The Vancouver suburb of Langley wasn’t always known as a fashion hotspot. Everything changed when Blanche Macdonald Fashion Merchandising graduate Courtney Hunter opened Cashmere and Cupcakes there. Now fashionistas are making the drive from as far as Downtown Vancouver to pay a visit to the Lower Mainland’s most stylish High End consignment boutique. The bargains there are too good to resist.

“It doesn’t look like a normal consignment store,” explains Courtney. “It’s nothing like a thrift store. You’re getting designer clothes in really great shape. I love that we never know what’s coming in. We just had a Prada sweater arrive with the labels still on. We’ve had Versace bags, Alexander Wang bags, an Alexander McQueen shirt and a lot of great vintage pieces.

“Consignment stores are the ultimate sale shopping. I just found a brand new Victoria Beckham dress for $300 that would have been $1500 new. It’s stuff that’s different too. It’s not like going to the mall and seeing the same clothes as everyone else. Once you find a great deal you’re hooked.”

It’s only natural that Courtney chose to bring high-end chic to Langley. It’s where she grew up and fell in love with fashion to begin with.

“In first grade I picked up one of my mom’s Vogue magazines. Those editorials captivated me. I learned when I was a bit older that they were by Grace Coddington. She’s still one of my big fashion heroes. In high school in Langley everyone was wearing lululemon. I was different. I went through a big Blair Waldorf stage. I loved dressing up and how clothes could change your whole attitude.”

Courtney’s original idea for a route into the fashion world was through the pages of a magazine. She started writing, instigating a Style Page in her high school yearbook that’s still going today. Vogue was always the number one option, but the reality of a publication closer to home was pretty exciting too.

“Flare Magazine would visit places like Oakridge Mall or The Bay to give Trend Reports. I met Lisa Tant, who was Editor-in-Chief, a few times. Lisa would hang around and answer questions after she spoke at the events. She’s such a lovely woman to talk to. Very down to earth. She gave me some wonderful advice. She signed my September issue and told me not to back down.”

The time had come to get a fashion education. That meant enrolling at Vancouver’s top Fashion School.

“I took a tour with Jaye Klippenstein and fell in love with the space. I met some of the teachers and students while I was there and they all seemed super nice.

“Once I started it was amazing! One of my favourite teachers was Lyndi Barrett. She still goes to New York every year for Fashion Week. The experiences she’s had and was able to bring to us were incredible. That’s someone actively working in the Vancouver and New York fashion industries. I loved Peggy Morrison and her Fashion Awareness classes. Everything she taught us just stuck in my mind. I loved going through her books. I’m a huge fashion coffee-table book collector and she has so many that you can’t find anywhere else. She was so inspiring.”

Courtney was also a regular visitor to the office of the Fashion School’s Career Coordinator, Mel Watts.

“I was always knocking on Mel’s door with even the smallest question,” she laughs. “She was always helpful. The opportunities were mind-blowing. Through her I was able to work with a couple of incredible stylists, Claudia Da Ponte and Sarah Danniels. I did a 54-40 video with Claudia. I volunteered with Jeanne Bekker. I did presentations at The Bay.

“A lot of the people I was able to meet also went to Blanche Macdonald. You’d feel part of a club. We had guest speakers at Fashion School who I’d see a few weeks later at an event and we’d have a chat. Then they’d introduce you to even more people. This business is all about networking and Blanche Macdonald is great for that. They’ve always been there when I needed them, even after I graduated.”

Experiencing the reality of fashion taught Courtney that to make the glamour possible, it takes plenty of hard work.

“I did a shoot with Sarah Danniels in the forest and I was continually slipping in mud,” she laughs. “I was doing PR for fashion shows looking after the guest list standing outside in the freezing cold. It’s not glamorous at all. But then you see the fashion show or the music video come together and it’s gorgeous. It was the end result that I loved and I never minded doing the work.”

Courtney asked Mel if she knew about any part-time fashion jobs near Langley. That’s when she was introduced to a graduate who demonstrated that a successful boutique wasn’t just possible. It was profitable.

“Mel came to find me, told me about Christine Visnjak and I went to meet her. I ended up working at Muse Social Fashion House Mondays and Tuesdays. Christine let me bring all my projects from School and work on them while I was in the store. She gave me a lot of advice and a ton of magazines. Literally, a closet-full of magazines. She’s been a huge mentor to me. Even when I told her I was opening my own store she was supportive. She even consigned things here.”

Before Courtney opened Cashmere and Cupcakes she soaked up the benefits of another spectacular and well-deserved opportunity.

“I applied for Teen Vogue Fashion University and was the only person from BC to get accepted. It was my first time in New York and I hardly got to see anything. I was inside listening to lectures by Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler, Michael Kors, Linda Fargo of Bergdorf Goodman, and Katherine and Hilary of Who What Wear. We went into the Condé Nast building and saw what it would be like to work there. I’d already decided to open the store by then, so I would walk around New York checking out stores and looking at how they laid out their space.”

It all fell into place when Courtney and her Mother opened Cashmere and Cupcakes. Located in a spectacular heritage building on the edge of Langley, it’s a cosy Canadian home for Carrie Bradshaws on a budget.

“It took a month to open up. Everything I learned at Blanche Macdonald has been so helpful! My fashion awareness and fashion elements classes definitely helped. Buying classes helped. PR classes have helped so much. Social Media is everything. So many people have discovered us through facebook, and we did some advertising on blogs that brought a lot of people through our doors. Styling classes have helped. We have clients come in that aren’t fashion-savvy but are looking for the whole package. They don’t know how to wear things so I have to be able to recognise their shape and what their style is. You need all the knowledge you’d have if you were running a regular boutique.”

The application of that knowledge has paid off. Cashmere and Cupcakes has become a sensation, generating stories in newspapers, magazines and countless Canadian fashion blogs. Still, the most fun part for Courtney is the wave of appreciation that comes when a customer falls in love with their perfect piece.

“People feel like a million dollars when they walk out with something. We get a lot of mums in here who don’t get a lot of free time. They might have an hour before they have to pick up the kids, so we make that hour a relaxing experience for them. They might not drop a lot of money but they’ll have had a good time and loved what they bought. As long as they feel special and beautiful, that’s what we’re here for.”

‘But Still They Begin: Needles and Pins’, the 2012 edition of the Blanche Macdonald Fashion Design Graduate Show, has been hailed as Canada’s top Fashion School’s best runway show yet.

As ever, the designs were spectacular and the atmosphere electric. And for the first time, The Graduate Show took place over two evenings, one night for Vancouver’s Fashion Media and one for the Designers’ friends and family, both held at Blanche Macdonald’s elegant new Atelier Campus.

“Both shows were a huge success,” said Fashion Director Tyler Udall. “Changing venues and presentation format was a pretty big departure for us and it really worked out in the end. The Atelier campus is such a stunning space and it complimented the designs so well. It felt very chic, polished and intimate.”

Tyler (whose incredible résumé includes Senior Fashion Editor for multiple high profile publications in London and a stint as Creative Director for the Agency Fred and Associates in New York) was equally impressed with the work of the Design Graduates on display.

“I think the students went above and beyond this year,” he continued. “I often forgot I was watching a student presentation. There was a sophistication level present that went well beyond that of a first year designer. The media response has been overwhelmingly positive. I’m so happy that our graduates secured such a strong platform for that next step into the industry. They should be proud. I am.”

Executive Program Director and Show Coordinator Peggy Morrison echoed Tyler’s thoughts.

“It was a smashing idea to do a show just for the media. Industry people know each other and they understand occasional avant-garde design ideas. 

“This year’s grads represented different groups, each with their own energy. One group was quiet and studious. Another was gregarious and crazy. The combination of those energies produced a fun, successful show. All 26 of these students were delightful people.”

Instructor Lisa Gellert agreed with Peggy that this year’s graduates were an outstanding crop. 

“These grads were talented, bright, and very interested and enthusiastic for fashion. There were a lot of strong personalities, which is important when it comes to designing a collection. It should reflect your point of view and your personality. They really surpassed a lot of our expectations.

“I liked having the shows at the Atelier Campus. The light is brighter and we were closer to the clothes, so we could see the details a bit better. It felt more like an industry show, like going to London Fashion Week. Grads knew there were industry people here and who those people were. They were able to speak to them about their collections and network, which is great.

“The industry feedback was very good. They were impressed with the quality of the work and loved the venue. There were very positive about the whole experience. And the cupcakes!”

On both evenings, the Makeup, designed and keyed by graduate and instructor Jon Hennessey, complemented the fashion perfectly. 

“For the Media show we created a crazy mini army of 1950s mannequins and 1980s prom queens, re-interpreted by master painters. When I was talking to Tyler about the direction we should take for makeup, he spoke about wanting to make a bold statement with colour. 

“Trying to design something with an impactful colour story while respecting the uniqueness of each designer’s creative vision is a tricky balance to strike. For me, the approach was to take these vivid, saturated and complementary colours and make them so intense that the audience would be numb to the makeup after seeing the first few models.” 

A highlight of the two nights came at the finale of the Friends and Family Show, when Executive Program Directors Peggy Morrison and Donna Baldock revealed the year’s Award Winners. For Overall Achievement winner Emily McPhee, it was the icing on the cake of an incredible learning experience.

“The year was fantastic. I learned so much. The teachers are amazing. I heard great reviews and really good things about Blanche Macdonald before I started and I liked the fact that it’s a one-year program.”

Emily’s collection showcased intricate beadwork with jewellery detailing on 60s-inspired silhouettes.

“It started out being really 60s-inspired, then it moved towards crystals,” she continued. “My Dad’s a gem-carver, so I’ve been around crystals and stones my entire life. I love their shapes and geometric forms. I started from there. 

“I’ve already started my own company, Emily Hart. I made a little collection. It’s quite different to what was on the runway tonight – a lot more casual – and it’s already in a store on Salt Spring Island.”

“These Awards are going in frames and on the wall!” smiled Michelle Hardy, who came away with a pair of Prize Diplomas for Pattern Making and Garment Construction for a nature-inspired collection that featured vegan cork and wool cashmere. “It’s been an amazing year: very busy but totally worth it. I loved seeing my garments on the runway. It’s really hard to describe how uplifting it is.

“I watched the Fantastic Mr Fox and was really inspired by that. It just expanded more into foxes, deer and arboreal forest with colour and texture. My biggest challenge was illustrating. I found getting my ideas on paper really hard. I overcame that with a lot of practice! Practice makes perfect, right! All my instructors were awesome. So supportive!”

Sandy Shen also came away from her first Fashion Show with two awards, for Garment Construction and Design, for her colourful collages of fabrics.

“Seeing my collection on the runway was a like a dream come true for me,” she beamed. “I really wanted to take fashion design on a one-year program, to see if I like it or not. Now I know I really like it!

“I knew this school was famous before I came here. It’s a lot of work and pretty intense. But when you’re doing what you really like it’s definitely worthwhile.

“My inspiration was Mother and Child. I’m really close to my Mum. And it’s my first collection so I wanted to do something about her.”

Sandy was one of two Special Achievement in Design winners, alongside Mira Campbell.

“I wasn’t expecting to win the Design Award,” she explained. “When Peggy announced my name I was very flattered. It was a hard year and it felt great to be recognized for all the work I had put into it. Everyone had warned me that my year at Blanche would go by quickly and they were right. Balancing work, school and an internship was a challenge at times, but looking back I wouldn’t change a thing. 

“My collection, a mix of men’s and womenswear, was based around a man and his muse; the idea that one garment could influence another in subtle ways. My passion is menswear but I knew I wanted to challenge myself to do both. I wanted to allow the garments to have a cohesion but for it not to be too obvious. I find that minimalism in art and fashion challenges me the most, so that was what I decided to centre the collection around.”

John Paul Reyes took home the Award for Collection Interpretation for his work inspired by the colours and textures of luxury fabrics, using devore velvet and mohair in gold and taupe.

“It was a pleasure and honour to win an award,” he explains. “I really wanted my three pieces to stick out. I wanted something that would look luxurious and good on a runway. Once I had the fabric I would build ideas on what to do with them and how to go about it. It felt great seeing it on the runway, what we worked for all year. People appreciated it. And I had a lot of good feedback.

“I did some research before I picked a school. After some interviews and consultations, Blanche Macdonald felt like the best fit. I understood what I was getting into and what I wanted to get out of the program. It met and exceeded those expectations from start to finish. You really get to know the whole process. I didn’t thrive in all the bits of the process but I had the chance to excel and learn and push myself.

“I’m going back home to Medicine Hat with one of my fellow graduates, Brockton Lane, and we’re going to build a men’s and women’s collection. We’ll build a collection and our portfolio, and see where that takes us. I know what the next year of my life will look like and I’m confident. I’m used to hard work and I don’t want to slow down now. I’m going to keep the momentum going.”

Other well-deserved Award-Winners on the night were Colleen Schneebeli, who took home an Honourable Mention in Garment Construction, and Anna Talbot, who was awarded the Special Achievement in Portfolio Presentation.

The success of ‘But Still They Begin: Needles and Pins’ wasn’t just down to the sweat and talent of the Fashion Design graduates. It was also a tribute to the hard work of the staff at Blanche Macdonald, with special mention due to the inspirational leadership of President Lily Lim, the endless efforts of Executive Program Director/Show Coordinator Peggy Morrison, Executive Program Director Donna Baldock, Fashion Director Tyler Udall Career Director, Fashion Department Mel Watts, the expertise and support in the Sewing and Pattern Labs of Instructors Brenda Swinglehurst and Jenny Hedberg, and creative catalyst Lisa Gellert. Special thanks must also go to Instructors Rose Aiello, Emmanuel St. Juste and Wanda Sustersich, Lab Assistants Mandy Brost and Whitney Phuong, Creative Director Kelly Schmidt, Marketing Coordinator Natasha Eng and the media teams at Lj PR and Dela Cruz Public Relations.

Infinite gratitude too, must be given to the backstage styling team, led by Peggy Morrison, along with Leila Bani (Media Show only) and a team of volunteers from the Fashion Design and Fashion Merchandising programs. While instructors Jon Hennessey, Barb Baker and Phil Loiselle and their volunteer graduates and students from the Blanche Macdonald Makeup, Hair and Esthetics Schools ensured the models looked as spectacular as the collections.

The entire team at Blanche Macdonald would also like to extend its sincerest gratitude to our corporate sponsors, Embryolisse Laboratories, Oribe, Angela & Grabriel’s, our shoe and accessory sponsors, Aldo & Aldo Accessories and Town Shoes, and The Bake Sale for their sensational cupcakes.

Full List of Award Winners

Overall Achievement: Emily McPhee

Special Achievement in Pattern Making: Michelle Hardy

Special Achievement in Garment Construction: Michelle Hardy and Sandy Shen

Special Achievement in Design: Sandy Shen and Mira Campbell

Special Achievement in Garment Construction (Honourable Mention): Colleen Schneebeli

Special Achievement in Portfolio Presentation: Anna Talbot

Best Collection Interpretation: John Paul Reyes

Ask Laura Eastveld about Eminence Organics and a smile instantly appears across her face. She doesn’t just work for the famous Hungarian Organic Skincare Line. She absolutely adores everything they produce.

“The products are amazing,” she beams. “It’s an organic raw food diet for your face!”

For Laura, working for Eminence Organics is as much pleasure as business. The Blanche Macdonald Esthetics grad has sampled and enjoyed the many career options the industry offers, but she’s found her calling as a Trainer for Eminence, educating fellow estheticians around Vancouver, and as far away as Lillooet and Chilliwack, about one of the world’s finest skincare lines.

“I train estheticians on product knowledge, new product launches, how to do our facials and our massage protocols,” she explains. “It’s easy to fall in love with these products. They smell good enough to eat. Some people have tried. A colleague of mine left a sample of our Raspberry Pore Refining Masque in her fridge and her husband accidentally ate it on some toast.

“Eminence is an amazing fit for me. Every aspect feels right. I’m happy, fulfilled and excited to do my job. I don’t work directly with clients any more. I look at my accounts and the people I’m educating as my clients. All the accounts I work with are great. And there are a lot of them! I love making estheticians superstars, knowing that they’re going to be better at giving services and making the right recommendations for their clients. They’re already in love with the product before I start. That makes my job easy. I’m just making them excited to sell the product.”

The Tsawwassen native didn’t always aspire to create esthetics superstars. When she first considered studying at Canada’s top Esthetics School she was looking at another program entirely.

“When I was 18 I wanted to be a Makeup Artist,” she explains. “I was virtually the only goth in Tsawwassen from the ages of 13 to 15 and back then I was pretty creative with my own makeup. I always knew that Blanche Macdonald was an amazing school. When I checked it out in person they told me about the esthetics program. I’d never even thought about esthetics before then. I spent a year thinking about what I really wanted to do before my mother convinced me to take the esthetics program. She had a friend who owned a spa in Tsawwassen and thought it would be a better career for me. All my instructors at Blanche Macdonald were amazing – extremely knowledgeable and professional. I got great training when I was there.”

The training was terrific, but the Esthetics Program also revealed natural gifts Laura had been previously unaware of.

“I never realised I had a talent for facials,” she laughs. “I really enjoyed the science and skincare aspect of the program but I also discovered that I had this healing touch. Every time we partnered up all the other students wanted to be my partner and I didn’t understand why. After I graduated I went on to do two levels of Reiki training. It was just something I was naturally good at.”

Laura dropped off her résumé at Tsawwassen’s best spa, Atlantis Day Spa, owned and run by fellow Blanche Macdonald grad Judy Drew, before she’d even graduated, and went straight from Esthetics School to working with clients.

“I knew Atlantis was one of the top spas in town and I wanted to be there. I went in for an interview, and did a facial and a pedicure on the manager.

“It was a great experience. I liked making people beautiful and making them feel good about themselves. Skincare was my strength for sure, but I was providing all the esthetics services at Atlantis. Working for Judy was such a good experience. It was the best place for an esthetician to start because she would have people coming in educating us on all of the lines she carried. We would have regular training and I was always learning something new.”

After two years at Atlantis Laura decided to leave Tsawwassen for the bright lights of Vancouver. After another couple of years working in Downtown spas, followed by her first experiences as a skincare trainer and rep, a fan from Laura’s past led her to a dream position at a spa called The Healing Centre at The Harmony Hotel resort in sunny Nosara, Costa Rica.

“I’d actually given the manager of this resort a pedicure three years earlier. A regular client of mine had bought her a gift certificate for a treatment at Atlantis. This manager wanted to bring me to The Healing Centre, but didn’t know how to find me. I happened to bump into my old client when I went back to Tsawwassen for a 30th birthday party. She told me that her friend had been looking for me for years and wanted to hire me. A month later I was on my way to Costa Rica.

“Working at The Healing Centre was one of the most amazing experiences of my life; just the lifestyle and being in the hot sun every day. The manager there told me that we were going to make our products out of cucumbers, bananas, papaya, coconut oil, raw sugar and stuff like that. I was like, you’re kidding me, right? Then we started to create these facials and they were amazing. The fruit and vegetables there are organic and beautiful. We would blend everything up fresh just before the treatment. We did body treatments where we’d layer the body with banana leaves. I would work in my bare feet. It was a rustic setting but absolutely magical.”

Inspired by what she’d experienced in Costa Rica, Laura returned to Vancouver looking for new challenges. She took a position as a Trainer for a skincare line that took her as far as Alberta and Washington State. She wasn’t a fan of the travel involved, but she must have been doing something right. Because it wasn’t long before she’d been approached by Eminence Organics for the position of Trainer. The rest is wildly enthusiastic, smile-filled history.

“For my first rep job I had to visit a lot of retail stores where they sold skincare products but the staff weren’t trained in esthetics, so it was hard for them to really understand what I was talking about. Estheticians have this scientific language that we speak, because we understand skin types and conditions.

“When I speak to estheticians now I’m really there to help with what they want from their training. I like to make sure they know the product first and I’ll gladly incorporate a demo if that’s what they ask for.”

Among those estheticians Laura loves educating are the next generation of superstars, the students at Blanche Macdonald.

“One thing that stands out for me is that I’ve had a chance to go back to Blanche Macdonald and train the students on the Eminence product line. I remember being that 21-year-old sitting in the chair listening to reps come in and talk about their lines. Now I’m the one standing there!

“I never saw myself as an esthetician when I was younger. And I definitely never saw myself as a Trainer when I was at Blanche Macdonald. But you set goals for yourself and you want new challenges. It was scary jumping into that training role at first. It was a part of me that I didn’t know was there before. Like I didn’t know I had a talent for giving facials, I didn’t know I had the talent to be a great trainer too.”

Every day, visitors to Blanche Macdonald’s CurliQue Beauty Boutique are greeted and treated by the expertise and artistry of Q-Talent Leader Jaylene McRae.

Q-Talent Leader, just to clarify, is a combination of Manager and Makeup Artist; two roles that Jaylene excels at. Everyone that walks through CurliQue’s doors is immediately impressed by her creativity, friendliness and professionalism. She makes it look easy.

Which is ironic, because the journey that took her to Vancouver’s best Beauty Boutique was anything but.

“I was adopted when I was three years old and grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan,” she explains. “I wasn’t sure where to identify with my culture and gender, which was really difficult for me. I believe my parents adopted a boy to look after the farm and play hockey, which didn’t fit me.

“My escape as a child was my creative process. I wasn’t into sports or farming. But give me a piece of paper and a pen and I could have something that was my own. I thought dolls were beautiful and would make costumes. I was really inspired by fashion magazines. It was a farm, but there were still stores nearby!”

Jaylene left the farm and moved to Red Deer to attend college and study Fine Arts. She still had no idea that makeup would be an integral part of her future. Instead, she started to explore her identity on a journey that took her to Banff, Calgary and eventually Vancouver.

Jaylene’s not shy discussing the difficulties she encountered on the West Coast. It’s part of who she is.

“I got into an intense drug and alcohol addiction that lasted six years,” she recalls. “I didn’t have a home. I was literally on the streets. I was physically, emotionally, spiritually sick. I couldn’t go on any more. Somehow I was able to go to a recovery program in Surrey. The state I was in, I wasn’t able to make any rational decisions. I believe that a special energy rescued me. I can’t explain it. Even after all this time, I’m humbled by it.”

It was at the recovery house that Jaylene was able to reconnect with her First Nations heritage and use the resources available to start moving her life, and her art, in a positive direction.

“I wanted to develop a safety net. I met the Metis Provincial Council and got my documentation in order to get my Metis Status Card. I also learned that the Metis Provincial Council can provide funding for post-secondary school education.

“When I was living on the streets, I remember walking downtown and seeing students with their Blanche Macdonald makeup kits. For some reason I knew I’d eventually go to school there. It wasn’t possible for me then, because I didn’t have any money. I didn’t have anything. I just knew I wanted to go there.”

Having been clean and sober for two years, and armed with the knowledge that she was eligible for a Metis Provincial Council scholarship, Jaylene went for an enrolment interview at Blanche Macdonald.

“I was interviewed by Barb Johnston. All I had were some drawings to show her, but when it comes from the heart to the paper, people can read that. The Council paid my tuition, my rent and my supplies, and I got a part time job at a store on Denman, so I wasn’t a struggling student.”

Having been given an opportunity to turn her life around, Jaylene threw herself into her studies, reinventing her life as she learned.

“I knew I had to do well,” she explains. “I’ll never forget the feeling of overall gratitude. I’d never fit in anywhere, so to find that I could take what I was good at – art – from paper to people was great. I did really well at Makeup School. I was inspired by the people I met. My experience at Blanche Macdonald was really safe, inspiring, challenging, impactful and resourceful. It meant so much to me. It felt like a second chance.”

Jaylene began working at The Body Shop before she’d even graduated. Four months after she started, she was leading product training. Not long after, she was made an Assistant Manager.

“The Body Shop stands for principles before personality. It’s commerce with conscience. They have beautiful values to the core. The Body Shop’s founder, Anita Roddick, came into the store one day. I shared some of my story with her on how much her company had helped me develop as a professional and a person. Anita was all about helping people no matter where they’d come from. Our store would go to the Downtown East Side to do skincare consultations on the street women. I’ll never forget when she said she was proud of me. We hugged and a few days later my manager told me that I’d really impacted Anita just by telling her my story.

“I was still awkward, but I was becoming really good at expressing myself through the art of drag performance. That was the closest I was getting to myself at that time. I became more involved with the LGBT and the Two Spirit First Nation communities. I was elected Empress of Vancouver, which is like Miss America for Drag Queens. I represented the city and raised funds and awareness for different charities. Soon after that I was appointed to the International Court Council as a Canadian representative. One night I was in San Diego with trumpets playing as I was about to go on stage to represent my country. At that moment I remembered myself so vulnerable and weak years earlier. Now I was representing Canada! I never want to forget where I’ve been or all the opportunities I’ve been given. It’s those moments that give me strength.”

Make Up For Ever scouted Jaylene to work at a drag event at Sears. When a position arose for an Artist at their counter at The Bay, Make Up For Ever knew who they wanted.

“The rest is history,” smiles Jaylene. “Working for Make Up For Ever secured the fact that I was a Makeup Artist. I had the skill set and ability to be a manager. I was representing the community and that gave me the confidence to continue to grow.”

Blanche Macdonald would send students to Jaylene and the Make Up For Ever counter during their retail trips. When she heard that Blanche Macdonald was looking for talented Artists for a new Beauty Boutique, it was an opportunity she jumped at.

“CurliQue was where I wanted to be. I had another interview with Barb Johnston, who had enrolled me years ago. When she first met me I was known as Jason, but now I was Jaylene. I was so confident. I’d reached the point of my true identity as a transgendered woman. I was hired for the true me. It wasn’t even an interview. We were just talking about my journey and what inspired me.

“Professionally I’ve been given the opportunity to develop as a person more than anywhere I’ve worked. I’m 100% myself now. A lot of students who come to Blanche Macdonald don’t fit in, but they have this beautiful creative energy. This is the space where I can say, ‘Welcome – you’re in the right place. We celebrate everyone and I’m glad you’re here.’”

Working with students and customers every day, Jaylene understands the inspirational and transformative power of makeup and why artists like her are drawn to it. It’s why she loves what does.

“It’s never been a focus of mine to make money from being a Makeup Artist,” she insists. “I just want to live a happy existence. To anyone who feels that they don’t fit in, but find a freedom in arts, follow that instinct. That’s something really special.

“I do the best that I can on a daily basis. If someone sees something about me or my work that inspires them to be better, then I’m doing my job. If you think your career aspirations are not attainable, I’m proof that they are. I’ve been clean and sober for almost 15 years and have the career of my dreams.

“I don’t worry what people think any more. I grew up with that. It took me a long time to realise the freedom of authenticity.”

“When I was little I didn’t have a dream career,” smiles Lindsay Koropchuk. “My dream was a job where I could walk around in heels with a briefcase.”

Heels and briefcases are perks of the job now that Lindsay has risen to the position of Spa Manager at Sense, A Rosewood Spa at Vancouver’s Rosewood Hotel Georgia. There’s also the prestige that comes from running one of the city’s most spectacular spas in what Condé Nast Traveler magazine recently named as one of the World Best New Hotels.

The Blanche Macdonald Esthetics graduate has extra reason to be proud of her spa. She played a pivotal role in its creation.

“When I started working for Rosewood, the Spa and the Hotel hadn’t opened,” she explains. “When I came on board I had to take the standards of practice from all Rosewood’s previous spas and make them my own. I wrote most of the protocols for the treatments and had a hand in interviewing and hiring the staff as well.”

“Rosewood’s Corporate Spa Director has done her best to ensure that there are common threads that run through all the Sense Spas across the world, although they’re all very different. Rosewood’s philosophy is ‘Sense of Place’. We’re the first Sense Spa in Canada, so we try to use indigenous products both in our treatments and our décor. We want it to resonate that you’re in Vancouver with everything we do. Ancient Secrets is a line we use that’s made from all BC ingredients. And because Vancouver is so multicultural and such a foodie environment we decided to base our treatments around the idea of different cuisines. We created a menu of Spa Tapas – little samplers of 25-minute treatments.”

It’s hard for Lindsay to contain her enthusiasm for Sense. It’s her baby, after all. Looking back though, Lindsay didn’t always know that she’d find her niche as a high-end esthetics perfectionist. She just recognised a good opportunity when it arrived.

“I never went to a spa as a teenager,” she recalls. “I never had a facial or anything like that. I was a tomboy doing a lot of sport, but I was always playing with makeup, hair and fashion too. When I graduated high school I met someone who was running her own esthetics business in a private room in a salon. I liked the idea of having my own business and the flexibility of esthetics – the variety of treatments she was providing – and I wanted a business of my own. 

“I visited spas around Vancouver and asked them, if you were to hire an esthetician, what do you look for and what school do most of them graduate from? Everyone I spoke to, Blanche Macdonald was the first name they’d mention. I visited the School and met with a Career Director. She told me that it wasn’t going to be a fluffy course and that the science behind it was the equivalent of a first year nursing program. I thought – this is for me!”

Once she started classes at Canada’s top Esthetics School, she knew she’d made the right decision.

“I loved it! I was interested and looked forward to classes every day. I wanted to know why things happen to the skin and how to fix it. I did well, but it wasn’t easy. I liked the hands-on element to the program. Facials were my favourite, although I liked pedicures as well. I really enjoyed the transformation of something that isn’t normally deemed the best feature on someone’s body and transforming that.”

Lindsay had secured a job as an Esthetician at Spa Utopia in Langley before she’d even graduated. Once she was there, sure enough, she started climbing the career ladder, becoming a Trainer then the Assistant Head of Department.

“I’ve always been a people person,” she continues. “So it was a natural progression to be working with people and making them feel better about themselves. It feels so nice to perform a facial or a massage and feel the person relaxing into you. It’s still relaxing for me to see that change in a guest. 

“I liked being a part of a team at Spa Utopia. I’d always want to be doing something more. I’d be learning protocols for the spa desk about how to greet guests. I’d naturally investigate all the different departments, and Spa Utopia saw that. They were looking for a Department Head of Esthetics at Spa Utopia’s Pan Pacific location in Downtown Vancouver, and they asked me to apply for that position. Once I got the job I was in charge of editing protocols there, ensuring the Esthetics Department was following those protocols, monitoring quality control, and holding Department Head meetings. I worked a lot with the Guest Services Department. And I still had a few regular guests from Langley would come into Vancouver to see me.”

Lindsay takes a lot of pride in recalling that even when she’d risen to a management position, clients were more than willing to make the journey from Langley just to see her. She was glad to see them too.

“Anyone who is successful in the spa industry has a passion for people. It’s such a great feeling when you connect with a guest on a personal level and you can provide a better service because of that. Guests will come back to you because of that too.”

Lindsay’s career reached new heights when she became Spa Director at Casbah Day Spa in White Rock. It was there where she heard that the Hotel Georgia was reopening and that they were looking for a Spa Manager. It’s been a perfect fit ever since.

“We really didn’t know how the Spa was going to turn out when we first came into this space. Although I knew that when I was hiring estheticians the first thing I was looking for passion. Versatility and flexibility were important too. A couple of our spa therapists came from Blanche Macdonald. It was good to start with a group of people who were open to change.”

Creating Sense from scratch was hard work. Now it’s up and running, welcoming guests (both visitors to our city and discerning Vancouver residents), it doesn’t mean Lindsay’s job has become any easier.

“There’s always room for improvement,” she insists. “It’s basically a business within a business here. Throughout the day I’m going to meetings, ordering product, looking at budgets. And every morning I have a daily briefing with all the other Department Heads in the hotel. We’ll talk about what’s going on through the day and what special guests, VIPs and celebrities, are coming in. Sorry, I can’t disclose any of their names.”

Lindsay laughs when she says that, but she’s serious too. It’s what running an elite hotel spa is all about.

“One of our responsibilities is to respect all our guests’ privacy. When I brief my team I always talk about our Rosewood Responsibilities. Those are so important. Seeing guests happy at the end of their visit is still my favourite part of this job. I feel even prouder seeing that now than when I was doing treatments. When I see happy, relaxed guests I know their experience was good and that their spa attendants and estheticians have been trained well, we’re using good products and every aspect of what we’re doing is working.”

Lindsay is living proof that anything and everything is possible in Vancouver’s booming esthetics industry. By the time you read this she might be helping set up a new spa in a Rosewood Hotel somewhere in the Caribbean or Middle East. Opportunities that exciting are still arriving.

“This is an industry that’s forever growing,” she insists. “It’s gone from something that was a luxury to becoming an element of people’s personal maintenance. Our guests are about 35% men here, which is so many more than there were ten years ago.”

And, as she imagined as a girl, the heels and briefcase are all part of the magic. 

“Wearing heels every day has lived up to my expectations,” she laughs, “but I don’t carry a briefcase much. I carry a Rosewood Georgia Hotel bag instead!” 

Sydney Gibson’s love for fashion started early. It didn’t hurt that her mother, Bet Gibson, was a Fashion and Makeup Instructor at Blanche Macdonald.

“I always liked fashion, even through Elementary School,” explains Sydney. “I always loved clothes and dressing differently. I like to think I started some trends within my set of friends. In Elementary School I had parachute pants, huge hoop earrings, and a weird gypsy look. At that time I was really into Nelly Furtado. People used to say I looked like her. That was me being influenced by music.”

Today Sydney balances her twin loves of fashion and music. By day she’s a Merchandiser at the Park Royal, West Vancouver branch of The Bay. By night she’s the lead singer of Vancouver rock band Hunger City.

“Music always came before fashion,” she admits. “Even with what I’m wearing I’ve always been influenced by musicians and their styles: female singers like Gwen Stefani and Lana Del Rey. I always knew I was good at singing and knew I wanted to sing, but when I took the program at Blanche Macdonald and started to go a little further with my job at The Bay, that’s when I realised I was good at fashion too.”

It almost seemed inevitable that Sydney would end up on a program at Vancouver’s top Fashion School. Her Mum was a core member of the Blanche Macdonald family. Which meant young Sydney was too.

“It was a big adventure for me to go to Blanche Macdonald when I was little. I would help my Mum with photocopying and check her mail. Really good memories!

“Because my Mum worked at Blanche Macdonald it seemed like a natural transition to go there. I knew I wasn’t going to do Fashion Design. I couldn’t sew! But I wanted to learn the business of fashion.”

Arriving at Fashion School knowing many of her instructors, including Program Director Peggy Morrison, could have led Sydney down an easy path. The reality was exactly the opposite.

“My friends thought Fashion School would be easy. ‘You just draw pictures of clothes, right?’ No, I stayed up all night working! Whether they were real or not, in my mind people’s expectations of me were super high. Everybody there had known me since I was a little kid. When I did a project or had a test I was so worried what people would think. I felt like I had to prove something – especially with Peggy. Her opinion is huge to me, and I would be so embarrassed if I didn’t measure up. I created a lot of pressure for myself.”

Sydney landed what she thought would be a part time job at The Bay while she was still a student at Blanche Macdonald. She’s been there ever since.

“I was hired before Christmas to do seasonal help. They liked me, and that blossomed into the start of a career.”

As a Merchandiser it’s Sydney’s responsibility to ensure that the womenswear department always looks its pristine best, and that its lines are shown off to their ultimate potential. It’s a job that can be as creatively satisfying as it is practical.

“Seeing your work is so rewarding,” she continues. “You can start with an empty table, an empty rack or naked mannequins, and within a couple of hours you have fabulous mannequins, a table display and a full rack. Wow, I did that! As long as I stick to the marketing standards and respect the brand, then I have the creative authority to fold the way I want to fold and hang what I want to hang. With the mannequins, a lot of the time I get to choose what they’re wearing. I’m touched when someone walks out looking better than when they came in. It’s heart-warming to see someone leave feeling good about themselves, especially through fashion.”

Sydney is continually referencing the lessons learned at Blanche Macdonald in her work.

“One of the biggest things was Fashion Elements class. If customers or co-workers say that they’re looking for this collar or sleeve, I know all the terms. A lot of people don’t. I know the fabrics from textiles class. I know the designers from Fashion Awareness classes. And I recently found all my notes from Visual Display classes. That’s exactly what I do now! ”

Her position goes far beyond keeping West Vancouver’s biggest clothing store looking good. It’s about making West Vancouverites look great too.

“Bonnie Brooks, the President of The Bay, has been huge catalyst for change in Canada. She has a huge fashion knowledge and a rapport with different designers and brands. She brought in some great brands all over the world that are exclusive to us. She’s definitely made The Bay more fashionable.”

The Bay has also been massively supportive of Sydney’s rock and roll career.

“Some of my best friends in the whole world are at The Bay. They’ve always been really great about me taking days off for gigs.

“With Hunger City we practice all the time and play gigs at least once a month. We’ve played the Media Club, The Roxy and Joe’s Apartment. As long as I let work know in advance they’ll give me the day off after a late show.

“There’s no way I’m getting in early the next day after those nights!”

Janeen Witherspoon is a Makeup Superstar. Her work has graced the pages of French, British, American, Russian, Turkish, Indian and Japanese Vogue, along with international magazines like POP, Husk, i-D, LOVE, Dazed & Confused, V, Russh, Exit, and AnOther. She’s contributed to countless campaigns with top photographers, stylists, celebrities and models for Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Balenciaga, H&M, Topshop and ASOS. When French Vogue wrote a fall feature on the world’s hottest new talent, they devoted an entire page to Janeen and her work.

Janeen’s also a proud graduate of the Blanche Macdonald Centre. Which is why the London-based Artist made sure that she paid Canada’s #1 Makeup School a visit on her return to Vancouver. Over two days Janeen delivered a pair of incredible presentations to current students, explaining her journey and demonstrating various high fashion makeup looks, and provided hands-on creative masterclasses to instructors and graduates.

For Janeen, who’s as humble and hilarious as she is talented, returning to Blanche Macdonald 15 years after graduating was an honour and a pleasure.

“Studying at Blanche Macdonald was the changing point in my life,” she explained. “It’s where I found what I really wanted to do. When I look at the journey I’ve had so far it’s all because of Blanche Macdonald.”

Janeen made a special point during her presentations to thank Managing Director Barb Johnston, whose advice 15 years ago kept her spirits and her makeup education alive through some tough times.

Although Janeen had multiple makeup tips and techniques to show current students, the aspect of her art she most wanted to impress on her audience was the importance of patience and persistence.

“You have to put in a lot of work and a lot of time, but time is on your side and things don’t have to happen that quickly. It’s better to take your time to assist and learn and really understand the business to get a clear vision of where you want to be.

“I talked about assisting and building your portfolio and the unwritten etiquette you need to follow on set. I explained the importance of referencing makeup looks. Referencing is your bible! I talked about approaching agencies – what to do and what not to do. And the students asked a lot of concrete questions.”

When Janeen graduated from Blanche Macdonald the school was contained in one small campus on Smithe Street. These days, four different departments are spread over three state-of-the-art campuses. Janeen was blown away.

“It’s like Blanche Macdonald owns the whole of Vancouver now!” she laughed. “There’s a Hair Department now, and so much more on offer in the Makeup Program, like prosthetics and airbrushing! I always tell people that this is the place to go. I even recommend it to people living in the UK.”

When it came to sharing product and creative advice, Janeen’s generosity was limitless. She explained why a face and shoulder massage with rose and jasmine oil simultaneously relaxes models and prepares their skin. She demonstrated how “digging in the lashes” with a MAC Black Cream liner gives definition to the eye and she created custom eyes by building layers of Shu Uemura and MAC lashes. Both presentations were incredible displays of how artists can quickly create multiple editorial looks without removing makeup and restarting from scratch.

“In the morning presentation I used a Make Up For Ever Face and Body foundation mixed with a Kryolan Shimmering Event Foundation in Pearl. The Face and Body takes down any redness in the skin and the shimmer is to give the highlight. Then I talked about digging in the lashes and the trickery involved in doing that. It was all based on creams and powders and mixing those two textures together. 

“I used a Costa Riche pencil from MAC and then went into something called Nightmoth, which is a real deep blackberry liner that’s meant for the lips but I used on the eyes. Then I mixed in some pigment powders to deepen that. I did some sculpting on the edges of the temples and through the cheek, working with the natural contours of the face, mixing shine, sheen and powders together. We powdered the lip with a deep red pigment on top of the blackberry lip as well. Then I layered up three pairs of lashes, to create our own lash. In the afternoon I switched it up completely.”

For her masterclasses, Janeen planted suggestions in the minds of experienced artists, encouraging professionals (many of whose expertise is in TV and film rather than fashion) to break the rules. Those instructors and grads were raving about Janeen’s ideas. And the feeling was mutual.

“I love being in an environment where everyone loves makeup as much as I do,” smiled Janeen. “It’s been great seeing all the different techniques and seeing how everyone can think outside the box.

“Everyone came up with some amazing references. A couple of the grads actually pulled the same references I did when French Vogue wrote their feature on me! Tim Hung and Win Liu assisted me and their books are amazing. Their understanding of makeup is so great.”

Janeen came to Blanche Macdonald feeling that it’s Canada’s top Makeup School. After her visit, she’s 100% certain.

“I don’t think there’s school like it that gives you the full package from the education to the mentoring afterwards. So much care is given to the artists. The facilities are amazing. And now CurliQue is downstairs, it’s like a one-stop shop. Everything is possible!”

Can’t decide between makeup or hair? Why not do both? For freelance Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Liz Pederson double the expertise means double the opportunities.

“I’m doing both makeup and hair on jobs most of the time,” explains the Blanche Macdonald Pro Hair and Makeup graduate. “You’re more flexible as an artist and more valuable on a shoot. They work together so well. Whether I'm doing a wedding, a private client or an editorial the two go together seamlessly. And doing both helps me create a more cohesive end product.”

Liz has carved a niche for herself as one of Vancouver’s busiest beauty professionals since graduating from Canada's #1 Hair and Makeup School. She’s continually working on photo shoots and bridal clients, while still finding the time to spend two days a week with her faithful hair clients at Yaletown’s fashionable Is Salon. It’s the ideal combination of creativity and commercial success. Which is the exact career Liz was always looking for.

“Creativity was always something that flowed through me,” continues Liz. “When I was little I’d love doing anything creative, whether it was crafting, or sitting in front of the mirror for an hour doing my hair or playing with makeup.”

Liz was lucky enough to tour Blanche Macdonald as part of her High School’s career program. Then and there, she’d found her vocation.

“It was something I could be passionate about every day. I realised all the fun I could have being creative, while still making a career of it.

“The course was amazing! One of my favourite teachers was Jon Hennessy. He inspired me to go towards fashion makeup and photography. I used to watch FashionTelevision a lot, so I was excited about working backstage or keying a look for a designer’s collection. The glamorous side of the business really appealed to me. Although I learned that if you want to be successful you have to get your hands dirty and work your way up the ladder.”

Liz made a great start climbing the first rungs of that ladder; receiving a job offer for a position at MAC the day she graduated Makeup School.

“I spent four great years with MAC at Park Royal, Oakridge and the Robson store. I learned so much and was the best experience I could have had out of Makeup School because I kept learning. It was like a family. Even now, when I go to MAC I still get a warm feeling.”

Liz had laid the foundations of a successful career in makeup. But she still wanted to learn more. When a package from Blanche Macdonald arrived in the mail, the creative light bulb was switched on again.

“I received some information that Blanche Macdonald was starting a Professional Hair Program. I thought, if I could do hair on a shoot or a show I’d expand my whole skill set and become that much more of an in-demand artist. I made my decision the next day.”

As a professional Makeup Artist Liz already knew what a creative career felt like. Even so, entering the world of hair came with new challenges.

“Hair is different to makeup,” she explains. “With makeup you can wipe it off. With hair, with cutting or colouring, you can’t just change it. There’s definitely more of a scientific side to hair. We learned so much with every haircut we did. And at Blanche Macdonald we could do that because of the constant flow of clients coming in.

“We were the very first Pro Hair class at Blanche Macdonald, but we still had Phil Loiselle and Jeff Ranger! We all grew together. Now when I go back to Blanche Macdonald to say hello I can see how they’ve modified the program and how it keeps getting better.”

Although Liz continued working for MAC while at Hair School, after graduation she was eager to use her newfound skills. A phone call led her to a terrific salon and a brush with celebrity.

“I’d apprenticed at The Chop Shop when I was at Hair School, so when they called I knew it would a great place to work. I was there for a year and a half, and was on their reality show, which was on the Slice Network. I learned so much retro styling and barbering techniques there, and it was fun being on the show even for that short time. My memories at The Chop Shop are ones I’ll never forget. They helped to shape the artist I am today and opened up so many doors in the industry. I had a pretty punk rock look back then. I still have a rock and roll style, but I’ve definitely become more of a polished punk!”

Liz was still busy with MAC after she left The Chop Shop, but she couldn’t stay away from hairstyling. She found Is Salon and she’s been part of the team ever since.

“When I came to Is no one else on the team did makeup, and I could do hair too. Information is constantly flowing there. If I didn’t work at Is I’d be missing out on all the tips, tricks and new things coming out. I have a core group of clients. It’s just like hanging out with friends. I feel so blessed that I've been able to cultivate these relationships with my clientele. There's nothing better than glamming up a client and them giving me a hug when we’re done. Or better yet, seeing them holding back tears of joy. I get to express my self creatively and also get to be a friend. Sometimes I’m a therapist too. It’s a full service!”

Proving that each opportunity is a springboard for new ones, Liz gained a client at IS who would take her back into the heart of the Makeup business.

“This client was a rep for Chanel. Every time she came in she’d say, 'Honey, you need to come work for me'. She was relentless. I hadn’t done any retail for two years at that point, although I was doing makeup at the salon and weddings. I thought I’d give Chanel a chance and ended up taking on the Assistant Manager duties at The Bay Downtown. I love Chanel’s makeup line. It’s fabulous. That job made me realise that I wanted to express myself through hair and makeup even more. I decided to give the freelance life a real try – getting out there, meeting people, and showing them my work. I did a lot of unpaid gigs – but I met so many artistic people. I’ve done a lot with the photographer Shannyn Higgins. We just did a shoot that was 60s mod with a 90s grunge. The looks were gorgeous!

“Through my four years at Is Salon I've had the pleasure of working on some fabulous women, including Ioulia Reynolds and Mary Zilba of the Real Housewives of Vancouver, Nira Aurora from The Beat 94.5 and Fiona Forbes from The Rush. After meeting Fiona at a Breast Cancer Awareness Event, I instantly fell in love with her energy and cheeky humour. I frequently work with her on photo shoots and recently I was lucky enough to be invited onto The Rush to talk about Hair and Makeup trends. It was Fiona who introduced me to photographer Dennys Ilic, and I’ve been shooting with Dennys ever since, working on all these actors like Sarah Carter from Falling Skies, Aliyah O’Brien from Supernatural, and presenters like Isla Traquair from the Oprah Winfrey Network.” 

Every day is different for Liz now. Salon clients. Photo shoots. Celebrities. Weddings. It’s the creative career she was hoping for when she first visited Blanche Macdonald. And it’s just as fulfilling as she anticipated.

“I make my own schedule. I find my own clients. I like being a business-owner and being accountable to myself. Getting to create luminous looks and splashing colour around still gives me that little tingle. I’m friends with Jon Hennessey on Facebook. I’ll see what he’s doing and that keeps me motivated. Andrea Tiller, another Blanche Macdonald grad, is also someone I’m inspired by. She’s touring with Carly Rae Jepsen. That gives me faith that if you work hard enough, you can make it as an independent artist.”

Liz has made it as an independent makeup and hair artist too, with the skills, and the mindset, to take her career anywhere she wants.

“Don’t compare yourself to other artists,” she insists. “Just be inspired by them.”

JoAnn Fowler was a late starter in the Makeup Industry. She’s been making up for lost time ever since.

“When I was 16 I asked my mother if I could take a makeup course,” she recalls with a smile. “She did not approve of makeup at all, so I didn’t take it. I became a childcare counsellor and worked with kids for almost 10 years. Then when I was 30 I signed up at Blanche Macdonald.”

JoAnn has proved her mother, and any other doubters, wrong. After graduating from Canada's #1 Makeup School, JoAnn became one of the country's best TV and movie Makeup Artists, bringing her incredible talents to television shows including The Commish, The Crow and The L Word, and movies like The Twilight Saga, X-Men 2, Air Bud, and Final Destination 3 and 5. JoAnn garnered an Emmy nomination for Best Makeup in 2004 for Reefer Madness and two CNoMA nominations for Best Makeup for The L Word that same year. These incredible experiences led JoAnn to her greatest triumph so far; developing and launching her nationally distributed, eco-conscious, organic makeup line, Sappho Organic Cosmetics.

It’s a remarkable success story, fuelled by a passion for makeup that even her mother’s disapproval couldn’t contain.

“I used to be very much into punk rock and fashion in the mid-1980s,” she explains. “I hung out with musicians and avant garde artists. I would do a lot of friends’ makeup, which was really wild in those days. I ended up helping a friend doing makeup for her underground fashion shows without really knowing what I was doing. But I liked it and people liked my work. That’s when I decided to take a course.”

JoAnn had always loved makeup. Blanche Macdonald taught her professional techniques and inspired her creativity.

“I’m not a person that has to wear makeup every day. I’ve always used makeup as an adornment: as an art or fashion statement. The creative process is what drew me to it. When we got into really changing features and doing corrective makeups, that was fascinating to me.”

JoAnn was working shifts at CKVU (later renamed Citytv) when she was still a student. As Vancouver’s TV and movie industry exploded, JoAnn was in the right place at the right time, with the right skills, to create a place for herself in its heart.

“When I started Makeup School there were only three shows being made in Vancouver, Danger Bay, Wiseguy and 21 Jump Street. I worked with Todd McIntosh on Wiseguy. I was mostly working with extras, but I loved it and I wanted to do a good job. I’d stay after I was wrapped just to see Todd working with blood. I watched him like a hawk. I could do 18 or 20-hour days and it didn’t bother me. I was happy to be there.

“I did a year on MacGyver and a few days on 21 Jump Street. I didn’t work directly with Johnny Depp – Sydney Silvert was Head of Department at that time – but I did meet him quite drunk on the street one night. For some reason he wanted to know what my favourite line from a movie was. On Wiseguy the night before we had been laughing about this one line –  ‘I keeel your mother! I feed her to theee peeegs!’ Johnny Depp liked that, which was very cool.”

As JoAnn’s reputation grew, so did her résumé.

“It was totally exciting. It was so intense and interesting. My first show was Wiseguy, which starred Kevin Spacey and Ken Wahl. I thought my whole career was going to be like that. I wasn’t much of a schmoozer, but I worked hard, looked after a few second units and then got my first chance to key on Nancy Drew, which was a bit of a disaster, although not because of the makeup! My second key was The Commish.”

JoAnn’s been busy ever since. You can see her work in Air Bud, the top grossing Canadian movie of all time, two chapters in the Final Destination horror series, recent hit The Possession and The Twilight Saga. 

“I knew Twilight was going to be big,” she continues. “I was keying the second unit so we had a lot of fun, particularly on Eclipse. I’d go to work at about four in the morning and I had 12 or 13 makeup artists working for me. We’d need to have 27 vampires ready for 7.30 every morning. Second units on big movies are way more fun than main units. Actors always love working with us because they know we can get the job done without the stress of main unit. We did a lot of work with the main characters, a lot of stunt stuff, and we laughed a lot.”

It was during JoAnn’s time as Key Makeup Artist on the classic series The L Word that she had an encounter with an actress that would take her career in remarkable new directions.

“Mia Kirshner came in one day and announced to me that she wasn’t going to wear any more parabens in any of her makeup products. I told her she didn’t have to wear them under any circumstances, even though I didn’t know what they were. I started to do some research. Norma Hill Patton, a remarkable Makeup Artist, gave me this book called Not Just A Pretty Face. There’s so much in that book indicating we’re polluting our bodies with petro-chemicals through cosmetics. It’s not a conspiracy theory. The evidence is all there.

“Soon all the girls on the show wanted to go organic. All the organic lines were sent to us but none of them stood up to the demands of HD. Jennifer Beals always used to say to me, you should start your own makeup line, and I would always say to her, the world doesn’t need another makeup line. Then I realised the world did need another makeup line, because I needed it to go to work.”

Inspired by the cast of The L Word, Sappho Organics had been born.

“I researched for months, threw myself into it and found a lab to work with. I made a lot of mistakes and learned an incredible amount.

“The first products were liquid foundations. That was what was missing as far as I was concerned. I had high expectations and so did my clients. I used all the girls on The L Word as guinea pigs. I always say my line is tested on movie stars, not animals. I’m still in touch with those women and all the colours are named after them.”

What had been created as an organic solution to an HD problem soon took on a life of its own. 

“People needed it!” insists JoAnn. “When people put it on for the first time they say it smells incredible because it’s all preserved with essential oils. The second thing they say is that it feels like they’re not wearing anything. That’s because there’s no silicone or dimethicone in it, so your skin breathes the whole time. When we do makeovers people buy it immediately.

“For the first five years Sappho Organics was in six stores in Vancouver and I sold it on-line. It was doing pretty good. Now we’re in over 50 stores across Canada, selected stores in the US, UK and Saudi Arabia, and we’re negotiating with some very large chains. My vision is to create a natural line that can stand up on any runway and that anyone can wear and feel confident. I’m working on lipsticks and lip stains that are just coloured with fruit juices. I’ve been cooking hundreds of them in my kitchen. It’s quite the challenge.”

It’s only natural that Sappho Organics is one of the key lines carried at Blanche Macdonald and Vancouver’s incredible new Beauty Boutique, CurliQue.

“I’m very happy about the kind of support that Blanche Macdonald is giving to Sappho Organics. Little did I know how long my relationship with Blanche Macdonald would last when I walked through the doors in the mid-80s. From my education with Todd McIntosh to teaching there to working with CurliQue my involvement with the school has always been positive; so much so that we have designed a copper and bamboo makeup display specifically for the store and I can't wait to show it off!”

JoAnn is only doing selected day calls for TV and film these days. She’s mostly busy managing the fast-expanding Sappho Empire. She understands that the Makeup Business is hard work, whether it’s 20-hour days on set, countless hours refining organic makeup or the challenges of launching her line internationally. That suits her fine.

“Do what you’re passionate about!” she insists. “Don’t listen to anyone who says no to you. There are a million reasons in the world not to do something but if it’s something you love you should just do it. No one has more fun than me. I’ve put my whole life’s work on the line for Sappho Organics. As stressful as it can be, I still get to play with makeup every day!”

“I knew I was going to be a designer when I was five years old,” smiles Nike Senior Apparel Designer and Blanche Macdonald Fashion Design Graduate Theola Wong. “My mother sewed all the time. When I was four I asked her how to use a sewing machine. She taught me how to crochet and gave me a needle and thread instead. I started making crochet clothes for my Barbies when I was five.”

Theola’s early practice paid off. As a Senior Designer for Nike her creations now reach across the planet. The numbers are staggering. When a new Nike pop-up store in Chicago pocketed an incredible $16 million in its first week, a third of those sales were clothes from Theola’s Women’s Training line. In a word, wow.

“I can’t understand the concept of 100,000 units of anything,” she laughs when asked about the global reach of her designs. “But it’s not just down to me. I’m supported by our merchandising and branding teams. Even if you’re the best product-maker in the world, unless you have someone telling your story you’ll never succeed.”

Theola gets plenty of help from the biggest sportswear brand on the planet. But they expect a lot from her in return. Her responsibilities are top tier creations – exclusive, more expensive items that will only be sold in selected boutiques – and Women’s Training wear, essentially anything built for the gym, yoga or Pilates. She does receive creative direction from Nike, but her main focus is to stay inspired and keep coming up with amazing ideas.

“I have oodles of creative leeway,” she insists. “The Creative Directors give me a sound background with what we’re trying to accomplish. But the reality is I’m the one who’s getting paid to think outside the box. I don’t have any problems expressing ideas. I just have to be as creative as I can be.

“For example, the product I’m working on now – I can’t tell you about it because it hasn’t come out yet. There’s nothing like it in sportswear. It’s a true hybrid of pure craft and pure sport. A couple of months ago Nike launched a shoe that looks like a wrapped ribbon around a foot. Our footwear designer, Georgina, was working on that and was running into issues finding the right fabric. I was working on a new technique connecting two fabrics; beautiful, ultra-thin layers of colour that were still very stable. She saw it and knew it was the answer to her footwear problem. That shoe launched in one store and it sold out in less than 24 hours. That’s something that’s never existed before. The style and design of this was all Georgina’s. I just helped with the technology. It’s great to be able to collaborate like that.

“Nike’s design team is very protected. They give us a lot of room to be creative, and compared to some companies we don’t have many other responsibilities outside of designing and creating stuff. I still spend most of my time drawing or sewing. The advantage is that you can really concentrate on your craft.”

Creativity isn’t a problem for Theola. It comes as naturally to her now as it did when she had the best-dressed Barbies in her hometown of Calgary. Moving to Vancouver marked the official beginning of her fashion education. 

“I knew I wanted to go to design school but I didn’t want to do a four-year course. When I met with Blanche Macdonald’s Program Directors and the Admissions Team they were really friendly and I liked the whole vibe. The Fashion Design course was relatively new at the time but I thought it was a good option for me.”

Theola is convinced that the fashion education she received in her single year at Blanche Macdonald prepared her perfectly for the journey ahead.

“I really liked my time as a student. It was hard work, which was good. It’s no different to working professionally. There wasn’t a transition period for me between my work ethic at school and my work ethic for my job. I still take homework home now. If you’re inspired you’re inspired, right? And there’s stuff that can’t be taught in school. You can’t know all the ins and outs of the business without being there.”

After graduating from Canada’s #1 Fashion School Theola was eager to get a foot in the door of the industry. Her first stop was to apply for a job as a secretary at distribution and licensing company International Fashions.

“I don’t know what I said or what they saw in me, but they sent me home and told me to come back the next week with my portfolio. I was there as a Design Assistant for less than six months. It wasn’t quite the right environment for me, and I went to working with skate and surfwear with labels like United Riders, Option Snowboards and Independent Trucks. I went directly from being an Assistant Designer to being a Junior Designer and since then my career has grown exponentially with each move.”

For a designer whose speciality is sportswear, like any star player, it seems appropriate that Theola has moved regularly from team to team.

“My first big brand was Reebok. I ended up splitting a Design Director role there for their Classics Line. That was cool. I left for Adidas on really good terms. Reebok was based in Boston and I wanted to move back to the West Coast. Because the product was so different, there wasn’t direct competition. At Adidas I was working with Missy Elliott’s line. There was nothing at Reebok like that. When I left Adidas I was freelancing for about two weeks before my friends cornered the boss at Nike and told him to hire me. He called and within a week and a half I was working at Nike. This industry is actually very small – design-wise.”

Just like Nike’s many superstar endorsees, Theola is a major acquisition. Like them, she has the confidence in her own abilities to understand why she always delivers.

“You need to understand the marriage between art, creativity and what’s going to sell. I had to learn that. When I started designing I thought fashion was a big fairy tale where all you did was make nice stuff. I’d get mad at merchandisers when my styles weren’t making it to the marketplace.

“Now I’ve worked in a lot of places I’m able to work on tons of different product. It’s all pretty seamless to me. I feel that I could go and work in denim or knits. I’d be confident doing that. I’m open and flexible and I always try to be super-honest. I know where my strengths and weaknesses are. I’ve never lied in an interview about what I could and couldn’t do, and I think people appreciated that.”

Creative freedom is its own reward, but there are other bonuses that come with working for some of the world’s biggest brands. Reebok, Adidas and Nike all understand the importance of inspiration. Company-sponsored travel, far beyond her regular visits to factories in Asia, is a big part of Theola’s life now.

“I was able to go to St Petersburg and Moscow and it was phenomenal. I went to the Bolshoi ballet and saw a woman carrying a bear down the street. I would never have the opportunity if it weren’t for these companies. I came from modest means and a pretty humble family. It’s definitely opened my eyes to the world.”

Whether she’s experiencing new countries or working with creative partners like Missy Elliott or basketball stars like Allen Iverson and Yao Ming, for Theola her favourite part of the job is still the final product.

“Seeing the end of the process is the best part,” she laughs. “You have all these ideas and you can see them becoming tangible, real things. That’s the most satisfying part. Seeing them out in the marketplace and on people is really gratifying. I remember the first time I saw one of my designs on someone. I freaked out! I didn’t know what to say.

“Two years ago I spoke to a girl who was wearing one of my pieces on a first date. It was a pretty cool piece – an advanced shape track jacket from the Missy Elliott line that had all the bells and whistles. But I’d designed it for the gym, so I was super pleased!”

It’s the tail end of a typical work week for Karen, having shot a Stella McCartney fragrance campaign in New York, consulted for the design team at Nike headquarters in Portland and styled a cover story in Vancouver for Style.com Magazine. Karen Langley manages to squeeze in a visit at Canada’s top fashion school before jetting off to the coveted front rows of Paris Fashion Week.

Long time best friend and colleague of BMC Fashion Director Tyler Udall, Karen Langley is currently the Fashion Director of Dazed and Confused Magazine. This past Tuesday she made an impromptu trip to visit our downtown facilities and speak with Tyler’s class.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Karen Langley’s extraordinary career, she works at the highest echelons of fashion. To put it mildly, her successes and influences are echoed around the globe.

Karen’s introduction to the fashion industry wasn’t a deliberate one.  A chance meeting had her working backstage during London Fashion week nearly ten years ago. Her hard work and genuine interest for the job caught the attention of Love Magazine’s Katie Grand and Vogue Russia’s Simon Robins.  The two fashion mavens offered her an internship at Dazed and Confused where Katie was Fashion Director at the time.  Within a matter of weeks she found herself assisting legendary stylist and Alexander McQueen Creative Director Katy England.

“I was working with Katy on the McQueen runway show which was a crazy experience in itself.  I had no idea what a stylist was or that it was even a job. I saw Katy and Lee working with all these incredible designs. I said to myself “I don’t know what she is doing but whatever that is, I want to be that.”

Karen rose through the ranks of Dazed and Confused all the while amassing a client list that would make any fashion insider green with envy: Burberry, Chanel, Diesel and Prada to name a few. 

Her international reputation as a leading style aficionado has her creative signature gracing the pages of every major magazine on the planet: AnOther, Vogue, W, Harpers Bazaar, Purple Magazine; working with virtually every known supermodel and fashion photographer and styling a celebrity list that is too long to even mention. Lets simply say that Beyonce, Snoop Dogg, Kristen Stewart and Britney Spears are just some of many.

When asked by the students “How did you know that you had finally made it?”, the ever humble and grounded Karen immediately replied “Oh, I haven’t! And I don’t suspect I ever will.  I always have to believe that my best work is still inside of me. Otherwise what’s the point?”

When talking to the students about the industry Karen preached the importance of instincts and seizing opportunities. “Now is your time.  Intern as much as possible. If that means you don’t sleep, you don’t sleep. When I was finishing my degree at Central Saint Martins I was interning full time at Dazed, assisting Katy England, doing my thesis and working a bar job to pay the bills. Just listen to your gut.  Loads of people will tell you what’s good and what’s not but ultimately you need to believe in yourself and trust your inner voice. If something feels right, run with it.”

While in Vancouver shooting the upcoming Style.com cover story, Fashion Merchandising grad Brittany-Ann Whitney (who incidentally is forging a very reputable name for herself as a stylist) had the opportunity to assist Karen.

Working over two days with a team from London, New York and LA, Karen got to know Brittany-Ann well. “Brittany was amazing!  Super on top of all the details. She was organized, calm and just a really wonderful person to be around.”

If ever there were proof that dedication, a positive attitude and a love for your work pays off it, would be Karen Langley.  Despite her epic success she couldn’t be more down to earth.  The piece of advice given to our Merchandising students that both Tyler and Karen believe in and practice whole-heartedly “Work hard, be a good person and you will end up exactly where you are meant to be.”

Karen is represented by Total Management in New York, Paris and LA.  To view her portfolio, click here.

A framed certificate takes pride of place on the wall of Cranberries Spa. It’s from The Westender newspaper, naming Cranberries as the Bronze Medal winner in the Top Spa category in its most recent ‘Best of Vancouver’ Awards. For the cosy Boutique Spa on busy Robson Street, Bronze is nothing short of spectacular. 

“As far as I’m concerned that’s a Gold for me,” smiles Cranberries owner Christy Denton. “The first and second place winners were Absolute Spa and Spa Utopia, which are both huge companies with multiple locations.”

For the graduate of Canada’s #1 Esthetics School, that recognition was confirmation that she’s doing things the right way. Cranberries isn’t big, but its focus on providing the highest levels of treatments ensures that once people sample their services, they inevitably come back for more.

“Remember the TV show Cheers?” continues Christy. “That’s how I think about my spa. You walk through the front door and everyone knows your name and is pleased to see you. People want to be known and appreciated. I want clients to feel like they’re welcomed like they’re family. You get a darn good treatment, and you leave feeling important and special. 

“My focus is on taking Cranberries to its top level. We have amazing staff and we do amazing services. And we’re kicking it up a notch with added value. All the T’s and I’s are dotted and the focus is on the client experience. We’ve just brought in hot towels for manicures and pedicures: little extras that you don’t get everywhere.”

Christy’s unique understanding of the Spa Industry has continued the success at Cranberries begun by her fellow Blanche Macdonald graduate Kristie Thomas. But that knowledge didn’t arrive overnight. And there were few signs that esthetics would be part of her life growing up in the tiny BC town of Little Fort.

“I wouldn’t even call it a town,” laughs Christy. “It’s more like a village. I was very social in High School. I was the kind of student who liked to be with people and talk to them, as opposed to studying. There was no clue that I’d be doing this. I had my eyebrows done once, but that was it. There were no spas in Little Fort.

“Soon after I moved to Vancouver I was getting my nails done and was talking to the esthetician. She was an instructor at Blanche Macdonald and her mum was taking the program there. Something went off in my head. I was a waitress in a restaurant at the time, and I knew I didn’t want to do that forever. I called Blanche Macdonald, set up an interview and went to see them. I fell in love with the school and the idea. I got my financing in order and went for it. 

“I loved my time at Esthetics School! I was so excited and proud to be attending the program, and it was a great atmosphere to be in. I had some biology background so I loved the anatomy part of the course where we learned about the body and skin. I liked being with people and making them feel good. And of course I loved being able to receive services every week. I didn’t really know where it was going to take me but I was super excited to be somewhere other than a restaurant.” 

Christy’s first job as an esthetician was at a salon and spa called Beauty Club. She wasn’t initially sure that it was the right place for her. Instead, she found the ideal space to turn her education into expertise.

“That job was one of the best things that ever happened to me. That spa was all about getting things done quickly, so I learned to work really efficiently while still connecting with the client. I was able to work with a great esthetician with 15 years experience. I was there for a year and a half and made some great connections in the industry.

“One of Beauty Club’s hair stylists opened his own salon, L’Atelier, in Yaletown, and I started doing esthetics from a room there. I did that for eight years, picking up clients through word of mouth and just staying put.” 

Christy was looking for a change and a new challenge when a client brought Cranberries onto her radar.

“She told me about this little spa she’d sometimes go to when she couldn’t get in to see me. I was browsing Craigslist the next day, and Cranberries had an ad looking for an esthetician on there. Perfect timing! I sent over my résumé and Kristie Thomas called me later that day. The interview process was pretty easy. I had a lot of experience and an existing clientele. She just had to check that I wasn’t crazy!”

A year and a half after bringing her talents and clientele to Cranberries, Christy became a partner. One year later, she became its outright owner. Her new task: turning a great spa into an incredible one.

“It was scary but awesome! I always loved doing what I did and I loved coming to work. But it wasn’t mine. Now it was and I was able to create! 

“The biggest thing I worked on was having estheticians here that I could send my personal clients to and be completely confident in the service they would receive. Our vision is to leave people feeling loved, connected and excited about life! That starts with the employees and what’s important to them. I want to know their ideas and incorporate them into the business. They’re all bright ladies who have worked in a lot of places, so I want to know what they think I should be doing.”

Now Christy has three estheticians and two reception staff she spends as much time focusing on her business as she does working with clients. It’s a fair exchange.

“I don’t treat clients as much as I used to. I miss it, but I like running the business too. I put aside two and a half days every week for seeing clients. I specialise in manicures, pedicures, gel nails, and waxing. I really like giving treatments where I can see the results. If someone comes in with some unwanted hair somewhere and I can make it all gone, that’s great. And I love cleaning up some bad feet! The rest of the week I’m working with my team. If I show up to work connected and excited about life, that passes on to my employees and that passes on to our clients.”

Christy’s clientele certainly appreciates the love. They were the voters responsible for Cranberries being named Vancouver’s top boutique spa in The Westender’s reader’s poll. Christy is approaching spa perfection on Robson Street. The next step is expanding the business.

“The vision is to open up a second location,” she explains. “That’s the plan. My team are on board and they know there’s room for them to grow personally and professionally. The whole spa business is on the rise. It’s common for people to get services done now. I never had treatments when I growing up, and neither did my mum. Now it’s part of people’s maintenance. It’s constantly changing and evolving. It’s exciting.”

Expanding Cranberries beyond its current elite status now takes up much of Christy’s time. She’s rightfully proud of her success, but she still appreciates that the financial rewards and critics’ awards aren’t why she does what she does.

“I like to take care of people,” she smiles. “That’s why I’m in this industry. It’s not just my clients. Now I want to take care of my employees too.”

Jon Hennessey is Makeup Royalty. The graduate-turned-instructor at Canada’s #1 Makeup School has hundreds of Fashion Shows in New York, Milan and Paris, and countless editorial and advertising shoots under his belt. He tours the World with the superstar educators of The Makeup Show. And somehow he’s found the time to put together one of Vancouver’s strongest creative teams with his NOBASURA Artist Management.

We feel blessed to have an artist of Jon’s international standing on the faculty at Blanche Macdonald. Talk to him for a few minutes and you’ll realise the feeling is mutual.

“I love it when I’m sharing my experience,” he explains, “and I see a certain energy being reflected back from students that are passionate and hungry and want to absorb as much as they can. I love sharing that information.”

Jon understands the power of inspiration. It’s at the core of his own journey into makeup.

“A girlfriend of mine loved the process of applying her own makeup every day. I found it intriguing. Once a week we’d go to MAC from our home in Maple Ridge and she’d pick up some new lipsticks or eye shadows.

“I was thumbing through one of her issues of Vogue and there was a feature on Makeup Artist named Stephane Marais, showing his concept sketches and the finished faces on the runway. I could see this two-dimensional art form coming to life. I was 19, working in the produce department of a grocery store, and skateboarding every afternoon. I had no art background whatsoever. I hadn’t drawn or painted in high school. But I knew wanted to be involved in a creative industry. I picked up the Yellow Pages and looked for a makeup school. Blanche Macdonald sent me an info package and I signed up.”

Jon’s initial aspiration was a post-graduation job with MAC (“As a skateboarder MAC’s rebellious attitude really appealed to me”). With that goal in mind, Jon added colour to his personal blank canvas.

“I had no preconceptions coming to Makeup School. I was a clean slate. I needed to learn how to hold a brush properly. I was learning a completely new craft. I can remember my time as a student clearly. I came away with a solid knowledge of how to move product around on a face and a good idea about texture. JoAnn Fowler was one of my instructors and we still keep in touch.”

To no-one’s surprise, the talented and instantly likeable young Makeup Artist was hired by MAC, and within a year he’d been promoted to the position of Technical Artist, travelling between locations for one-on-one appointments. When the MAC Pro Team was launched he was one of the six artists chosen to represent the brand’s artistic vision. Jon had gone global.

“I’ve always been ambitious. I wanted to learn more, do more and experience different things. I often bite off more than I can chew and figure out how to swallow it. That’s been my MO for the majority of my career,” he laughs. “I relocated to LA for MAC and would travel to shows in New York, Milan and Paris for the Collections. I was 24 when I went to my first Paris Fashion Week. My first show was for Kostas Murkudis, who was Helmut Lang’s right hand man. The key artist for that show was Sharon Dowsett. It’s customary for the key artist to do a demo of the look you’re going to do for the show. She put a stroke of colour underneath each eye – blue and purple with a touch of glitter – and nothing else. The end result was so simple and raw and had such a rock and roll feel to it, when you saw the girls walking the runway, there was no better choice for that show than Sharon’s minimalist approach. 

“That experience completely changed my approach as a Makeup Artist. It redefined what I considered to be a finished Makeup. I have images in my portfolio now where faces have just been moisturised and the model’s brows have been combed. Context is key. A makeup is finished when it works in the context of the overall image.”

If you think crossing the globe working with top designers, models and celebrities would be a fun way to spend your 20s, well, you’d be right. Still, life as a planet-trotting makeup artist comes with some challenges. 

“MAC would send me on Pro Tours around Asia and Europe and North America. On one trip I was sent to the Cannes Film Festival, given a scooter and cell phone, and for two weeks I went from hotel to hotel doing house calls for celebrity clients. I was able to work with Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood and literally hundreds of shows in New York, Milan and Paris, along with projects for the Oscars and MTV. It was challenging work being ‘on’ 24/7 and the reality is that although I’ve travelled the world, on those trips I rarely saw more than a hotel room and the inside of a studio.”

Jon parted company amicably with MAC and settled into life as a freelance fashion Makeup Artist in New York. With a hectic schedule and young family (“We were juggling too many things and wanted to be closer to family.”), Jon took the decision to return to the city, and the school, where his adventure had begun.

“Education has always been a part of what I do. If I was going to be training anywhere it would be the school where I had my start. Blanche Macdonald had grown and the curriculum had developed so much since I was a student, but there were still all these lovely familiar faces. This school has a family-like feel to it and the instructors really enjoy spending time together. One of the unique things about Blanche Macdonald is that the instructors aren’t just ending their careers as instructors. They’re Artists who are actively involved in the fashion and film industries.”

Jon’s involvement within the fashion industry hasn’t slowed down since his return to the Pacific Northwest. 

“I was working with Raif Adelberg on a look book for his AW/13 Collection in Whistler when he let me know that Details Magazine had approached him to do his first show at New York Fashion Week. Of course, I had no hesitation in getting on board.”

Recruiting fellow grads-turned-instructors Jenna Kuchera, Oz Zandiyeh and Win Liu, Team Blanche Macdonald headed east bristling with creative energy.

“I could have assembled a team from New York, but I knew the strengths of artists here in Vancouver. Jenna is someone I’ve had under my wing for a couple of years. I knew it was the right type of project for her. I put the idea to Win and Oz and felt confident with the team. It was a menswear show, and Raif wanted to create something impactful and Makeup-heavy, but not feminine. The challenge was to create something powerful and directional without compromising the masculinity of the collection. 

“Jenna also worked with me assisting Gucci Westman on Oscar de la Renta’s show in New York. I love that Jenna and I are up for the same jobs now. The years don’t matter. It’s about creative talent, hustle and personality.” 

This recent New York excursion wasn’t a one-off. Jon understands the level of talent here in Vancouver. It’s the reason for the growing success of his own Artists’ Agency, NOBASURA.

“There’s a phenomenal amount of talent in Vancouver, not just within NOBASURA. The creative community felt so abundant but so fragmented. I was working with a number of creative groups, and met all these people who had so much in common but didn’t know each other. I left a previous agency to focus on my own professional growth and needed someone to manage my business, so I hired my sister. Artists in other areas saw what we were doing, wanted to be a part of what was evolving and we expanded organically into other categories – Hair, Wardrobe, Prop-styling, Photography. Now we’ve added a roster of models. I wanted someone on the front line who could communicate with Art Directors, clients and photographers the same way that I would. That’s why I brought in my partner, Anna Bonthoux. Now she runs a successful Production business under the NOBASURA umbrella. What we collectively create is relevant on a global scale. I’m not a puppet-master, but I like putting the pieces of the puzzle together to produce a beautiful picture.”

Jon calling Vancouver’s potential “globally relevant” isn’t hyperbole. His own travels prove that the city can be the launch pad for international makeup superstardom. That’s why he’s happy sticking around.

“Artists travel out of Vancouver to every major fashion market. Vancouver is a beautiful place to be based and also a global destination for shoots. I’m seeing an increasing number of people flying from Vancouver for work but still calling the city home, which can only feed the creative community. We once lost creative talents to larger markets, but now they’re starting to come back. Tyler Udall is a great example of that.” 

Blanche Macdonald students and International Fashion Designers are both reaping the benefit.

“As a Makeup Artist you have to know how to run a successful business,” he smiles. “Putting a brush on a face and creating art is the easy part.”

Beyond The Résumé

Jon’s credits are so impressive, and so lengthy, they deserve a section of their own. Here are just a few of his personal highlights…

FACES: Alicia Keys, Anna Paquin, Anne Heche, Ashley Greene, Cheryl Tiegs, Cynthia Nixon, Helena Christensen, Jennifer Beals, Julia Ormond, Kim Cattrall, Lily Allen, Lissy Trullie, Marcia Gay Harden, Maria Bello, Nikki Reed, Parker Posey, Rachel Leigh Cook, The Raveonettes, Rosanna Arquette, Diego Luna, Jackson Rathbone, Joshua Jackson, Javier Bardem, Kellan Lutz, Mark Ruffalo

EDITORIAL: A4, Details, Elle, Glamour, Hobo, In Style, Ion, Lula, Makeup Artist Magazine (which ran a feature on Jon), Marie Claire, Maxim, Milk 

SHOWS: Alberta Ferretti, Alexander McQueen, Allesandro Dell’acqua, Ann Demeulemeester, Anna Molinari, Anne Klein, Angelo Mozzillo, Anteprima, Antonio Berardi, Badgley Mischka, Bally, BCBG, Bill Blass, Borbonese, Bruno Pieters, Cacharel, Carlos Miele, Carolina Herrera, Catherine Malandrino, Chaiken, Chloe, Costello Tagliapietra, Dennis Basso, Diesel Style Lab, Dirk Bikkembergs, DKNY, Douglas Hannant, Emanuel Ungaro, Emilio Pucci, Guerriero, Haider Ackermann, Imitation of Christ, Jacques Fath, Jean Paul Knott, Jennifer Nicholson, Jeremy Scott, John Bartlett, John Ribbe, Kenneth Cole, Kostas Murkudis, Lancetti, Luca Luca, Luella Bartley, Liz Collins, Marchesa, Maska, Matthew Williamson, Miss Sixty, Monique Lhuillier, Oscar de la Renta, Pierrot, Peter Som, Reem Acra, Richard Tyler, Roberto Cavalli, Rodarte, Rosa Cha, Tse, Valentino, Vera Wang, Veronique Branquinho, Vivienne Westwood, Zac Posen.

“It is NOT our mission to make clothes that make a woman look good, but it IS our mission to make clothes that make a woman feel beautiful.”

That’s the proud mission statement greeting visitors to the facebook fan page of dace, the internationally acclaimed, Vancouver-based fashion label. 

Women across Canada, the USA and even Switzerland understand what pulling a dace piece out of the wardrobe means. That same sense of elegant style has graced the pages of countless magazines across North America and beyond, including LOULOU, Redbook, Fashion, Flare, Elle, Chatelaine, NYChic and Canadian Living. For the label’s creator, designer Dace Moore, becoming one of Vancouver’s fashion superstars wasn’t easy. But there’s always been a sense of inevitability about Dace’s fashion ascendancy, even before she arrived at Canada’s #1 Fashion School.

“Once I got my license, I stopped buying clothes in my hometown of Vernon and would drive to the ‘big city’ of Kelowna,” laughs Dace. “They had better shopping! I used to make my own clothes in high school and wear my Dad’s jeans. I guess you could call my style early, early grunge. I was into Madonna for a while too. I used to hang out with all the skateboarders so I guess that was an influence.

“I’d take vintage patterns and turn them into something I wanted to wear. I’d draw out what I wanted to do and make it on my Mum’s sewing machine. I was always artistic, although I didn’t know what I was doing. I’d just go for it without really thinking about it.”

Dace moved to Vancouver straight after high school, bought her first sewing machine and was instantly creating clothes good enough to sell at Gastown’s Dream Boutique.

“Dream is all consignment. I dropped off a lot of stuff and when I returned it had all sold. I thought, ‘Wow! People bought that?’ That’s when I decided to learn Pattern Drafting.”

The decision to accompany her natural talent with some formal training led Dace through Blanche Macdonald’s doors and onto the Fashion Design program.

“Blanche Macdonald was the Fashion School I was drawn to when I was researching where to go. The Pattern Drafting was really useful. The Sewing course was good. And Fashion Illustration really helped too. The end-of-year Fashion Show was great. My collection was silk evening gowns, because I thought I’d never do them again. We had the show at the Purple Onion, which was a club that’s not there any more. Another girl on the program and I both had four-year-old kids, so we snuck them in and they were running around the bar. It was really funny. And having Blanche Macdonald on my résumé got me my first real job three weeks after I graduated.”

A friend told Dace about a Production Manager vacancy at snowboard and skateboard clothing label United Snow and Skate. Despite it not being a design position, thanks to a year at Vancouver’s top Fashion School on the résumé, the job was hers.

“There were only four of us there so we all had to do a bit of everything,” continues Dace. “Within six months they’d asked me to start designing and we soon had about 40 pieces. I was eventually designing all the streetwear, stuff like sweatshirts and t-shirts. It was fun and a really good experience. It was basically two years of learning. United was a pretty big company. We sold across Canada, the USA, Japan, Switzerland and Spain. I was able to go to a lot of trade shows and could see how the industry works, even though it was a different area to what I ideally wanted to do. It made me think I could start my own company.”

Teaming up with a business-trained acquaintance, Leesha Sabine, Dace started working on financial plans and designs at night and on weekends. A stroke of good fortune landed them in front of a fashion-obsessed bank manager and with the loan secured, they located a studio is Gastown. dace the label had finally become a working reality.

“By the time we had our studio and our loan we were already on our third season,” recalls Dace. “Our very first collection we just sold in Vancouver. I just guessed on what to make – a skirt, a pair of pants – kind of one of everything. For the next season we sent samples to Calgary and Edmonton and picked up a couple of stores there. When we got the bank loan we researched all the stores we wanted to be in, then flew to Toronto and stopped there, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver on the way back. At every store that we researched and met, they bought. That was the first season we had in stores across Canada.”

That was almost ten years ago. Dace has learned a lot, and designed even more, since then.

“The line has changed so much. I’ve always been big on fabrics. When we first started we could only afford to buy cheaper fabrics. As the years went on I kept learning and my designs changed. After four or five years, all of a sudden the fabric suppliers were calling us. People had told them about us. That was a big change in our business. From then to today reps come to us with fabrics from France, Italy and Japan. We used to sell stuff for $40. Now our cheapest thing would be $50 wholesale. So the label has changed. We lost stores because our price point is too high for little towns in Canada now. But we’ve gained stores too, and we’re sold in big cities all across Canada.”

Now Dace is a globally distributed designer, she gives much of the credit to the years when the label bearing her name was squeezing style out of every penny.

“We never had a lot of money, so we had to start slow and steady. Maybe that’s why I’m still around today. Every season we’d add a few stores. We waited three years before we had enough money and went to Seattle and Portland to meet with stores. Four years in, we did our first show in Las Vegas. And after that I took the line to New York myself. We really took our time. Now we’re in amazing boutiques like The Block and Violet Boutique in Vancouver, Robber in Toronto, Conifer in San Francisco and A. Cheng in Brooklyn. It’s hard to say how many stores we’re in now.”

Leesha left to pursue new avenues a few years ago, which gave Dace new marketing and financial responsibilities in addition to her design and production duties.

“Right now, I can do everything if I have to. And I like that, because I don’t have to depend on anyone else to do it. I’m designing right now, which is still my favourite part of the job. I wanted a change so we’ve moved into a new studio that gives me a little more time to be creative. Instead of thinking, ‘here comes fall, what sold last year?’ I’m able to think outside the box. I’ve started making children’s clothing out of leftover fabrics. I’m making random things we can sell from here. We have a really big following for the online store too.”

Dace Moore is an internationally recognised and respected designer. And she’s spent her entire professional career in Vancouver, where watching the growth of the city’s fashion scene and inspiring the next generation are just two of many perks of the job.

“From the time that I started to now Vancouver has changed so much. When I was at Blanche Macdonald our class went on a field trip to a designer’s studio. This designer didn’t hold back telling us how hard and competitive it is. I thought, I never want to say anything negative to anyone that is interested in making a career in fashion. Doing this isn’t easy, but if you work really hard, you can do it. You just have to try!”

Pamela Jacek-Shapiro understands the Beauty Business. She’s been a professional Makeup Artist. She’s worked in hair salons and behind the scenes at Fashion Shows and photo shoots. So now the graduate from Canada’s #1 Hair and Makeup School is operating as a self-employed Hair Stylist based out of Downtown Vancouver’s Workshop Salon, she appreciates that she’s hit the career jackpot.

“Renting a chair as a hair stylist is like living the dream,” she smiles. “I have my own business. I have flexibility. My hours can be long, but that’s because I want to really cater to my clients. I can work late or on my days off. I’m available for my clients when they need me. It’s very satisfying to be out on my own making it work.

“The owner at Workshop, Franco Federico, is a friend of mine. He’s very education-focused. So am I. I came here when the salon opened in June, and it’s been awesome.”

It’s not surprising to hear the petite stylist enthuse about being her own boss. Pamela has explored multiple avenues in the hair and makeup businesses, and listening to her describing her adventures, she’s enjoyed every step on the way. Pamela understands all the options out there. Now she’s chosen the one that’s perfect for her.

“Growing up in Saskatoon, I really wanted to go to Makeup School,” she recalls. “One time I was at a MAC counter in and I asked the girl, where do you think I should go? She said that I should call Blanche Macdonald in Vancouver. I’d never even been to Vancouver, but I signed up, packed up and moved out. 

“It was fun! I built my portfolio up with a lot of photographers, including shoots for Vancouver Lifestyles Magazine and a big ad campaign for Metropolis at Metrotown Mall. I eventually got the job with MAC back in Saskatoon, which is what I really wanted. I was there for about four years. I enjoyed working at MAC, it was a great experience, but I didn’t want to work there forever. I don’t love routine. That’s why I started thinking about doing hair. I was visiting a friend in Vancouver when I opened a newspaper and saw that Blanche Macdonald was opening a Hair School. Perfect! It was a no-brainer.”

Pamela made the journey from Saskatchewan to the BC Coast for the second time and restarted her education. 

“I was always interested in my own hair – how I could cut or style or colour it. Hair School was an awesome experience. It was hard work too. I was learning new things every day. It was challenging. I was raring to go when it came to colour classes. I think that was an extension of everything I loved about makeup. It’s all colour, right? And I was able to do hair at Fashion Shows, including Agent Provocateur and the Blanche Macdonald Fashion Design Graduate Show while I was still a student.” 

By the time she graduated, Pamela had the confidence and ability to go straight onto the salon floor. Which was exactly what she did, taking her first full time position at the Hennessy Salon in Oakridge, before moving and building her clientele at a salon at Kaboom Hair Company in Coal Harbour. When the opportunity came to rent a chair and join the team at Workshop, Pamela took a leap of faith and went for it. She hasn’t looked back since.

“I don’t like routine. That’s why I love doing hair. Every hour is a new experience. Sometimes it’s easy breezy. Sometimes it’s more of a challenge. Sometimes you have to really think about what you’re doing. That’s what I really like about hair. And I still love doing colour. I specialise in blondes and have a really strong blonde clientele.

“I think the most important thing is to provide good customer service and do a great job. I try to go the extra mile for every client and have him or her leave feeling special and happy. I like to take my time. I don’t want anyone to feel rushed. I have nice long consultations with clients, especially when I’m getting to know them. I want to make sure they’re getting what they want. I like making people feel good about themselves. I love it when people leave with a spring in their step. Sometimes people just come out and say it – ‘Thank god I came in today! I feel so much better!’”

As Pamela developed her clientele, she also made sure that her skills continued to grow too. Hair is more than a job for her. It’s also a passion. Which is why she’s still always eager to learn.

“It’s the norm for stylists to continue their hair education through their careers. I’ve taken styling classes with the Kevin Murphy educators, cutting classes with Toni&Guy, and colour classes with Wella and L’Oreal. I went to Los Angeles this past fall and did an advanced cutting class with Vidal Sassoon. Going to LA for this course was something I wanted to do for a long time. I was able to learn from amazing instructors about geometric cuts, and now I can think outside the box, and maybe put similar effects on more traditional haircuts with my clients. I still get excited learning something new.”

Pamela’s future is, quite literally, in her own hands. Her enthusiasm for the career and life she’s created for herself is infectious. She’s proved it’s possible to do what you love every day. And get paid for the pleasure.  

“If you want to get into hair do your research and get a good education. Make an action plan of where you want to go with your career. Make as many contacts as you can and use them. Keep up with the trends. And stay focussed and inspired!” 

“When I was 16 I snuck into the theatre and saw Aliens. At that moment I knew I wanted to make monsters.”

Holland Miller knows all about monsters. The young man from Sacramento now inspires the next generation of Makeup Effects magicians. You’ve seen his work on Fringe, Supernatural, Once Upon A Time, The Cabin in the Woods, Elysium, Sucker Punch, Underworld Awakening, A Haunting In Connecticut, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Underworld: Evolution, The Chronicles of Riddick, Twilight: New Moon, The X-Files, and Stargate. And when he’s not on set, Holland teaches at Canada’s #1 Makeup School. Which just happens to be where his own makeup journey began.

“After Aliens I bought a whole lot of Fangoria magazines and all the science fiction and horror fanzines I could get my hands on. I went to community college when I was 17 and did a couple of art courses. We had to do a commercial illustration for a funeral home and I drew a coffin with a corpse coming out of it. I thought it was funny as hell. My instructors rejected it without even looking at it.”

With an artistic career looking unlikely, Holland enlisted in the US Navy. On duty in the Persian Gulf during the First Gulf War, the opportunity to reignite his creative tinderbox arrived unexpectedly.

“We’d run emergency simulation operations. Part of that was first aid. One time they were looking for someone to simulate wounds. I said I was really into horror movies and that I’d played around with rubber before. I had cotton, latex, rubber and little bits of plastic. I did a broken femur and tibia from what I remembered from Fangoria. People were blown away with how graphic it looked. Seeing how shocked people were with how gross and realistic they thought it was, I knew I could do this.”

Holland left the Navy and moved to Victoria, BC. Now in his early 20s, the time was right to chase his dream career.

“My friend Brandy McQueen had moved to Vancouver to study Makeup at Blanche Macdonald. She told me they taught kit effects. I went over, took a look at the portfolio of work coming out of the school, got a student loan and started the program.”

The military man with a taste for the macabre threw himself into the less gruesome side of makeup artistry.

“I’d never done a beauty makeup before I came to school. I learned so much every day. When I got to the out of kit effects part of the program it was like instinct. It came so naturally to me. I knew the business was hard to get into, but it was what I wanted to do. When I had any free time, I’d do my own makeup effects projects.”

After graduation, word of Holland’s abilities quickly spread around Vancouver. The phone call from Toby Lindala (also a Blanche Macdonald graduate) of Lindala Schminken FX soon followed.

“He was working on Millennium, The X Files, a feature and was swamped. I went in, did an interview and was hired on the spot.”

Holland worked in Toby’s Lab for two years before being called to set. It’s a day he can still recall vividly.

“It was a horrible,” he laughs. “It was a 6am call in February. I was on three hours sleep after working 18 hours in the lab the day before doing a cotton/latex treatment on skeletons for The X Files. Everyone else had to go do a makeup and I had to stay with the bodies on a bridge in Mission. I was all by myself for nine hours in the cold and damp. As I got out of the car I stepped into a puddle so my feet were wet the entire time. And there was nowhere to go the bathroom. I think Toby did it purpose to see how tough I was.”

Holland could handle the adversity. Working with Lindala Schminken FX took him to more sets and presented more challenges.

“Working in the lab was fun. And when I started knowing crews and directors it became really fun. I was learning from my co-workers at the lab and taught myself.”

After several happy years working with Toby, another makeup effects superstar sought out Holland’s talents.

“Todd Masters was doing an episode of Stargate, and they needed people to help. He asked if I was available for five days of work.”

Holland has been part of the MastersFX team ever since. He’s won a Leo (for Sanctuary), a Gemini Award (for Stargate: Atlantis) and was the lead on-set Prosthetics Artist on Underworld Awakening. But the work he’s most proud of came on a daily basis when he was the on-set effects artist for cult sci-fi series Fringe.

“What made Fringe so much fun was that it was basically a variety show every week. There was always something different. A lot of the makeups were very challenging because we’d never done anything like that before. The scripts would be so bizarre, but we would make it work. There was an entire team back at the MastersFX shop working on things. I’d get those things brought to me on set, where I’d glue them on and refine them.

“Sometimes Todd would tell us, just make it look good. That’s something I love about working with Todd. He’ll trust my abilities and my eye to just let me play. That’s a makeup artist’s dream.”

Fringe also happens to include some of Holland’s all-time favourite makeups.

“I had to do a reverse aging on John Noble, who plays the character Walter. The whole episode took place in the 1980s, so we had to make him look over twenty years younger. I thought we should go back to basics and use pulls, tethers you glue to the skin that pull it back, like a facelift. My colleague Mike Fields came up with a design for a rig that we could hide in his hair. My assignment was to come up with pulls that were going to be strong enough and tabs that could stay down for 16 hours a day, yet couldn’t be seen. Reverse aging had been done before, but not to the extremes Mike and I took it without the aid of digital enhancement. Not to my knowledge anyway.

“In a later episode two universes collided and one character’s two bodies fused. So he had his own upside down head fused onto his real head. The team at Masters made a beautiful silicon mask for me to put on the actor. I glued the mask on, blended it so it was seamless, put the hair on, and integrated all the paint so you couldn’t see where his skin started and the mask began. It had a mechanical eye and jaw that could move. But we weren’t aware that the character would get shot and fall down. The chords controlling the movement were strapped to his back, and when he fell down those chords would push the mask off his face. I had to sever all the mechanics, but the makeup was still a success.”

The lure of Fringe was so strong that it even pulled Holland away from a five-episode stint as both Effects Coordinator and Key Makeup Artist on the fabulous series Supernatural.

“I was going to meetings and talking to the producers and directors about concepts and designs, getting things organised for each episode, and hiring the people I wanted to work with. That was really interesting.”

Returning to teach at the Makeup School where his journey began is always a pleasure for Holland. Not only does he get to inspire the next generation of Monster Makers. It’s inspiring for him too.

“When I returned to teaching after being full-time on Fringe I saw the finals in the prosthetics classes and many of them blew my mind. There’s some really great talent coming out of this school. That’s a reflection of the teachers that are teaching here. The students are hungry to learn, so there’s an energy here that I really enjoy. I’ll do a demo and the students are excited to recreate what I’ve done.

“The Key Makeup Artist on Fringe, Calla Dreyer, is an ex-student of mine. My wife, Daemon Cadman, taught Colleen Conroy, who was Calla’s assistant. Sarah Graham, the Key Makeup Artist for Once Upon a Time, is a grad. Juliana Vit, who was the Key Makeup Artist on Supernatural, now she’s on Once Upon A Time, and Amanda Kuryk from Fringe are both grads. I see Blanche Macdonald students in the industry everywhere.”

Holland now delivers the latest techniques direct from the very biggest productions. He’s also a voice of encouragement.

“Makeup effects as a career is totally doable,” he insists. “You just have to be better than the people you’re competing against. You have to have something the person who’s hiring you will notice, whether it’s your personality, charm, talent or artistic merit.”

Holland continues to wow audiences and motivate students, all the while bringing to life some of the most grotesque creations ever to hit screens. So has the monster man ever created a makeup that even freaked him out?

“Oh yeah,” he smiles. “All the time.”

Sally Sue, Sales and Operations Manager at Soluzione Spa Products, has earned the right to talk about chasing dreams. She’s running the day-to-day business for the Vancouver-based, Italian-inspired company, managing the Canadian distribution, sales and training for a dozen major spa product lines. It’s a position that regularly takes her across North America on training missions. And it’s the exact job she was aspiring to when she was a student at Canada’s #1 Esthetics School.

“Follow your heart towards what you want to do, not what other people want you to do,” she insists. “Start at the bottom and it will grow into something big. Everyone thought I wouldn’t be successful. But as long as you keep following your heart and believing in yourself, it will happen.”

You’d be forgiven in thinking that Sally’s can-do attitude and school-to-success story sound like motivational fiction. But Sally’s journey, from being discouraged to enter Esthetics School to a position with Absolute Spa at one of Vancouver’s best hotels to her Management role and global travels, is all absolutely true.

“Growing up in an Asian family they believe in you being a doctor or an accountant. That’s not a cliché. In my family it was real! I was studying marketing after high school when I discovered that one of my friends had a girlfriend that was attending Blanche Macdonald and was really enjoying it. I did some research and went there to check it out. Lise Graham showed me around and I fell in love with it. Everyone had huge smiles and open arms, and they told me that I would fit in well at school. My parents thought I shouldn’t do it but I had no doubt that I wanted to be a student at Blanche Macdonald. So I dropped out of college and registered.”

Once Sally arrived at Esthetics School her high expectations were soon exceeded.

“When I love something I put my whole heart into it, so I knew I’d do well. The instructors made studying such a joy. I strived for perfection on all my exams. Everything was so welcoming and everyone made learning so pleasurable. I hated biology at high school but I studied anatomy so hard at Blanche Macdonald. It was made meaningful. I still have the folders of everything I learned there.”

Thanks to a thorough understanding of the spa industry and visits from numerous guest speakers, Sally also discovered the career path she intended to follow.

“You can really find yourself in the Esthetics Program. After the speakers from product lines came and spoke to us, I knew I eventually wanted to be an educator and trainer after I’d worked in a spa. Interacting with people in the industry looked so interesting. Before that though, I wanted to get some hands-on spa experience. Once I visited the Absolute Spa at the Fairmont Vancouver I knew that was the spa I wanted to work at.”

With her mind set on her ideal spa, it wasn’t long before that perfect position became a reality.

“When I had my interview with Absolute Spa I brought all my marks from Esthetics School with me! The manager said that no one had brought their marks with them for an interview before. They had so much belief in Blanche Macdonald that I didn’t even have to do a practical.

“I loved every single minute of my time at Absolute Spa! Working there made me feel like I had a second home and family. The ambience at the spa was so great. Most of all, I loved repeat clients who would ask for me personally. The most rewarding part of an esthetician’s job is when your clients leave delighted. Sometimes clients would arrive miserable, but I could always change their mood to happy. That gave me a lot of satisfaction. There were lots of celebrities there. I worked on Jared Padalecki of Supernatural and his girlfriend. I worked on Kid Carson and some of the girls from America’s Next Top Model, just to name a few. The Absolute Spa is known for treating celebrities. We’d even go out and provide mobile spa treatments sometimes when they couldn’t come to the hotel.”

Her easy way with clients, and skill translating that connection into retail sales, won Sally multiple ‘Absolute Superstar’ Employee of the Year Awards, and led to opportunities with Absolute Spa’s sister distribution company, Soluzione.

“They kept asking me to take time away from the Spa and join them at trade shows and training events with Soluzione. I was eventually approached about a full-time position. They wanted me to take the position of Sales Representative. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for the next step, but I knew it was a great opportunity.

“My initial responsibilities were selling our product lines, and training and educating estheticians in spas across Canada on how to use and retail the products. I always loved the training and education, although I must admit, I hated cold calling and wasn’t very good at it. People were constantly hanging up on me. But I learned to love it and eventually I became good at it.”

Showing the kind of determination that marked her time at Blanche Macdonald and Absolute Spa, Sally worked until she excelled. When the time came to fill the position of Sales and Operations Manager, she put herself forward to co-owner Sergio Cocchia. He wasn’t used to working closely with Sally, but after she’d assisted him at one of Soluzione’s most successful spa shows, Sergio was convinced that she was perfect for the position.

“Now I can run everything the way I want to run it!” she smiles. “I love seeing things through from start to finish so it’s perfect for me. A typical day involves managing the sales team and the operations of the company, marketing, ordering products, communicating with vendors, sourcing raw materials for Spa Binge and Y-Spa for Men, two product lines we manufacture here. I’m really involved in production. Wendy and Sergio, the owners of the company, have the final say in products, but they’ll always be interested in my opinion. Sergio will ask me about naming products or putting directions on them. I’m extremely lucky to be able to work very closely with Wendy and Sergio. Regardless of how busy they are, they’ll always take time out of their loaded schedules to talk to the team and see how we’re doing. That means a lot to us because they care.

“I also get to do a lot of travelling for spa shows, trainings and distributor conferences across Canada and the USA, which I love. I’ve travelled to Calgary, Edmonton, many cities on Vancouver Island, Laguna Beach, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Toronto, Winnipeg. Even small cities like Fort St. John and Minett! It’s tiring but fun. I’ve met estheticians from the UK, Sweden, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Thailand and many other countries. It’s so great meeting people who do the same job as you in a different part of the world. The industry has definitely changed and grown since I left Esthetics School. People weren’t worried about parabens eight years ago. Now people are asking for gluten-free products.” 

Her industry has changed, but Sally’s enthusiasm for it remains stronger than ever. She still loves meeting fellow estheticians, sharing new ideas and information. She still embraces the core values, and enjoyment, that come with taking care of people. And she still cherishes returning to the Esthetics School where she trained, providing information and inspiration to the next generation of spa superstars.

“It feels awesome coming to speak about our lines at Blanche Macdonald, knowing I was in the students’ shoes eight years ago. It’s such a satisfying feeling. And it’s great being friends with my previous instructors.” 

Sally’s triumphs are testament to the power of aiming high and working hard. She’s proven what’s possible. And she’s enjoyed every step on the journey.

“I’m doing what I envisioned myself doing,” she smiles. “I know I’ve succeeded in my career.”

There’s a reason Raj Bharti decided to call his Surrey salon EzzCuts.

That’s pronounced ‘easy cuts’ and, as the name suggests, it’s a space where men and women can treat themselves in a fun and informal environment; a salon where Downtown Vancouver styles don’t come with Downtown Vancouver prices.

There’s a gentle irony to the name too. Because getting to a point where Raj could become a successful stylist was far from easy. Although once Raj had decided that Hair was going to be his future career, he was determined to overcome any challenges that came his way.

“I’m from Delhi and my first jobs were in hotel management in Mumbai and Bombay,” explains Raj, who graduated from Canada’s #1 Hair School and is now the Owner and Creative Director at EzzCuts. “Lots of Bollywood stars live there. I would see film stars, TV stars, singers and models, and they all were having pictures taken the whole time. I liked that, and realised that I wanted to work in something creative. I wanted to work with my hands.

“Soon after I came to Canada I decided that I needed to go to Blanche Macdonald. It had everything. There are other schools in Vancouver, but Blanche Macdonald gives you a complete education. They teach you about fashion shows, how to work in media, TV and films. Every hairdresser has dreams, and they’ll teach you to make them possible.”

Raj dream was opening his own salon with his wife Aanchal. Starting Hair School with zero experience and limited English meant turning that aspiration into reality required perseverance and dedication. Luckily, those are two traits Raj has in ample supply.

“When I started at Blanche Macdonald I was really raw,” he admits “I started at Hair School only three or four months after I’d moved to Canada. I didn’t know how to talk to people and I was always quiet in class. There was a lot of theory, and I didn’t understand a word. When I would come home my wife would help me translate every word from my books. That’s what I did for the first few months. Then I got on the floor, and it was awesome.”

Program Director Phil Loiselle remembers just how tough Raj’s first steps into Hair were, and how his student’s work ethic saw success emerge from the struggle.

“Raj was in my office all the time,” explains Phil. “He was having a tough time with the language. It was so difficult for him, especially with colour, which is so technical. That’s when we started meeting a lot, me breaking everything down as well as I could and explaining what we needed from him in return, and his wife began helping him out with translation. Raj is stubborn enough that he saw it through. He’s a very intelligent man, and once he got past that toughest point it seemed to come a bit easier for him. I could see the sparkle in his eye. After that, he just kept going. Once it clicked he did really well. You could see him progressively getting better. By the time we got to the photo shoots, you could see his imagination kicking in.

“He probably put in more time than anyone else in his class. He was here first thing in the morning and he was the last one to leave. Anybody who puts that time and effort into it has the drive to be successful. He had a plan to open up his own business, and he wasn’t going to let anything stop him. You couldn’t help but like the guy. Everybody loved him!”

“I was fed up because it was so hard for me to understand,” confesses Raj. “Phil told me I had to continue and that everyone was going through the same thing. Once we were actually working with clients in the School Salon language wasn’t a problem. I could always explain what I was doing with sign language!”

Raj understood that to make his salon a reality, he needed experience. Once he met Omar Kanani, Managing Director of the Vancouver branch of Toni&Guy, he knew he had found his next home.

“I met Omar when he visited Blanche Macdonald and right then I decided I wanted to work with him at Toni&Guy. I could tell he respected hard work. He started on the floor and now he’s the boss. He told me that when I finished Hair School I should apply for a job at Toni&Guy. I told him my English wasn’t great and I wouldn’t be good talking to clients. He’s such a nice guy. He told me I could start slowly.

“Once I was there I really pushed myself. I was assisting Omar, continuing my education and always watching how he worked. I was studying how he talked with clients and how he managed a salon.”

Raj learnt well. After six months at Toni&Guy he took the plunge, located and leased a space in the Khalsa Business Centre in Surrey (the biggest Indian Outdoor Mall in North America), and opened the doors of EzzCuts. All of a sudden, Raj’s lone weakness – language – became his strength. He’s been busy ever since.

“In the Indian market I don’t have a language problem,” he laughs. “From growing up in Delhi my mother tongue is Hindi but I know how to speak eight languages. Now I can speak the same language as anyone that sits in my chair, which they love! They feel like they’re at home. I started off with about 20 clients, all people I knew, and grew it from there. Within a year we had around 400 clients.

“With Indian clients if you can speak the language, you’re good. But any hair stylist’s business is all about relationships. You have to understand clients’ lives and their problems. You have to know what’s going on in media and movies. I learn a lot from all of my clients: doctors, lawyers, mortgage brokers. I take that knowledge and share it with other clients.”

Business is thriving for Raj. When clients started asking if EzzCuts could provide esthetics and makeup services, Raj saw the potential, created the facilities and hired the staff to make them possible. Now Aanchal is the second member of the family to take the Pro Hair program at Blanche Macdonald, and the husband and wife team are already planning opening a second EzzCuts location soon after she graduates.

“I want to hire Blanche Macdonald students!” insists Raj. “I’m confident that students come out of there perfect. I want to give graduates that chance!”

Raj arrived at Blanche Macdonald with a dream of starting and running his own business. But he also understands that success goes far deeper than dollars and cents. It’s about making a creative difference in clients’ lives.

“Everybody needs to make money,” he explains, “but you have to want to be a good stylist too. Whenever I have a client in my chair I want to make them look like a star. My schooling is good. My work experience is good. And we use high end products here. I have the confidence and clients can feel that. People like what I’m doing, which makes me feel like I have to get more creative with my next style. I’m always on the Internet looking at hair and celebrities and the latest trends.

“I can tell clients like what I’m doing because they keep bringing their friends and relatives,” he smiles. “That’s when I know I’m doing a good job.”

It’s never too late to begin a new career. Julie Brown is proof. She’s one of BC’s most in-demand Bridal Makeup Artists (with a Weddingwire.com Bride’s Choice award to prove it), an IATSE permittee for the film and TV industry, a beauty columnist for Fresh Magazine and an instructor at Canada’s #1 Makeup School, which is exactly where her own makeup journey began.

“I was in my late 30s, working as a flight attendant for Air Canada,” she explains. “I was spending money on makeup like crazy and doing it on friends as a hobby. I was thinking about a career in makeup but felt like I was too old to make a change. I’d thought about going into makeup when I was younger, but I was dissuaded by my parents. It was always something I loved doing. I was fascinated by the transformation process. During my school years I would rip pages out of fashion magazines of makeup, clothes and hairstyles that I loved, and made collages in scrapbooks. I was so surprised when I came to Blanche Macdonald that we were asked to do assignments called photo morgues. That’s what I did when I was younger!

“A friend told me, ‘You’re going to be 38 anyway. Why not be a 38-year-old who’s a professional Makeup Artist?’ I knew Blanche Macdonald’s reputation, so I went on the web site, and saw that I could do the Global Makeup Program Monday through Wednesday or Wednesday through Friday. I could go to school and still fly the other half of the week!”

Arriving at Blanche Macdonald with a determination to carve a new career, Julie was instantly impressed by the instructors she was learning from.

“I loved it! I knew it was going to be career changing, so I treated Makeup School like a job. These wonderful teachers all had industry experience. I knew they had things to teach me and I wasn’t going to waste my time. The quality of the instructors was better than I could have ever expected. When I’m working now I still think, ‘This is a Jon Hennessey technique’ or ‘This is what Jen Powell-Folk told me to do’.”

Julie threw herself into the world of makeup from the beginning, assisting instructors whenever she could, taking retails shifts at Shoppers Drug Mart and seizing every opportunity to work on set for independent productions like The Charlie Da Clown Show, The Dinner Suit and The House, along with TV commercials for brands including Aquafresh and Fisher Price.

“Retail is a great way to hone your skills,” she insists. “Sometimes you’ll want someone to sit in your chair just so you can practice on them. You get access to all the different lines so you learn about products too. I was buying the stuff anyway, so it was good I could do it professionally!

“Being on set was so exciting! Even when I had a newborn baby and had to fly with Air Canada, I’d still volunteer for independent films. Every day I’d be doing different makeups. You might have to do a bullet wound or cuts from glass. When the opportunity to join IATSE arrived, I was able to get in as a permittee.”

A busy career in the movies was on the horizon, but Julie’s business brain had already started searching for new avenues. Once she fully appreciated the creative and financial opportunities in Bridal Makeup, she made a conscious decision to seek out and win clients.

“I saw I could get out there on-line with social media and marketing to create a business for myself. The hours are relatively short compared to TV and film, you get to make someone look absolutely wonderful and happy in a party environment, and it can be lucrative too. It was where I wanted to go.”

She’s been busy ever since. This summer will be the third in a row where every weekend is fully booked. Clients across BC know how good Julie is, which is why she was named the WeddingWire.com Bride’s Choice Winner in the Makeup Artist Category.

“They give out their prizes for a combination of the most reviews and the rating on them. I came top! People were obviously pleased with the work. They liked my attitude and the attitude of the assistants I brought with me.”

Julie’s hectic schedule speaks for the quality of her work. She’s happy to reveal the secrets to her success. In her expert opinion, it’s as much about the approach as it is the application.

“With all areas of makeup, it’s always important have a really good attitude. A Bridal Makeup is collaboration between what the client wants and what I know will look good in photos. It’s the bride’s decision. It’s my job to add my professional expertise.

“People appreciate my flexibility. Even if we need to change location or add someone to the party, I can adapt at the last minute and can make everyone look beautiful and have their makeup last all day. That’s key. It’s one thing to apply a makeup but it needs to last all day and into an evening. Everyone always wants time with the bride, so it’s always a race against the clock. Doing TV and film you learn to be quick, so if one of my assistants is falling behind I’ll step in speed it up. You ride the waves as the day goes by.

“I’d been taught by South Asian Bridal Makeup at School by Farah Hasan. That was an area I wanted to tap into because it gives me more creativity as an artist. As soon as I did some South Asian brides the word of mouth was amazing. I’d do a wedding, a groomsmen or bridesmaid would ask me for my card and boom, I’m in that realm!”

If Julie makes it sound easy, it’s because she’s mastered the relationship between artistry and people skills. That combination led her to be named as an esteemed judge at the Fantasy Makeup Competition at Vancouver’s Asian Expo; and now she’s sharing that expertise in the beauty column she writes for Fresh Magazine and with the students at Blanche Macdonald.

“After graduation I kept in direct contact with Karen Esprez and Jen Powell-Folk and when the time came I was open to teach whatever they would let me go into! Bridal was a natural fit, and so were classes like fundamentals and hair.

“I love seeing student’s skills develop, from the right attitude to the marketing to the artistry; and I love seeing them make the breakthrough when they realise that they can do it. The feedback that I receive from students has been so positive and heartfelt.

“I try to explain that this is where art meets business. Your skill can be amazing, but you have to do the job in the timeframe you have. You need to make clients feel good about themselves; whatever age they might be. If I see standout students with great attitudes and skill sets I’ll get them to assist me when I’m doing weddings.”

It’s only natural that brides from BC and beyond are leaping at the chance to work with Julie. It’s a pleasure for her too.

“When I see the wedding photos or the bride puts her dress on I feel proud of the work I’ve done,” she smiles. “I know that the photos from that day will last forever, and it’s great being a part of that process.”