your previous work: five photos from each team member demonstrating a variety of experience

Please hand your team’s completed band portfolio at the City Square Campus, attention to Kelly Schmidt or Jennifer Daerendinger, on or before August 6.

RSVP to our Facebook event for updates and to meet other students and grads who want to participate!  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101241073262466

The three top teams will be selected by the judging panel and will be announced on August 31. On September 8 these finalists will be invited to a studio location to put their ideas into action, dressing and styling the Band for a shoot with a professional photographer. Once those photos are in the judges’ hands, the panel, now including the actual band, will reconvene and decide the overall winner. The winning team's photographs will be used in The Colin Grieve Band’s press and promotional material in 2010. And maybe even more.

For more information please visit http://www.blanchemacdonald.com/news/current/2010/contest-style-makeup-band-colin-grieve/

Good luck. For those about to rock, we salute you.

Pro Hair Graduate Chelsea Kapiniak Keeps it Cool in Saskatoon

There’s no such thing as too much education. Saskatoon’s Chelsea Kapiniak enjoyed studying at the Blanche Macdonald Centre so much, as soon as she graduated the Makeup Artistry program, she signed up for the Pro Hair program.

That commitment to learning paid off. Now she’s a star at The Cutting Café, one her hometown’s most acclaimed hair and beauty salons, wowing Saskatonians (that’s really what they’re called) with her hair and makeup skills.

So what was Chelsea’s prime motivation through her two years of study at Blanche Macdonald? Long-held career goals? Academic achievement? Apparently, the answer was ‘fun’.

“I’ve spoken to people who studied in makeup and hair colleges in Saskatchewan who couldn’t wait to get out of school,” explains Chelsea. “That’s totally not like how it was for me. I was so sad to leave. I loved every day at Blanche Macdonald. Every day I was in such a good mood.”

That mood began with the Makeup Diploma, where the girl in love with movie glamour became infatuated with the darker side of makeup.

“I loved the special effects and the gory stuff when I was at Blanche Macdonald,” she admits. “I didn’t think I was interested in that before I started.”

She found herself drawn to Blanche Macdonald’s Hair department, especially after hearing reviews from students enjoying their time on the course.

Olympic moments: Blanche Macdonald gives Vancouver a Golden Glow

The sights and excitement of the 2010 Olympics will be forever seared into the memory of anyone lucky enough to have been in Vancouver during the Games. The two weeks were awash with unforgettable highlights: spectacular ceremonies, incredible performances, dancing in the streets and many, many Canadian gold medals.

The Blanche Macdonald Centre had its own share of Olympic glory, with instructors, graduates and students seizing the unique opportunity to play their part in ensuring the Games looked great from beginning to end.

“Blanche Macdonald was the only makeup school contacted by MAC and VANOC to assist on the Opening and Closing Ceremonies,” explains Blanche Macdonald’s Makeup Program Director Karen Esprez, “Associate Makeup Director, Jennifer Powell and I worked with MAC’s Pro Makeup Artist Caitlin Callahan to determine who would assist the MAC Makeup team. With the entire world watching, it was an incredible vote of confidence from MAC in the quality of makeup artist we’re producing at Blanche Macdonald.”

Pro Hair Graduates Jeff Sudnicki and Sam Baxter Keep Cool in Rain

Rain is one of Vancouver’s elite boutique salons; an upbeat hive of style where racks of designer clothes complement the work of a team of extraordinary young stylists. That team now includes not one, but two graduates from the Blanche Macdonald Centre’s Pro Hair Program, Jeff Sudnicki and Sam Baxter.

He’s a small town boy from Ontario with a radical sense of style. She’s a well-travelled psychology graduate from Vancouver. They share the same salon floor, but Jeff and Sam’s drastically different routes to Rain prove there are many ways to launch a successful career as a hair stylist.

“I moved to Vancouver with no money from Thunder Bay and I cut my own hair for the first couple of years I lived here. Out of necessity really,” recalls Jeff. “A stylist friend of mine told me I had great hair and that put the idea in my brain. I’d always been into style and fashion. The more I thought about it, the more I thought hair was the perfect career course for me.”

Sam had pursued a counselling career after finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at Queen’s University.   

“After about two years doing a variety of jobs, I realised I didn’t want to do counselling,” she explains. “Traditional psychology careers were too heavy for me. One day I had a poignant conversation with my hair stylist. I explained how I was interested in fashion, business, style and the arts. She said that I sounded a lot like her and asked if I had ever considered hair styling? As soon as she said that I started investigating the idea, and I enrolled at Blanche Macdonald a week later. I looked at a few schools and Blanche Macdonald seemed like it had the most extensive program. It offered the most.”

Pro Hair Graduate Sophie McMullin Vancouver’s East Vanity Parlour: Where Nostalgia meets Punk Rock

They didn’t just break the mould when they made stylist and Blanche Macdonald Pro Hair graduate Sophie McMullin. They smashed the mould with a hammer, put the fragments in a blender, buried what was left and built condos over the top for good measure. Her extravagant plume of hair (black, white and purple at the time of writing) grabs your attention. The incredible tattoo of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster on her right shoulder puts it in a vice grip. Soon he’ll have a tattoo of Elsa Lanchester, the original Bride of Frankenstein, on Sophie’s left shoulder for company. 

Sophie’s unique attitude and remarkable talent has turned her into one of BC’s most in-demand hair stylists, a star at Vancouver’s shrine to vintage glamour glory, East Vanity Parlour. 

“After I graduated from Blanche Macdonald I said that I was going to take half a year off,” recalls Sophie. “But within two months the girls from East Vanity Parlour had taken me under their wing. They do a lot of work with Vancouver’s burlesque community, and they had heard of me through someone I did vintage styling with. When I found this place I immediately felt at home. There’s obviously something different here, because of the focus on nostalgia and punk rock. And there are no senior or junior stylists. We’re all equal and we’re all good friends. I love it.”

Pro Hair Graduate Ana Luisa Valdes: A Cut Above at Toni & Guy and the Contessa Awards

Not every student at Blanche Macdonald arrives with a crystal ball providing step-by-step directions to a glittering future career. For Ana Luisa Valdés, Blanche Macdonald Pro Hair graduate and Art Director at the multiple award-winning Kitsilano, Vancouver branch of Toni&Guy, success has more to do with seizing inspiration and opportunities than long-term plans.

Hailing from Tampico, Mexico, the precise details of the start of Ana Luisa’s journey to Vancouver for Blanche Macdonald's Hair School have already faded from memory.

“I really don’t remember how I started cutting hair,” she laughs, taking a break from her busy schedule at Toni&Guy. “It was just for fun. I had no training. It was something natural to me. My aunts would call and they’d get me to cut their hair with the same scissors they used in the garden. My sister-in-law ran a hair salon in Tampico. She saw me doing hair and said that I should help her in the salon.”

When the suggestion came that she should enhance her natural talent with some formal training, Ana Luisa investigated the possibility of a dramatic change of scenery.

“I’d been to Vancouver before, and I’d always liked it. One of my girlfriends from Mexico lived here and said that I should try out Blanche Macdonald. I heard it was one of the best schools. And the brochure they sent me looked really interesting.”

Shelly Overend - Hairstylist at L'Atelier Hair Salon

Professional Hairstyling Graduate
Professional Hair Stylist at Vancouver's prestigious "L'Atelier" Hair Salon - Vancouver, Canada

Shelly-Marie Overend, BMC Pro Hair graduate - What she says about her experience at Blanche Macdonald

"The Pro Hair Design program teaches more than just the basics. Blanche Macdonald's high standards in education and their students set the footprints to put you and your career in the right direction. I chose Blanche Macdonald because the success students have obtained upon completion in the Fashion/Film industry; no other hair school in Vancouver offers this. Upon completion I had three jobs offers before I had even started looking for employment."

Katherine MacDonald, Professional Hair Stylist at The Lounge

Professional Hairstyling Graduate
Professional Hair Stylist at Vancouver's top hair studio "The Lounge" - Vancouver, Canada

"I looked into the Blanche Macdonald Centre's Makeup School and when I found out they had started a Hairstylist Program, I knew I should do it. It was an opportunity to finally follow a passion I have had since I was young. The program seemed like it would be a perfect fit for me and it was. I had a great experience at Blanche Macdonald; my class was great and I loved my teachers. They really got to know our skill level and us. They knew what we were capable of and pushed us to our limits. The Blanche Macdonald Centre opens the door to students to be able to work in salons during their training and it's up to us to take advantage of that and prove we can do it.

I think the big difference that sets the Blanche Macdonald Centre apart from other schools is the extra things we are taught, such as an introduction to TV and Film and period hairstyles. We learn how to develop business plans and the costs and responsibilities of salon ownership. We touch on Photoshop and learn to design business cards. At the end of the day, these extra skills will set Blanche Macdonald students apart from others, which is the basis of the hair industry, to set you apart from others. I started working at the award-winning Lounge Hair Studio in Yaletown six months before graduating from the Blanche Macdonald Centre. I had the opportunity of being on the floor as an Associate Stylist just days after graduating."

Big Hug. Big Love.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, the Pro Hair department at the Blanche Macdonald Centre has been basking in the lovely messages and missives from our Hair graduates.

Whether our Graduates are overseas, on the seas (via cruise-liner) or in our very own locales, there has been a tremendous outpouring of heartfelt sentiments and gratitude.

As educators, our reward is knowing that our students and graduates have achieved their career goals and are happy and fulfilled in their new careers.

So what a testament it is for us at the College to learn of our Graduates’ success!

"The last Pro Hair group that graduated has a 100% job placement Rate!" - Phil Loiselle, Hair Program Director

Congratulations to the Pro Hair Class of 2009; 100% Job Placement!

Alexa Rae Hamilton - Atomic, Ladner BC
Atefeh Baradaran - Bambu, Vancouver BC
Bonnie Buker - Image 1, Powell River BC
Candice McLean - Absolute Spa, Vancouver BC
Chelsea Kapiniak - Freelance Hairstylist, Saskatoon SK
Elizabeth Ferrier - Euphoria, Yellowknife NT
Emilie Klaussen - Hennessey, Vancouver BC
Eva Chao - Le Spot, Vancouver BC
Jeff Sudnicki - Rain ,Vancouver BC
Lisa Riddell - Mirage, Medicine Hat AB
Mahala Boychuk - Elysian, Medicine Hat AB
Natasha Eland - Zazou, North Vancouver BC
Shelly Overend - L'Atelier, Vancouver BC
Tonya Mandzuk - Hennessey, White Rock BC