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Cause for celebration as a member of Brighton hairdressing team is nominated for national award

The Trevor Sorbie salon in Brighton is celebrating as one of its top stylists has been recognised by the prestigious British Hairdressing Awards for her outstanding work.

Photography by kerbe.co.uk

Creative Stylist Anna Chapman has been nominated as ‘Newcomer of the Year’ in the 2007 Awards. The team from Trevor Sorbie Brighton will be at the gala awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel to cheer Anna on as the winners are announced. Salon Director Kate Wilson said: “Both Trevor and I believe Anna has a very high chance of winning the award. Her work is original and creative, but most importantly the styles she has created are stunningly beautiful.”

The British Hairdressing Awards are the most prestigious awards in the industry.

Hairdressers from across the UK vie for awards in categories such as ‘Newcomer of the Year’ and ‘Hairdresser of the Year’. Alison Jameson of The British Hairdressing Awards said:
“Newcomer of the Year is one of the largest categories with entries coming from all over the UK. To be nominated as one of only five national finalists in this category was an amazing achievement for Anna.”

Photography by kerbe.co.uk

Trevor Sorbie is no stranger to the Awards having won more than its fair share of Awards in the past. Trevor himself won the ‘Hairdresser of the Year’ Award an unrivalled four times, while the company has won the ‘Artistic Team’ Award for the past two years. In 2007 the Trevor Sorbie team are finalists in four categories: Angelo Seminara who works out of the Covent Garden salon, but oversees training for Brighton, has been nominated as both ‘British Hairdresser of the Year’ and ‘London Hairdresser of the Year’. With nominations in both the ‘Artistic Team’ and ‘Best Newcomer’ categories, 2007 looks like being a bumper awards year for the Trevor Sorbie team.

Trevor Sorbie Brighton is proud that an original member of the Brighton team has received a nomination. “It’s fantastic that after only four years in business, a home-grown member of our team has received a nomination” said Salon Director Kate Wilson. “Anna trained with us when we first opened and has since become one of the salon’s most popular stylists. With this nomination, people in Brighton will now be able to have their hair styled locally by a nationally recognised talent.”

Photography by kerbe.co.uk

And what does the girl herself think? “I’d always wanted to enter the Awards” said Anna. “It’s the biggest competition in hairdressing… you can’t get any better.” To secure her nomination Anna produced a ‘collection’ featuring her unique and beautiful hair designs. “I thought about every detail – from the hair styles, the models, lighting, design. I tried to create pictures which were simple and beautiful, which focused the attention on the hair.” When asked how her ‘collection’ differed from the work she did in the salon she said:
“My main focus in the salon is to really listen to what the clients want, then create styles which are going to be beautiful.”

If you would like to arrange an appointment with Anna please call the Brighton salon on 01273 220007

The little black dress is celebrated in an exhibition at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery

It is nearly that time to don your best party dress for the season – the most popular still being the classic little black dress. If you are short of inspiration then you’d better get along to the Brighton Museum from the 1 December as it will be hosting an exhibition – Little Black Dress – solely dedicated to the LBD. The exhibition has been curated by top fashion designer and Brighton resident Andrew Fionda (his label being Pearce Il Fionda). Featured exhibits are a full-length sequined evening dress worn by US jazz singer and Broadway star Adelaide Hall on her 1931 world tour, a gown by Julien Macdonald worn by Victoria Beckham, a Ben Di Lisi full-length number worn by Kate Winslet at the premiere of her film Little Children. Hove resident Zoë Ball has even lent the exhibition the dress she wore for her birthday party this year. LBD opens to the public on 1 December at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery and runs until next June.

Possible KO for Eubank

A warrant was issued last week for the arrest of Brighton favourite boxing champion, Chris Eubank. The flamboyant Hove resident who staged an anti-war protest outside Downing Street in May this year,failed to turn up for his trial last week. The Westminster judge issued the warrant and ordered him to pay a £500 fine plus £360 costs. Come on Chris – pay up. We don’t want you behind bars.

Oliver accident is almost pasta joke

Jamie Oliver’s new venture almost came a cropper. The building in Black Lion Street, Brighton, where the pukka chef is due to open his new restaurant, nearly went up in smoke last week. The restaurant, which will be called Pukka Pasta, is due to open next summer – let’s hope char-grilled veggies are not on the menu!

Brighton designer in TV makeover show

Brighton-based interior designer, Kathryn Rayward is appearing ITV’s popular daytime show, 60 Minute Makeover. Kathryn has the duty ofredesigning a house in just one hour, which we think can’t be an easy task. The next show is on Thursday 29 November, ITV1 at 2pm.

Jo Brooks is director of Brighton-based PR company JBPR Ltd
01273 622555, www.jb-pr.com

This week Katie outlines her problems with Brighton’s cannabis culture

If Brighton ever wanted to develop a signature scent to promote the city, perfume designers wouldn’t have to go far for olfactory inspiration.

While bottled Eau de London should (in the words of perfume PR-speak) feature top notes of booze undercut by the reek of sweat and ambition, Parfum De Brighton would mainly smell like someone smoking a really, really big joint.

“Skunk-fanciers routinely fail to get anything useful done”

As Skint Records’ head honcho Damian Harris memorably noted back in the 90s, Brighton is a smoker’s city. Whether you blame the students, the clubbers, or the nice way the sea looks to someone sat stoned on the beach, the fact is that Brighton just loves to skin up. A pair of undercover narcs, teleported in from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, would have a field day ticking off their ‘dangerous substances’ checklist.

“Massive array of dopesmoking paraphernalia openly for sale, mostly incorporating dubious Rasta imagery?”

That’s affirmative.

“Shops not opening until the crack of noon?”

Correct, sir.

“Over abundance of Bob Marley posters?”

I’ll prepare the warrants, our work here is done.

All of which is fine by me. I’d much rather have the population stoned and somnambulant than drunk, angry and attacking each other with Magners bottles. But, in among all of this happy toking there are aspects of the local dope culture which I just can’t stand.

My problem starts when the pro-pot lobby puts down the Rizlas and attempts to get political. Why, in an age when campaigners are actively trying to Drop the Debt and Make Trade Fair should I expend precious time and energy trying to (ahem) Free the Weed? Free it from who exactly – joint-hogging drug bores banging on about the inner intricacies of A Clockwork Orange?

In reality the laws on dope smoking are some of the most cunning in this county’s (admittedly pretty dreadful) legal repertoire. Keeping dope illegal makes it all the more attractive to middle-class teenagers looking to rebel against their parents. So, students get to feel all rebellious with a sixteenth stashed next to their copies of Razzle, while the Powers That Be are safe in the knowledge that the nation’s youth aren’t going to be dabbling with anything harder before they’ve finished their GCSEs.

My second problem is that skunk-fanciers routinely fail to get anything useful done. Brighton is a fantastic location to buy kitschy knick-knacks, drink and watch the sun set. Yet, it’s truly the worst place in the world to say, start a magazine, get a political movement going or make a film. Sure, there’s plenty of smoky chat about Brighton film-makers, authors and artists. But anyone who really wants to make a mark on the real world still has to straighten out and take that train to London at least some of the time.

Why do you think that Brighton has no real famous bands to speak of? Between the beach, the dealers and the bars there’s too much opportunity to talk up a record rather than actually knuckle down and make it.

And, while I’m not suggesting that the council ever comes within a whiff of sensimilla (God forbid), you have to admit that their most recent proposals have a certain stoner’s logic. Sensiblehouse prices and better schools? Nah, sorry mate. They’re too busy building wobbly towers over the King Alfred’s Leisure Centre and wondering if they can get a Krispy Kreme franchise sorted while they’re at it.

Still, it would be a shame if Brighton was ever to lose its comforting hippy-dippy haze. Without perma-stoned students and bong-buying foreign exchange types The Lanes’ thriving tie-dye stores would close, immediately wiping out half of the city’s economy. And, to be honest, maybe it would be better for the general ambience if someone could finally get to build an Amsterdam-style coffee shop rather than just another boring Costa’s clone.

Hidden gem of a dressmaker in the heart of Brighton

Suzie Turner has been designing, fitting and cutting clothes for her clients for the past 15 years. Her studio and shop are tucked away in Queen Square by the Clocktower and is a perfect retreat from the hectic crowds of Christmas shoppers. The intimate sofas surrounded by racks of beautiful clothes seem so exclusive that you’ll feel like you’re the first person to discover the talents of her team!

You’d be best to leave your man in a pub unless he enjoys watching you parade in stunning gowns – you’ll not come out of this Aladdin’s cave before you’ve tried on at least four and imagined your fabulous entrance to this season’s parties! Dresses are available for hire from as little as £50 and Suzie’s signature range and made to measure service will give you ideas for events in the future.

Designers include Jovani, Serenade, Patrick Casey and Suzie Turner Couture. If you don’t find the perfect dress to hire, you can leave with a sketch of your dream outfit and a detailed quote – this is when you may need to bring your man back from the pub and fire his imagination with some of the sequins and glamour Suzie provides…

Suzie specialises in wedding dresses, corsetry, beadwork and tailoring. Her pieces are worn by barristers, brides, actresses and models such as Kelly Brook, and those people who turn heads in the street because of their love for fine detail.

Suzie, born and bred in Brighton, first became interested in making clothes when she realised the cut and colour of her school uniform didn’t suit her. She left full-time education when she was 15 and trained with a pattern cutter, deconstructing antique couture garments and building up her own made to measure reputation.

She believes passionately in continuing the traditional skills of handmade couture, teaching new blood and keeping clothes manufacture in the UK thriving.

She still fits and cuts patterns personally and her team assist with beadwork, samples and front of house. Every piece is made onsite in the Brighton premises but they travel all over the world – Geneva, LA, Mexico, Tokyo…

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Suzie Turner, 12 Queen Square, Brighton
Tel 01273 735599
www.suzieturner.co.uk