Southern Hospitality and The Bronner Brothers Hair Show

Happy New Year!!! Yes its March and I'm saying Happy New Year, better late than never. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year. So what is new? My brother got married in February, all my siblings are married *sobs* I guess it is me next!! That is me below wearing my aso ebi ( the literal meaning of "Aso ebi" is "Family Cloth", where family members/friends of the bride and groom wear similar outfits). I love this French lace, not so much the velvet and although there was a mishap with the lace, I'll definitely rework this blouse and wear it to another occasion with a wrapper. If you are based in London, and you need a tailor, call Rosemary 07984093205, she can retrieve anything from the jaws of destruction, there was hardly any fabric to work with after the mishap and she still managed to produce this. I had unraveled my belt after eating and dancing.

My 5 year old niece asked me later on, "Aunty why did you wear a ripped top to the wedding" I laughed, the design was supposed to be  inspired by Stephen Khalil.

 If you follow me on Instagram you will know that I went to the Bronner Brothers Hair Show in Atlanta. Every time I visit southern States in America, I am overwhelmed at how polite and helpful people are. Growing up in London, on the way to school, work or Tesco, as soon as I step out of the house the only person I spoke to was my next door neighbour. On the Underground you either have a book to read, you listen to music, or the last option if you have neither of the two would be to stare into space. You can do anything on the London Underground apart from make eye contact or physical contact with other commuters. In the southern States, people greet each other, stand up when a lady or elderly person needs to sit down, they assist with your luggage, stop you on the street to tell you how beautiful you are, and whilst paying for items, the cashier asked me if I need help to count my money ( I really need to learn how to recognise each coin in American currency)...maybe I need to move to America altogether.

Bronner Brother Show

 So I spent a day with Terrence Davidson . Yes that is right, only the man behind the tresses of many celebrities including Patti LaBelle, Jennifer Hudson, Tamar Braxton ( I love that song "Love and War"), Tyra Banks, Sharon Osbourne and many more. Terrence has also worked on "Good Morning America" (the equivalent to "Day Break" and "Good Morning" on ITV in the UK) Glamour Magazine, the CBS network....the list is non-exhaustive.

Jennifer Hudson, Oscar Winner and Finalist on American Idol Season 3

I'm not a fan of lace wigs, but Jennifer Hudson wears lace wigs well

Sharon Osbourne 25th Richest Woman in Britain in 2009 (Sunday Times Richlist) 

I love the plum colour that Sharon wears nowadays, its much softer than the shade of red she had during the reality show "The Osbournes"

Patti LaBelle Grammy Award Winner, NAACP award winner, inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame

I need to look this good at 70

So where was I? Back to the day I spent with Terrence Davidson 

Myself and Terrence just before judging a Hair Competition

Not quite sure what happened in the first picture, they were supposed to be air kisses

I remember when the artist Nicki Minaj made her debut on the rap music scene, although I did not listen to her music, but, I was curious about the stylist behind her infamous wigs.

The precision with which they were created, the strategic positioning of colour placed in each wig. I knew from my years of experience with hair, that those wigs required a certain level of craftsmanship and were painstakingly created. So when the opportunity arose to spend one day out of the three day long hair show with Terrence, I couldn't say no. I have to say Terrence is a humble and kind person, and at one point he literally had to hold on to me to ensure I didn't get lost at the event, with the amount of people at the hair show.

On the Sunday, during the Bronner Brothers hairshow, we participated in a "Meet and Greet" alongside Derek J (from the Real Housewives of Atlanta) with Black Hair Sophisticate magazine readers. Next up were interviews, then we moved on to speak to stylists participating in the Bronner Brothers Fantasy Hair Battle. I honestly did not know how serious the story behind the lawsuit between Terrence and Nicki Minaj, as someone who keeps abreast of current developments in the industry and a hair fanatic, I had heard about it. By the time I had arrived in Atlanta it was all over the news. Terrence had created a lot of wigs for Nicki Miniaj and as everyone knows, as a musician your image is a deal breaker, it may not appeal to everyone but it will definitely set you apart from your competitors in the music industry.

During the Meet and Greet with Black Hair Sophisticate Magazine

I wish I had taken a picture of Derek J's shoes from a better angle, homeboy was wearing 5 inch cut out leather wedges with a perspex heel

Just before the judging of the Fantasy Hair battle took place, aspiring "Celebrity stylists" sat and listened intently as Terrence gave a moving speech, he spoke about spending hours in hotel rooms till 3am, whilst others slept creating these amazing wigs for special appearances, interviews, concerts and music videos, but as an artist who desired to be successful, he did not have a copyright on his creations. In my opinion, as a creative, you can never dwell on the same creation, and you have the ability to produce a wealth of artwork that will inspire others. Each wig he created was different to the last one, and his wig construction is impeccable. Yes, you may be motivated, push boundaries, be influential and innovative, but as an artist you must to have your legal work together, put your stamp on what is yours, copyright what you create, watermark your work, sign and date your creations, and do not allow others to take advantage or capitalise on your handiwork. Check out Peniel Enchill, she is a fashion illustrator ( I am huge fan) she signs every single illustration. As Terrence spoke about his journey so far, it moved me to tears and I found the ladies beside me felt the same way.

A group of us spent the rest of the day walking around the Georgia World Conference Centre  where the how was held, with over 300 exhibits on the day. I had been waiting to attend this show for almost a year, as this was all new to me, I kept stopping to stare at things like this below.

Incase you did not know I am from North West London, where you do not see hair shows like this ever. Every so often, someone from the group would ask "Where is London?" Yes London being me, because they kept losing me among the sea of people at the show. The funny thing is I never lost sight of the group, you know why? 

Because of this

My dear Preshaylyn created this look on herself, yes another pround memeber of team #Idomyhairmyself, it was a God send, even at 20 feet away I never lost sight of the group and managed to catch up with them.

I stopped to eat a late lunch of Soul Food. This is a huge part of  the dining experience in the South, but seriously it is quite worrying how inexpensive it is, to dine out in America, even the Michellin starred restaurants in America do not compare with those in England and France. So guess who sat next to me to eat a burger, only Joe Dudley, the CEO of Dudley Products Inc. Who watched "Good Hair" by Chris Rock? Dudley Products Inc is one the biggest manufacturers and distributors of cosmetics for the African-American community, the company was featured in the Chris Rock's documentary about the African-American hair industry . Mr Dudley is more or less an institution and has his own cosmetology school where he has trained over 30,000 stylists. As we sat down to eat, Joe Dudley asked others around the table where they were from, finally he introduced himself as Joe Dudley, I sat in disbelief and asked him to hurry up and eat his burger and prove that he really is Joe Dudley and to take me to his booth. 

 Yes that is him signing his book for me, he gave me over $200 worth of his products including books and DVDs for free!!

 That is his medal from the Horatio Alger Association

 Bryce Herron (Master Cosmetologist) at Shear Genius studios in Atlanta, was on hand to give demonstrations using Dudley products. His work is amazing, sometimes less is more when it comes to hair artistry.

 On my way out of the Bronner Bros show, someone asked where I got my jacket from (Thanks to the girls at Virgos Lounge) and it was only the awesome stylist Angela Christine from the hit television show LA Hair based in Kim Kimble's salon.

Angela Christine and myself, left my hair to run wild and minimal make up

What an awesome weekend in Atlanta, I left inspired, with new techniques and methods from the many classes and demonstrations. So on my way back to New York I bumped into Isis from Hype Hair Magazine at the airport in Atlanta.

How cool is her hair??

 Its similar to the look I created for my cousin's wedding

Except Isis' bun is partly braided, and has a combination of colour 33, colour 2 and colour 4 (various shades of brown and purple.

This post is dedicated to my best friend in America, thank you.

For bridal hair/ hair appointments and consultations, in the UK call 07949507271 or in the US 9738141199

Till next time my loves,

Opeyemi x