North East Roadshow - Update

Lying in bed with my eyes tight shut, I was trying to ignore the shrill alarm going off by my ear, telling me I have to get up....NOW! 5 O'clock on a Sunday morning is not meant to be seen! Slipping my legs out from under the duvet to test the temperature in the room, they didn't stay bare for long, oooooooh I must love what I do!

Jumping into the shower I spend the next 10 minutes recovering from the cold hike across the bedroom to the en-suite, standing there letting the hot water wash away the zzzzzzz, my brain started to wake up and I began to think about the day ahead. Vicki was going to arrive in 40 minutes to drive me up to Rotherham, some 4 hours away. I had to get a wriggle on!

Arriving at Hellaby Hall we were greeted with a large banner welcoming us, Jo Shirley from Red 10 had certainly thought of everything. The competitions had already started, but I still had time to grab a cuppa before I was needed to judge the fantasy category.The main event was to start at 1.00, and the room was decked with Christmas cheer. Beautifully done the chairs would soon be filled with the 100 invited guests, ready to listen and learn.

The competition had three categories, fantasy, pink and white judged by Jane Cook and Antony Buckley and encapsulation by Georgie Smedley. The entrants where amazing, I love to see all the ideas and creativity displayed in glorious acrylic colour. Judging was difficult though and a very close call with only 1 or 2 points separating 1, 2 and 3rd. Here is the run down all the competitors and how they placed.

Fantasy:1st - Laura Tagg, 2nd - Nichola Garland, 3rd - Catherine Taylor, 4th - Vikki Taylor-Dodds

Pink & White:1st - Lindsay Bland, 2nd - Natasha Hemingway, 3rd - Claire Woodcock, 4th - Saria Edwards, 5th - April Gibbs, 6th - Melissa Shovelton, 7th - Kate McCrossan, 8th - Carla Rogerson

Design:1st - Louise Huggard, 2nd - Rebecca Abernathy, 3rd - Michelle Brooks, 4th - Jane Pilkington

After lunch we were entertained with a warm up game, a fantastic idea to get everyone in the mood, then Antony wowed us all with yet another pink and white nail, showing how to get the perfect competition nail, we learnt some top tips and trade secrets. Jane Cook spoke a little about how to plan and prepare for a competition, Georgie Smedley was on hand to help out with the narrating, and did a lash be long demonstration at the end of the day. I was invited to show some of my fantasy work, which I brought along and Vicki Smith was on hand to talk about the classes available through Be inspired, she also explained how the nails had been made.

After the break it my turn to stand on stage and show everyone a design nail. I wanted to show an easy design nail which was 'different' but quick enough to utilize as a salon nail, helping to increase profit before Christmas. While I was 'playing' at home I couldn't find the colours I wanted, even with all the Ez flow range available to be, I was stumped. Then I remembered that originally Ez flow developed their powders so techs could mix and match But with the new powder collections being introduced so regularly. We forget that this option is available and means we can expand the range to cover the whole colour spectrum. I came up with two great recipes which I shared with the group and showed them a sparkly design nail utilizing gold leaf and a different way to achieve texture and depth to your design. I will post a step by step here later on in the month.

Finally it was time to come home; all in all I had a great time, and was pleased to be part of this event. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves on the day, and I look forward to the next one.