Students from All 100 Paul Mitchell Schools Attend Caper 2013

Tabatha Coffey, Kathy Buckley, Vivienne Mackinder, and Sundance Channel’s Push Girls Appear at Paul Mitchell Schools’ 28^th Las Vegas Caper

Your first date, your first kiss, and—for beauty industry professionals—attending your first hair show are usually some of your favorite memories. For 3,000 Paul Mitchell future beauty professionals, that moment happened January 22–23 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, at the Paul Mitchell Schools’ 28^th annual Caper event.

“When I opened my first cosmetology school in 1985, I knew that attending their first hair show could set the standard for cosmetology students and create a passion for lifelong learning,” said Paul Mitchell Schools Dean and Cofounder Winn Claybaugh.

“That first year, we piled nine kids into a van and drove them to the Long Beach Hair Show. We named our adventure ‘Caper,’ after The Great Muppet Caper, and each year it got bigger and better. Eventually we started creating our own event, with an emphasis on education, motivation, and insanely high standards. We even provide a way for the students to earn the trip to their smoke-free, alcohol-free, hands-on educational extravaganza. They will attend hair shows for the rest of their careers; I wanted this yearly event to absolutely include the fun and excitement of hair and makeup, but more important, to include inspiration and be a truly life-changing event, which, by the way, we’ve heard from our students year after year.”

Caper 2013 featured a superstar lineup including Bravo TV’s Tabatha Coffey, comedian and inspirational speaker Kathy Buckley, and Sundance Channel’s Push Girls, along with stage presentations by renowned artists and educators in and outside the Paul Mitchell galaxy, including 5-time NAHA winner Vivienne Mackinder and 7-time Stylists Choice Awards Platform Artist of the Year Robert Cromeans. Winn’s presentation on the Paul Mitchell Schools 2013 FUNraising Campaign included special messages from Betty White, Magic Johnson, Fran Drescher, Gary Sinise, Larry King, Leeza Gibbons, and others.

Streaming into Las Vegas on Monday, students picked up their swag bags, shopped at the Caper Mall, and headed for the Career Connection to drop off résumés and meet representatives from major salon chains. In the Love, Peace, and Happiness Lounge, they shot pool, played pinball, took mini classes, and connected with old and new friends.

Tuesday morning, eager Future Professionals started lining up for general session five hours ahead of time, to grab great seats when the doors opened. While waiting, they watched thousands of tweets from a live Twitter feed (over 4,200 to #pmcaper), and then it was show time! First up: a high-energy hip-hop crew showcasing Paul Mitchell sports marketing. Then Paul Mitchell Co-founder and CEO John Paul DeJoria, Co-owner Angus Mitchell, Global Artistic Director Robert Cromeans, and Winn Claybaugh extended a warm welcome, followed by five breathtaking fashion presentations.

Under the direction of school owner, salon owner, and Paul Mitchell international educator Rosie Matos, the Caper student Design Team did all the hair, makeup, and modeling for the Curls and MITCH segments, and they modeled in Vivienne Mackinder’s exquisite presentation. Led by overall show coordinator Brennan Claybaugh, Director of Education for Paul Mitchell Schools and Advanced Academy, the Color, Cutting, and Look and Learn segments featured Paul Mitchell artists, educators, artistic directors, and Advanced Academy members, who provided a sneak peak at what they would teach in the next day’s hands-on classes.

The afternoon brought cheers, tears, and a range of emotions as the wheelchair-bound Push Girls – Auti Angel, Angela Rockwood, Tiphany Adams, and Mia Schaikewitz – and deaf comedian / inspirational speaker Kathy Buckley shared their riveting triumph-to-tragedy stories and strong message of “If I can do it, so can you.”

Tabatha Coffey walked onstage to a deafening standing ovation that started before her name was announced. Tabatha shared her passion for the industry and answered questions ranging from “Where do you find inspiration?” to “Who styles your hair?”

Day one ended with a traditional Paul Mitchell White Party, delicious desserts, dancing that made the floor vibrate, and a big screen showing some of the 5,000 Caper images posted to Instagram. A highlight of the party were the “photo ops” with Caper’s leaders, artists, and educators – including John Paul DeJoria, Angus Mitchell, Winn Claybaugh, and Paul Mitchell Artistic Directors Robert Cromeans, Stephanie Kocielski, Scott Cole, and Linda Yodice – who happily stood for almost two hours to make sure that all 3,000 attendees had the chance to take photos with them.

Day two featured hands-on classroom rotations led by the artists and educators from the first day’s shows. Cosmetology students rotated through three 2-hour classes (Cutting, Color, Look and Learn), while skin care students spent their day in Hands-On Makeup. The day concluded with a grand finale featuring the show teams from A Robert Cromeans Salon, Kelly Cardenas Salons, Lunatic Fringe, and Sport Clips.

ABOUT PAUL MITCHELL SCHOOLS

At Paul Mitchell Schools, we believe that education is an adventure and the learning experience needs to be fun. Our instructors—we call them “learning leaders”—are trained to draw out the artist in every student and prepare them to compete in the real world. Through our annual “FUNraising” campaign, we’ve raised and donated millions of dollars in support of many charitable causes. We’ve built homes with Habitat for Humanity, fed thousands of African orphans, and supported the victims of AIDS, breast cancer, homelessness, abuse, and hundreds of other causes.

Established 30 years ago, the Paul Mitchell network is nearly 100,000 salons strong and in 81 countries worldwide; every professional hairdresser knows the Paul Mitchell name. Now, with over 100 Paul Mitchell Schools across America, we’ve taken the world of cosmetology education by storm!Visit www.paulmitchell.eduand www.paulmitchellschoolsfunraising.orgto learn more.

RELATED LINKS

Paul Mitchell Schools Launch Caper 2013
http://paulmitchell.edu/photo-gallery/album/?albumid=4370