We’ve been celebrating Hair Festival for almost two weeks since we all reconnected over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, delving deep into the MarketPlace, REALTalk, Education Sessions, Wonderland Party, competitions and so much more, and now we want to hear from the attendees themselves. We passed the microphone to some of the guests, industry leaders, educators and exhibitors to see what they had to say about the weekend of hair.
Simone Aberon, Apotecari
For us at Apotecari, Hair Festival was an incredible opportunity to catch up with our salon partners and friends that we’ve missed seeing physically for far too long, as well as meeting like-minded hair professionals who we hadn’t yet had the pleasure of meeting. The highlight for us was the sheer excitement in the air, everyone we spoke to were as thrilled to be there as we were. Our most sincere congratulations to the team that brought Hair Festival to life; it was an incredible achievement to create such a well organised event, one that truly put the experience of attendees first. We can’t wait for the next Hair Festival!
Pete Walstab, Excellent Edges
Andy Warhol once said, “the idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting”. Never a truer statement has been spoken and that is exactly what happened at Hair Festival. It was so worth the wait and great to hang out with our industry peers after such a long time. Great education, the MarketPlace was full of life and, most importantly, there were great parties. I’m still recovering from Wonderland. Bring on 2023’s event.
Tom Donato, Xiang Hair
It was so great to catch up with so many industry friends over the weekend of Hair Festival. I loved being part of the much-anticipated revival of our industry trade show. Thank you to all involved and see you next year.
Tracey Bazzano Lauretta, EVY PROFESSIONAL
What were we expecting for Hair Festival? We had no idea. What we got was the most amazing night above and beyond any expectation, catching up with colleagues and friends that have shared each other’s journeys, when we have not seen each other for three years. This is how the hair industry does it, with no competition, no competitiveness on these nights. Inspiring and inspirational, motivating and motivated, this is the crowd. It was so great to see everybody’s friends and new friends, and to share journeys and stories and even at three in the morning we can still give guidance. To the team, congratulations to you all on a most fabulous night and even keeping the super cold weather at bay! Great people, food, dancing and music – total vibe!
Amadou Doumbia, Wuli Grooming
I thought the MarketPlace was exceptional, for me, as a new brand that launched six months ago, it was a wonderful opportunity to really expose myself to the hair industry and understand what salons and hairdressers are looking for and how they operate,” shared. I went in there with the perception that it would be more of a trade environment. Yes, I made sales, but I gained more in terms of education and knowledge of how hairdressers operate. One of the biggest advantages was that I ended up learning more about working with hairdressers in two days than I could have ever imagined, it would have otherwise taken me probably me weeks if not months to gather the same level of intel. In addition to that, I did come away from it gaining some great contacts in the retail and distribution channels of haircare products, who I’m now in conversations with to further my brand.
Sharlene Lee – Circles of Hair
Hair Festival was the best weekend we’ve had in hairdressing for a long time. The energy and the opportunity to see everyone was the boost we all needed. And Wonderland, wow what a party! REALTalk is the best business content for what we need as salons today. The panels and ability to share ideas is one of my greatest passions.
Irene Manyk, Base Hair Extensions
If you want to change the direction of your business in two days, then secure a spot at Hair Festival 2023 now. Hair Festival has given our business so many opportunities from new business to game changing industry contacts. If you are a new business or an established business in the hair industry and you are not considering exhibiting at Hair Festival, there is an issue. We can’t wait for 2023.
For more information visit www.hairfestival.com.au
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