San Diego 2014
Every two years UNITE hosts GLOBAL SESSIONS in San Diego. It is an educational weekend uniting Hairdressers from around the world with stage shows/demonstrations, cocktail parties and a Halloween Costume Party. The stage shows and demonstrations feature celebrity hairstylists from around the world. One of the stylists with the Unite team, Fletcher has even come all the way to Passions Beauty Studio for a private cutting class. Here is a summary of the events and “antics” from our 4 day adventure in San Diego.
Friday Oct 3rd 2014
As Brooke, Taylor, Rachel and Robyn slaved away at work for one last day; Chelsey, Jazmin and Karissa were off bright and early to sunny San Diego. Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it Saint Diego, which of course in German means ‘a whale’s vagina.’ Just kidding, but seriously I can imagine the chaos of them navigating in the airports… All I know is an iPad did not make the final destination.
Chelsey’s husband also came along on the trip and took a later flight which was so rushed that he almost missed his connecting flight! That evening, Karissa and Jazmin had the opportunity to take Fletcher’s stage assistant out on the town. I’m sure he will never forget his night with those crazy Saskatchewan girls. (Nor will they forget the surprise when he wasn’t allowed into the bar for being underage!)
Saturday, Oct. 4th 2014
The next morning was a bit of a crazy start for Robyn and Brooke. Robyn, supposed to be at Brooke’s by 4 am to pick her up, thought she pressed snooze on her alarm and ended up sleeping in until about 3:50am. She and her husband raced to Brooke’s saying they would be a few minutes late. (Little did they know Brooke hadn’t been to sleep yet and was running late anyway; who sleeps when you have to be up that early?!) Alas, they made it safe and sound to the airport where they met up with Rachel and were off to Californ-i-a. (Taylor left around the same time, but on a different plane.) 7 hours and a few miles later, they had arrived.
While Robyn, Brooke, Rachel & Taylor lounged around the pool, ordering pool service drinks that took about 45 minutes to arrive and cost them an arm and a leg, the other ladies took a rather long train ride to the outlet mall and bought about as much as they could fit in their suitcases. Later that day, they all met up and got ready for the night. Cocktails at the Diamond Club Party followed a fancy supper at the hotel. The party was for executive club members only and was on the rooftop terrace. It was a memorable night full of networking, picture-taking and as always, good laughs.
Sunday, October, 5th, 2014
This was the highly anticipated event that promised to deliver a unique show complete with the latest techniques, trends and visions of some of the top hairstylists in the world. It was held at the Balboa Theatre just minutes away from our hotel, in the heart of the historical Gaslamp district of San Diego. A team of senior artist directors from Sweden, the UK, the US and Australia all presented in front of a sold out audience and showed us some amazing things from Avant-garde styles, photo-shoots and everything in-between. It was a truly breath-taking learning experience that none of us will forget. Not only was it inspiring, but also a great bonding experience for the team. That evening was also a night to remember as we made our way to the Halloween Bash at the fashionable Stingaree Nightclub that boasts rooftop cabanas, a pulsing dance floor & a chic modern lounge area. The costumes were insanely unique and perfectly over the top, exactly what you would expect from people in our industry.
*Needless to say the girls were feelin’ a little under the whether the next day, but probably not as bad as the artists on stage!
Monday, October 6th, 2014
We started the day off bright and early with a delicious breakfast and Mimosa’s at the lovely Café 21 before heading back over to the Balboa Theatre for more amazing shows. The demonstrations included a morning full of unique, highly advanced, and modern Men’s barbering techniques with a twist. Our whole team was captivated by the skill level and enthusiasm of the barbers on stage. Their passion, along with the amount of effort and dedication that went into each artist’s work was very inspiring. This segment of the show was what really caught our attention and made us appreciate the opportunity we were given. We ended the day off with some last minute shopping and a wonderful dinner out then some team bonding time.
*I must add that Cory was quite a champ through this all; he put up with all of our squawking and laughter the whole trip, our honorary member.
Tuesday Oct 7th
Time to go home. Brooke and Robyn had to catch the early flight home. The rest of the team had a later flight so they spent the morning taking in the sights... and some last minute shopping of course. During this trip we learnt a lot and really enjoyed the team bonding time out of the salon. With the craziness we have at the shop it was good to have some “relax” time together. These memories will last a lifetime and we are all so grateful for our careers and where they have taken us.