Fabulous Friday: Michael and the BHA Awards

The British Hairdressing Awards are only a few days and for the 2nd year in a row, Michael was selected as one of the top 6 hairdressers in the Northern Ireland category. The whole team at Michael Quinn Hairdressing thinks both he and his collection are pretty fabulous! He'll be over in London with most of us for the awards on Monday night. Good luck, Michael!

Please enjoy this video of his BHA 2009 collection and be sure to pop over to the salon facebook page or his personal page to send him your support!

Michael's Weekend Hours

Michael was originally booked out of the salon for this Saturday, 24 October, however, he will be in the salon and available to take appointments afterall. If you were previously looking for an appoinment with him and still wish to get in for this Saturday, give us a ring on 028 9043 4003.

Fabulous Friday

Michael is heading over to London for Salon International tonight, so we were browsing Youtube for some video of last year's fabulous event. Not only did we find a few of those, but we also stumbled across this video from Destination Fame a few months back, posted by HJI. Our Christopher Patterson was one of the 3 first place winners, but we didn't realize this video even existed! So not only is Salon International fabulous, but HJI and Youtube are ranking pretty high up there as well!

White Sapphire Ball

The White Sapphire Ball is mere hours away and boy, are we excited! The black tie event has been organised by Northern Irish actress Séainín Brennan in order to raise funds for Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice, and promises to be a star studded entertainment extravaganza. The ball will be hosted by Gloria Hunniford and John Daly, two of Northern Ireland's most recognisable TV personalities and include performances by Riverdance, West End star, Lee Mead and comedian,Tim McGarry, as well as appearances by a variety of other A-list celebrities. Michael and part of the team are on their way to style the celeb's tresses before heading down the red carpet to enjoy the event. Should be an amazing evening!

Christopher Joins the Voodoo Team

With all the kudos Christopher Patterson has been getting, it's no surprise that he has been asked to style the tresses of Northern Ireland's future faces of fashion. Christopher joins award winning photographer, Ciaran O'Neill and former Miss UK, Lucy Evangelista at Voodoo International Modelling School, whose aim is to help aspiring girls achieve their dreams in the modelling industry. Students learn about posture, posing, catwalks, make-up, fashion and much more, then they put this into practice during the photoshoots, which is where Christopher comes in. Don't worry, Christopher isn't deserting the salon, but you may want to book early to be sure you get him.

British Hairdressing Awards 2009

Michael has been selected as a top 6 finalist in the Northern Ireland Hairdresser of the Year category again for this year's British Hairdressing Awards. As you can imagine, we couldn't be prouder of him! Each year the competition gets stiffer and we are told that there was a record number or entries and an exceptionally high standard.

The event will take place in London on Monday, 23 November. Everybody keep all your fingers and toes crossed!

We are not able to show the photos until after the event, but we'll post them as soon as we can after the event.

Destination Fame Photos

Matrix has kindly sent us some photos from Destination Fame. Christopher might have been exhausted from all the hard work and excitement, but he still couldn't help grinning ear to ear. Here he is with his model, Kayleigh O'Reilly, who is wearing a dress by local clothing designer, Riona Treacy.

Christopher's Destination Fame Look Unveiled

As promised, we're back with the stunning photograph that won Christopher a place in Matrix's Destination Fame. He created his "Gothic Descent" look on model, Zara, after being inspired by the infamous Vivienne Westwood and her timeless punk.

As always, the gals over at Sugahfix have their fingers firmly on the fashion pulse and were amongst the first to congratulate our Christopher. To see what they had to say, check here.

Christopher Patterson, Winner of Destination Fame 2009

Michael’s personal assistant, Christopher Patterson, has won Destination Fame 2009! The prestigious competition, sponsored by Matrix, took place in London this past weekend. Christopher’s avante garde photo shoot earned his place amongst the final 12, down from over 400 entries. He and Michael travelled to London this past weekend, where Christopher wowed the judges and took home one of the three 1st place awards. Christopher has only been in hairdressing for two and a half years and was competing against some pretty stiff competition with many years more experience. This is his first time entering this competition and he is the only person from Ireland ever to be shortlisted, let alone win! Michael could not be prouder and happier of his protegé, as seeing the young hairdressers he mentors achieve success is a personal goal for him.

While this is arguably Christopher’s biggest accomplishment, it’s by no means his first. He has consistently made the finals of the major competitions, including winning Editor’s Choice at last year’s Irish Hairdressers Photographic Awards and he made the finals in 2 categories this year. In his short time in the industry, he has also done several of his own photo shoots, including a commercial shoot for Specsavers/In Magazine and a celebrity shoot for Niamh Perry from I’d Do Anything, as well as created a cover shot for Northern Woman Magazine with fellow award-winning hairdresser, John Meighan.

Chris works tirelessly and has achieved success beyond what many at his level of training (or any level, for that matter) have accomplished. We’re proud to have such a rising star on our team! Congratutations, Christopher!!!

We've promised an exclusive look to someone, so we're keeping Christopher's winning design under our hat for just a tiny bit longer. Check back in the next day or two to see his fabulous photograph.

Top 40 Under 40

Michael was chosen as one of Belfast's Top 40 Under 40 for 2009. We don't know who nominated him, but thanks...whoever you are! You can view Michael and the other nominees in the online version of the magazine on Belfast Media's website.

Michael's Super Cool Video Portfolio

How in the world do you make an big impact on a tiny business card when your work is entirely visual? You put it on a cd business card, that's what you do. We found some fantastic little cds that are in the shape of a business card. You just put together your presentation and burn it. You can even customise it with a printed label. What a clever idea! Have a look at what is going on to Michael's cd card to take away with him on his upcoming business trip. We think it turned out great!

Happy New Year!

Is it 2009 already!? We were so busy during 2008 that it seemed to pass in a whirlwind! We have even more exciting events coming up this year, including some TV appearances by Michael, and of course the Fate Awards. Michael has been asked to be Creative Director this year, so we are really excited! We'll keep you posted and give you more details soon.

British Hairdressing Awards

As seen on www.hji.co.uk: On Monday 24th of November, London's Grosvenor House hotel played host to one of the most prestigious events in British Hairdressing. Here is the HJi's coverage of the the British Hairdressing Awards 2008 in video and pictures...

Ireland's Best Colour Technician

Congrats to Órla Begley, our technical manager, who has graduated from the Matrix Colour Mastery course. We are so proud to have the only specialist in the WHOLE of Ireland who has achieved this internationally recognised industry qualification. Participants in the course are required to have vast experience and already be at a level of excellence before being considered for the programme. This was no problem for Órla, who spent several years training under our very own celebrity hair stylist, Michael Quinn, and has worked with an impressive clientelle list of her own, including Ruby Wax and Christine Bleakley.

Well done, Órla! We're so lucky to have you on our team!

Celtic Dream, The BHA Collection

Now, we couldn't just leave you with a bunch of still photos, could we? THIS is more like it!

British Hairdressing Awards Finalist

Yay! We have received word that Michael is a one of only 6 finalists in the Northern Ireland category of the British Hairdressing Awards, which take place on 24 November in London. The organisers of the event have been hush hush about how many others Michael competed against to get his nomination, but stated, "There were a record number of entries this year." Competition rules forbid us from revealing our photos just yet, but we promise to post them as soon as the awards are over.

Irish Hairdressing Newcomer of the Year

We're proud to announce that our very own improver, Chris Patterson, has won "Best Newcomer of the Year" at this year's Irish Hairdressing Awards. Chris beat out hundreds of competitors to win this coveted title. Congrats, Chris!