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A Week in my Shoes: Anne Veck
Anne Veck is one of those hairdressers who inspires stylists and colourists the world over. As well as being an award-winning hairdresser, Anne is always giving her time when it comes to industry showcases as well as working on clients at her two salons. Here she shares what a week in her shoes really looks like.
Monday
I try and work from home most Mondays, where I spend my time planning and prepping hair for various shows and courses I do. Coming up I have the Alternative Hair Show, Fellowship Hair and Vision in Cardiff, and the Fellowship Stage at Salon International. I always want to do something slightly different for each show, but all with my own spin on it. My two major passions are avant garde work and education so heaven for me in teaching avant garde to a vibrant, motivated, energetic group of hairdressers. I feel so honoured to be presenting at The Alternative Hair Show for the eight year, and I'm looking forward to sharing my vision at the other events I've got coming up.
Tuesday
I'll spend the day with clients at our newly revamped Bicester salon once a week. I love spending time with my clients; some I've been seeing for years so a lot of the time it doesn't really feel like work. Tuesday evening I'm off to an awards dinner for the National Reality Television Awards as I'm currently one of the judges on the new series of Channel 5's Extreme Hair Wars, and the first series has been nominated. It's been great doing this show; I've really enjoyed it even though the days are very long sometimes! It's a really fun concept and seeing the creativity of some of the contestants is awe-inspiring.
Wednesday
We have our Big Hair Do Party to launch our Bicester salon. This is a great way to celebrate with out clients, old and new, and a great excuse for a party! We've been in Bicester for years, but at the beginning of the year we moved and created a salon that's more in line with the eco-friendly credentials at our award-winning Oxford salon. The new Bicester salon is a real family affair - my brothers came over from France to help me and my husband build everything, from the big central table we converted from an old cable drum, to the styling stations and shelving units. We have 'green' broadband and biodegradable towels, alongside water saving devices at the backwash to try and be as eco-conscious as possible.
Thursday/Friday
I split my time between both salons, so on Thursdays and Fridays I work in the Oxford salon, seeing clients both days. Oxford was our first salon and in 2013 we revamped the whole place to make it as eco-friendly as possible, by lowering energy use, reducing waste through more efficent systems and meeting the reduced energy needs from renewable sources, which in turn reduced both ours and our clients' carbon footprints. We were also the first hair salon in the world to use the BlueGenCeramic fuel cell technology, which reduces energy use by half - in effect, the salon has its own mini power station, which converts gas to electricity and heats water and the salon. I'm so proud of what we've achieved there!
Saturday
Today I'll collaborate with a photographer fro an editorial photo shoot for Russian Vogue. I love doing shoots, especially collaborations for magazines, as it's great having the creative freedom to work to an editorial brief. I love hair shoots as well but it's nice not to have the pressure of shooting for an award! When you're working to someone else's brief, the starting point is not your own, so it takes you in a direction you wouldn't have gone independently. Collaborations are usually lots of fun, as you're not representing a brand, you're not trying to sell a product or educate - it's just pure pleasure! And fantastically rewarding.
Sunday
Education is one of my favourite things to do. I carry out a lot of courses as an ambassador for Revlon Professional, but I also hold my own. My bridal courses are extremely popular, so on Sunday I'll be holding one in my Bicester Salon. Bridal hair is something that can be so lucrative for a salon, but is also one of the harder things to get right, and is very daunting when you first get into it. It's a great feeling seeing students start the course with little confidence and then leave raring to get going on their next bride! It's not just the practical hair side I teach on these courses, I also help show the business side, from what prices to charge, to timings and which services to offer.
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