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Hairdressers from all over the UK descended on the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday 16th May for the National Hairdressers Federation British Open Hairdressing Championships. The British Open brings competitors from all over the country, making it an ideal meeting place to gather new ideas and see the latest offerings and innovations. This year’s British Open in Cardiff was no exception and proved a record breaking spectacular.
The first competition started at 9.00 am finishing with the colour creation at 4.45 pm. The competitions were so good that it was difficult for judges Mark Coray, Stephen Coles, Liz Shipton and Audrey Morgan for the ladies category and Lloyd Griffiths, Graham Smith and Ian Foreman for the gents to make a final decision. There were 153 entries covering the 22 competitions and 135 spectators.
Linda Cornell, Director of Competitions, said “We had an extremely good day with a great atmosphere, and the back room team did a fantastic job. My role as Director of Competitions was made extremely easy because of the group of people who worked on the floor with the wise men and the floor manager, and an extremely good group of stewards who worked like clockwork. I would like to express my whole hearted thanks to them all.
Rebecca Dickenson – Artistic Manager and NHF Inspire also did a fabulous job, people approached me several times to say how fresh and new inspire looked. It was good to see the new director working alongside her team. This was her first public experience with NHF Inspire, and I would like to congratulate her and say that I can’t wait for conference where more of the members will see her and inspire prove that the interview panel were correct when they appointed her as the new artistic manager.
My thanks must go to the Welsh Area who worked tirelessly to promote this successful event. No more could have been done by Mark, Lloyd and everyone on their committee. Matt Lissack from Red Dragon FM was a great guy who worked alongside as co-host and he gave a young and fresh approach to the proceedings. We got along famously and I would love to repeat the experience”.
NHF Inspire team member’s Katy Grimshaw and Jo O’Neill demonstrated their skills and talents and shared their experience as members of the team with the audience. The team showcased three models to the attentative audience. Rebecca Dickenson, artistic manager, who also demonstrated with the team, said “What an opportunity to present to some of the most competitive individuals in our industry. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves it was a great day and we created some beautiful looks and being the first time we have worked on stage together the response we had was extremely rewarding. It was fantastic to meet the people who work so hard behind the scenes of the NHF and we all considered it to be a true honour to be involved.
It was an amazing day and the silence that passed over the room while we all waited for Mark to announce the winners was intense. Having been involved in the fashion side of the industry for many years it was fantastic for us to experience the precision and detail that the guys were putting into their work. There was some jaw dropping looks and all those who competed should be really proud. The NHF work so hard to put this event together and I think all their hard work paid off it was a truly special day. A big well done to all the winners, I'm sure we will be seeing them in the future!
Running alongside the competitions, spectators and competitors also got the chance to try their hand on the wii and xbox which were provided by Red Dragon FM and to enter a prize draw to win an ipod shuffle. Red Dragon FM were in attendance to help raise funds for their charity “Help a South Wales Child”. Help a South Wales Child was launched in 1997 with a commitment to helping the children and young people of South Wales, who experience the negative effects of poverty, abuse, neglect, homelessness, violence, crime, illness and disability. Since then they have helped thousands of South Wales' most disadvantaged children, raised thousands of pounds and had lots of fun along the way! Their focus is local fundraising, with all money raised being awarded locally and really benefiting their community.
Also in attendance were students and staff from Coleg Glan Hafren who provided complimentary treatments of head massages and manicures to all that visited the stand.
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