After a successful photo shoot for the Hairdressers Unlocking Hope campaign in New York City, the BTC team headed out to shoot our next group of stylists located on the West Coast.

Hairdressers Unlocking Hope is an effort created by Vidal Sassoon and Mary Rector-Gable; it’s gaining momentum and bringing the industry together as a whole.  “The goal,” said Mary Rector-Gable, “is to bring together members of the hairdressing community and their clients to reach out and heal the thousands of people who remain homeless or in temporary shelter after the 2005 hurricane season by raising funds to build new homes through/with Habitat for Humanity.” To get involved, click here!

“There is so much work to be done to restore housing and hope,” said Vidal Sassoon.  “We need to come together to show the world how caring, giving and strong our community of hairdressers can be.”

The ultimate goal of Hairdressers Unlocking Hope is to build 18 houses in St. Tammany Parish near Slidell in November.  Several major companies including PureOlogy, Bumble and Bumble, TIGI and Neill Corporation have each donated $85,000 – the cost to build a Habitat for Humanity home – in support of the campaign.  Members from each company will be joining the BTC team and Sassoon in New Orleans for the build.  This will be the final stop of the Vidal Sassoon Coming Home Tour, which launches this June at the Stylist Choice Awards in Orlando, Florida.  The tour will also have stops in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago in effort of raising awareness of the campaign.

At the New York City photo shoot, many of the most influential hairstylists in the industry came forward to lend their hands and hearts to tell the story of a home destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Van Council, Marie Robinson, Antoinette Beenders and Ted Gibson were just a few who joined us and after word got out in the industry that this campaign was underway, BTC received numerous requests from celebrity stylists on the West Coast who wanted to lend their hands as well.

Click here to check out the NYC Photo Shoot for Hairdressers Unlocking Hope!

Ken Paves, Andy LeCompte, Chris McMillan, Cervando Maldonado, Tracey Cunningham, Allen Edwards, Dean Banowetz, Robert Lobetta, Angus Mitchell, Johnathan Gale, Lorri Goddard-Clark, Jim Markham, Danilo, Robert Cromeans, James Morrison and Louise Moon joined us at Quixote Studios in West Hollywood on February 8th and 9th.  Each hairdresser received a story and a key of a home destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.  Joining us at the LA photo shoot was the delightful team from The Powder Group, artist Ashton Hirota and body-painter Lisa Berczel from Battledress each painted an artistic representation of the home lost on our group of stylists.

Many of the stylists were eager to choose a story that meant something special to them.  For instance, Chris McMillan, felt a strong connection with “Gave Up,” the devastating story of a suicide committed in the aftermath of Katrina.  It reminded him of difficult times he faced during in his life; a time when battling an addiction almost drove him to give up. Dean Banowetz felt an immediate connection to the story.  “I really felt the energy of the house and its loss when they handed me the house key” said Banowetz.  “It was empowering.”

Not only did she lend a hand in participating in the campaign, Celebrity Stylist Tracey Cunningham played a very important role in the photo shoot.  When she arrived on set and saw the magnitude of the campaign, she contacted two of her friends, Lorri Goddard-Clark and Cervando Maldonado, urging them to get down to Quixote Studios right away. Lorrie was not only delighted to participate, but also became quite emotional during her interview with BTC-TV, sharing words of hope and inspiration to Hurricane Katrina survivors.

The focus of the campaign was quite serious during the photo shoot, bur we did find time to have some fun and uplifting moments throughout our day especially when Ken Paves and Vidal Sassoon met for the very first time and watching Dean Banowetz, the man behind the hair on American Idol, dance around the studio.  It was also great to hear Robert Cromeans share with us during his BTC-TV interview how he was shocked to learn that some of the stylists on set were excited to meet him, when in fact he was more excited to meet them. 

LA was a successful stop on this campaign and each stylist who participated shared with us how much this meant to each one of them, especially Jim Markham.  “It was a moving experience to participate with Vidal and other caring industry professionals for such an important purpose,” said Markham.  “We share a connection to these families having their words painted on us.  It feels good to be doing something to help someone else have a home and a chance.”

BTC thanks each and every stylist who has helped thus far on the campaign. 
Check out the A-Listers who came to the Hairdressers Unlocking Hope launch events in New York and Los Angeles!

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