Dear Diary - January

I thought this year I would include a little more to my Blog, than just articles, top tips, steps and the like. As is customary with a Blog I wanted to pen my experiences...ta;k about my travels and share my adventurers....I suppose its a little peep into my wonderful world. 

so to sum up....January!

Goodness me, 2011 has certainly started well. Packing my bags on a gloomy mid January morning,  I was wondering what I should include. Flying half way around the world to Korea for a week, meant I would need some extra layers, with snow pending I knew it was going to be very cold…but my dilemma was that on my return journey I was not going to landing back in London, but instead flying onto LA, and starting my BE INSPIRED AMERICAN ROADTRIP.

Ez Flow Education Korea

Geoffrey Kim

From  minus 10 to over 27degrees Celsius my wardrobe would have to be creative.  Spending the first week away from home in Korea I was working with American international industries and the Korean Ez flow educators. Wow some of these girls can do some amazing nails…they were certainly inspiring. Watching their brushes perform miracles with acrylic, I was defiantly impressed to see how they sat for hours practising and perfecting their craft.  Although there was a language barrier, the basic principles of nails won out and conversations seem to be crystal clear. I did have a great interpreter; Geoffrey Kim! Thankfully he wasn't new to the nail industry…and made my life much easier. I have to comment on the food, to begin with I looked on with trepidation…it really seemed that they had found all the things we never considered eating in the UK and popped them in pretty little dishes on the table, but eventually when I tried some of the soups, the lotus roots and Korean BBQ, I have to tell you I am a fan. Their diet is low carb, protein high, and I enjoyed their way of eating, which is very communal.  

The week ended with a big exam and a very snowy drive across country to Soel the capitol of Korea, before catching my flight to LA the following morning.

BE INSPIRED ROADTRIP - Long Beach

The feeling of landing in LA always brings a smile to my face, I don’t know if it is because of the warm sea breeze or peoples enthusiasm, but it really is the sunshine state.

This part of my trip is going to be busy with a total of 4 hotels in the space of a week, a workshop, the long beach ISSE show where I will be demoing, judging for the Nail pro competition and then doing a cover shoot for nail pro and the end of the week. Bring it on!

I was so excited to meet Carla in person, we had been planning this American road trip for months, with late night calls, and plenty of face book chats, she had amazingly organized everything.

THIS WAS GONG TO BE THE FIRST WORKSHOP OF MY MERICAN ROAD TRIP….and I was very excited. The first workshop was held in the Queen Mary Hotel, a massive ship permanently docked in Long beach. Certainly a eccentric location for a workshop, but it didn’t seem to deter us nail technicians.

The class was full….decided it would be better to hold an intimate class, because I use a very hands on approach with my workshops. I like to give technicians an opportunity to work alongside me, so they absorb what they have learnt straight after the initial demonstration. The workshop covered a range of different techniques and applications. Day 1 was all about acrylic. We started off with fantasy nail design, getting the girls warmed up and their creative juices flowing. I literally had to drag them out the door for lunch, and confiscate the flowers they were working on, otherwise we would never have moved onto acrylic design.

Day two concentrated more on design nails and gel design where we covered some great ideas which could be used easily in the salon. The idea of any of the workshops is to increase salon revenue, giving nail techniques which stands you out from the crowd.

The end of the day came all too quickly, and with some tears I waved good bye to the girls and the Queen Mary and went to my third Hotel.

The ibd Girls!

The ISSE show is massive, I don’t mind saying I was a little bit impressed. The show combines all elements of beatification, from hair, nails and the body. The noise was spectacular and the beats of different music as I walked the floor resonated through my body. I was invited to demonstrate at the IBD booth, one American international industries many nail brands. Working with the many colour gel collections, I did my thing. Working with the other global educators from Aii is always a pleasure, especially, Vicki, Brenda and Allison..thanks for introducing me to Chinese foot massages and rather rude back rubs(that is a different story)!

Carla Collier head Judge with Kirsty Meakin
winning 3rd place design sculpt.  

I was honoured to be asked to help with the Judging of the Nail pro competition, overseen by head judge Carla Collier, this was a tremendous experience. The last time I was part of this competition was when I won the acrylic sculpted design category nails 3 years earlier. Having regularly judged in various different competitions, it is always nice to see how different people work behind the senses. And looking at the range of entries I knew I was going to spoilt, the designs where stunning, and I was especially impressed with the level of nail art hand painted entries. These where my favourite…and certainly pressed my creative button. I was delighted to see Kirsty Meakin, a fellow Brit entering the competition, both the acrylic design sculpt and 3D nails, Kristy also entered the pink and white category.

Nail Pro Cover shoot for June

Show over it was now time to head off to my fourth and final hotel before flying home the next day. But before I jump on the plane, I was popping over the Nail pro head office and going to do a cover shoot. No stranger to shooting films and doing photo shoots, have produced 5 DVD’s and countless steps….I was in my comfort zone. However time was limited, I had to catch my flight at 4.00pm. Everyone in the offices where great, and we got the job done in record time. I had premade most of the little roses on the arabella fantasy forms, and was able to include them into my design without much effort. The theme was an English rose, which was apt, and I spent 2 weeks making intricate acrylic roses in white and gold, along with tiny fantasy roses which would wind down the fingers. This cover is not due out in June, so watch this space!

Finally I am on my flight home, with a huge sigh, I can sleep and look forward to a decent cup of tea and a massive cuddle from my family.

I didn’t come home empty handed, with some great new ideas, and a couple of new products available soon on my website, I have plans to continue my AMERICAN ROAD TRIP.

Returning to Orlando in June of this year, we will be running another 2 day workshop before the show, covering everything from fantasy, acrylic design and gel. I will then fly across country to Chicago, where there will be the third leg of the tour; This time a three day event, covering the same fantasy, acrylic and gel.

For more information contact me @ info@sambiddle.co.uk.