“We have a hunger of the mind which asks for knowledge of all around us, and the more we gain, the more is our desire; the more we see, the more we are capable of seeing.” – Maria Mitchell, first female Astronomer
As with all of the Stylists at Garnish, we strive to continue to grow, learn and better ourselves in our pursuit of our passion for excellence. Garnish Stylist, Andrayah Ponce recently spent a week in Arizona with an elite group of hair stylists from around the country training with the top educators and stylists for Kevin Murphy. Andrayah was selected from hundreds of applicants to attend this special training after submitting her portfolio and a video showing her “Kevin Murphy Styling Expertise.” We are so proud of Andrayah for traveling so far to educate herself, and for bringing back such amazing information to share with her co-workers and clients, that we asked her to share her experience with all of you. Here is Andrayah’s story –
“Education has always been important to me because it can open so many doors for those willing to work hard for their goals. I’ve always known that I wanted to become an educator even before I joined the beauty industry. My hope is to not only better myself, but empower others and ultimately help elevate the craft of hairdressing.
I was initially drawn to the Kevin.Murphy brand because of its stellar product performance. I also love the editorial style of Kevin.Murphy (Fun fact: Kevin Murphy has been featured on 16 consecutive Vogue covers around the world). But the real reason I fell in love with Kevin.Murphy and chose to audition to become a Gold.Key Educator was because of the company’s proven value of ethical responsibility in the choices that they make.
The entire range consists of PETA Approved Cruelty free products and ingredient sourcing, Natural Ingredients that are sustainable, renewable, and sourced by ecologically sound techniques, a manufacturing plant that literally has a carbon footprint of “0”, and Kevin Murphy works with charitable groups such as the “Culture is Life” Campaign against teen suicide and The Climate Reality Project to raise awareness about climate control. I could rattle on, but the point is… I love Kevin.Murphy and I’m so excited I was invited to join the team.
I spent a week in Phoenix with Tim Abney (Kevin.Murphy Director of Education) and Ali Batista (Kevin.Murphy Session Master) as they taught me and the other Gold.Key Candidates from across North America what it means to represent Kevin.Murphy, the ins-and-out of the brand, and how to style hair the Kevin.Murphy way. I expected to learn the usual; product knowledge, presentation skills, and styling, but what I didn’t expect was the immediate connection I felt to everyone involved. I was sad to leave but I am excited to continue the training process now that I have arrived back home!”
Love, Andrayah
