Back To Life, Back To Reality

Its all over.  Rodrigo and I arrived back in Canada on Saturday.  The statistics are staggering.  Over 1100 hairstylists educated in hands-on cutting and coloring, over 3000 km traveled in the tour bus, 17 events in 21 days, spanning 3 countries.

Incredible when you add it all up.

What a fulfilling experience.  The gift of being able to touch hairstylists lives through inspiration and education is truly unique.  There are no barriers of language or culture when we all speak the language of hair.  This was undoubtedly the most difficult, and most rewarding tour of my career.  I was able to have this experience with my brother Patrick, who is also my closest friend and workmate I have in life, and Rodrigo, a fine individual and great hairstylist.  I know I will be friends with Rodrigo for the rest of our careers, and the mutual respect is huge after this tour.

As fun and rewarding as this tour was, it reminds me of how great my life is here at home.  I have a great family, thriving business, and wonderful people around me every day.  Leaving this comfort and security makes me realize its true magnitude.  And what good is an experience like this one if you have no one around you to share the experience with?  I will leave this post with a few photos from the road, people, places, and things that brought great joy to me on the tour.

Best,

Paul

Budapest / Bridal Emergency

Patrick's last night here. The three of us took the day to tour Budapest. Some casual eating and sight seeing was the priority, as the final week is a whirlwind of 6 straight classes, with as many as 100 attendees in some of the seminars. Rodrigo and I sure have our work cut out for us here.

The city is in stark contrast to Prague. There is a large percentage of new structure that relates well with the old architecture. Everything here is beautiful, and larger than life. As a hairstylist, I am absorbing great lines and proportions of everything around me. Surely these ideas on form, texture, and scale will make their way into my work sooner rather than later.

I have attached a few pics from our city tour, back to the grind tomorrow. We work in Budapest then jump on the bus to Sombathely for the beginning of the end. Although this experience has been unbelievable, its time to dig deep and finish strong, I am ready to see Ann and the kids.

Enjoy the pics, especially the bride. I spotted a woman at the castle who obviously had just been married on site. She was struggling with a headpiece that was obviously not secure. I explained to her that I was a qualified hairstylist and would be happy to help her and her hair on her special day. Good thing she spoke English. I took a minute to secure her piece properly, and Patrick snapped a few photos, without me noticing. A stylist's work is never done, even on your day off in Budapest.

Best,

Paul

It's All About The People

So we have completed the 2nd leg of the tour, tearing through 5 cities in Slovakia. Now a city tour in Budapest tomorrow before the final 5 events in Hungary.

What an emotional day we had. Slovakia was such a pleasant surprise. The team here felt like family, and tears were shed tonight when they dropped us off in Budapest.

This crazy business is about people. And that's the long and short of it. It's about the people we service, the people we inspire and educate, and the special teams that we create. I know that the Czech and Slovak teams will be my lifelong friends, and we are all better people for our experiences together.

The people are the soul of hair, and there is nothing more powerful than being successful at leading and inspiring future leaders in the education industry. Education is the lifeblood of our business. Period. Embracing it, and the people who deliver it will empower hairstylists to live a better life in all aspects. Here's a few pics of some special people that Rodrigo, Patrick, and myself have met along the way.

Best,

Paul.

Czech Mate

So the first tour leg is done. 6 events in 6 days. This has taken the team from training regional educators for the Czech / Slovak teams to traveling through the country with stops in 5 other Czech cities.

The tour is amazing. Myself, Rodrigo and Patrick have quickly developed a fantastic synergy and our collection is very well received. The Czech countryside has so many remnants of communism. It is a history lesson in itself just being here. The downside of being on the bus for hours at a time with the crew and models is quickly overshadowed by the architectural beauty of the country.

This is truly the heart of hair education. Taking your best ideas, presenting them with passion and energy, to the people who need, want, and love the material. As artists, we can only grow from sharing our knowledge. And this drives us to improve our skill and delivery.

Huge thanks to all our team, you are all amazing and the Czech portion of the tour could not have happened without you.

Quick day of r & r in rainy Prague, then off to the second leg, 6 cities in 6 days through Slovakia and Moravia.

Updates to follow dependent on web access.

Best,

Paul

Czech Yourself.

So the tour officially begins.  Patrick, Rodrigo and myself have just finished training the CZ team!!!
The relentless pace has begun.  After a sleepless jet-lagged night, we pumped out an amazing hands-on cutting seminar for the Czech and Slovak Education team.  Immediately after, we jumped on our tour bus and drove to Plzen, CZ.

I'm not sure if this is obvious, but I love beer, and I can see the Pilsner Urquell Brewery from my hotel window.  Amazing.

No pics  today, WiFi costs a ton here, about 50 CAD for 24 hours.  Its definitely time to call it quits tonight, we have a class of 75 stylists tomorrow, and then head back to Prague immediately after.

On a high note, our collection was very well received, and these successful events always remind me what being an educator is all about,  sharing.  Sharing everything you have, giving away your knowledge base to anyone who wants it.  This is the only way to grow, and to continue to innovate.

Pics in the next few days, as my WiFI permits.

Best,

Paul

Ready, Set.....

So here we are in Prague, well Patrick and myself anyway. Rodrigo will arrive on the morning flight via Amsterdam.

So, a lunch meeting with our complete team, then off to photograph the city and experience some Czech culture.

5 years ago when I launched Matrix here, I assumed that I would probably never be back here as a hairstylist. It truly is amazing when things come full circle.

The people here are warm, the beer is cold, and the surroundings breathtaking. One more day to enjoy with our team, then it's time to bring the Matrix love and energy through 16 cities spanning 3 countries.

Needless to say, none of us can wait for this incredible opportunity to share our knowledge and passion with Eastern Europe. Here's a few quick phone pics. Enjoy.

Best,

Paul

Hair Heroes

So this is it. I am fast approaching our "Golden Scissors Tour" of Eastern Europe.  I am overjoyed to be part of a great team, as I will be alongside my brother Patrick Wilke, and another stylist whose work I absolutely love, Rodrigo Araneda of Montreal, Canada.


We are embarking on a massive tour, travelling throught the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, sharing our collection of cuts and styles for Matrix Canada. 

These events are so grounding to a travelling artist, as they force you to remember why you became an educator in the first place.  These are my reasons. 

I have had literally thousands of influences in my career, artists, musicians, designers, and espescially hair gurus who have inspired me to push forward and improve myself, and those around me.  However, there are 3 in particular (in chronological order) that may not know how important they have been in shaping the direction of my career.

First, my grandfather, Domenic Tersigni.  An Italian immigrant, he barbered for nearly 70 years.  Somehow he found a way to support a wife and 12 children with his scissors, comb, clippers and razor.  Although in a monetary sense, he was never wealthy, in my eyes, he was the richest man I ever knew.  His respect and dedication to barbering was second to none, and he truly loved his work, and the people he serviced during his time.  I learned the value of hard work from him, and that being rich seldom had anything to do with money.

Second, my first trainer that made a difference. Gerard Scarpaci facilitated my first segment at Vidal Sassoon in Toronto.  His attention to detail, and commitment to sharing information are gifts I try to emulate every single time I am fortunate enough to be conducting a training.  Gerard settled for nothing less than perfection, and is a true craftsman.  I learned the value of knowledge, and the value of sharing from him, the most important traits of any successful educator.

Third, a recent connection.  Chrystofer Benson.  I truly believe that I probably would have left the industry in the last year or so that I met Chrys. A true inspiration, he settles for nothing.  The ambition and drive Chrys has is unmatched, and that is contagious.  He makes everyone around him believe they can succeed, and far exceed any mental or technical limitations.

So.  I  am off to Europe to educate and inspire stylists with my amazing team, and I am taking these lessons from my hair heroes with me.  Its time to be dedicated, work hard, be technically perfect, share my ideas and knowledge, and exceed my limits, and inspire others to do the same.

If you don't have a hair hero, i suggest you look around.  There are many, and they are around if you just have a good look.

Best,

Paul

The Creative Ego

The greatest part of an artist's development, in my mind, is the abolition of ego.  The desire to dominate others, in business and in life, is an empty idea.  Ego does not, and has never resided in the present.  The present moment is the only true reality for a creative person, rendering the ego, and all egotism false reality, merely a reflection of a created persona as opposed to the real, true persona hiding behind the ego, and its subsequent behaviours.

Development as a hairstylist is about purity, and intention.  Ego is money hungry, ego is impure in its intent, ego is obsessed with its public perception, in business and personal affairs.

Purity requires less thought and effort, and the results can be staggering.
Intention is purposeful, and precise, and arrives easily to the mind.

The most extraordinary people I have met in my journey as a hairstylist have been completely ordinary, and real. 

The most successful people I have encountered in my line of work are those who are 100% committed to their art without obsessing over success.

The most accomplished financially rarely speak of money.

The most important to their craft are always, always the most humble.

Most importantly, the ones with the greatest knowledge base are exclusively the stylists who give the most to others.


Remove the distractions, the enigmas, and the illusions that support the ego and we are left with the ability to rediscover why we wanted to be hair artists all those years ago, when our intentions were pure, and our dedication to the craft immeasureable.

Best,

Paul

How to Effectively Predict Hair Trends

Remember the days when your clientele took their cue from the world of fashion? Me too.

This brings me back to the first salon I worked in as an apprentice and Junior Stylist. We serviced a high-end fashion savvy client base, and they were constantly fighting over the selection of European high fashion magazines we kept in abundance in our Technical Area.

These mags were always dog-eared, and had multiple pages torn out, as clients created their seasonal look from our magazines.

Wow have things ever changed in the last decade....I now observe my own salon magazines, and it is amazing what I see. I have 6 month old copies of high-fashion magazines that have barely been opened. On the other side of the equation, the Celebrity-oriented magazines are generally unreadable within a week of purchase.

There is an interesting insight here, our clientele take more personal fashion influence from celebrities than models.

There are so many crossover celebs that have become nothing short of iconic in the world of hair. They are the trump card for hairstylist.

Your clients are looking to these people for style ideas, and as stylists, accepting this and exploiting this connecting will build our repective businesses astronomically.

Nowadays, celebrity is high fashion. Now go make some money.

Best,

Paul