Joining Forces
“I believe that no matter how happy you are with your life, nothing stays the same,” says Detra Smith, owner of Hannah and Me salon and Association of Independent Artists (AIA) Senior Team member. “Three years ago, a new passion began to sitr in my heart: I wanted to take my career outside of the salon, do photo shoots and hair for New York Fashion Week, and become more involved with product companies. Did I want to leave Moulton and my salon? Heavens, no. Did I yearn to also feel the synergy of a dynamic team? Absolutely.
“I contacted Patrick McIvor and asked him how I could join a styling team for New York Fashion Week (NYFW). He suggested that I start working toward my goal by becoming involved in smaller fashion events. Soon afterward, I discovered that the AIA—an organization that I wasn’t aware of—was holding stylist auditions for the new Birmingham Fashion Week (BFW). I couldn’t believe my luck. I drove 2½ hours to audition and was accepted as part of the Senior Team.
“Since then, my career has been going full tilt. I frequently collaborate with Jeremy Stephens and our team on ways to grow our association. I’ve also reignited my relationship with Matrix. For BFW fall/winter 2013, I was blown away when the Matrix Spread the Love Tour put my little salon on their itinerary and participated in mentoring beauty school students who were doing hair for the BFW emerging designers.
“My involvement with AIA has also inspired me to return to the photo studio, both for myself and as a team member. This past fall I looked back at the body of work I had produced in the late ’80s and spent weeks on making it relevant for today. The resulting photo collection—Crimped Cantata—was featured in HOT magazine in January 2013. That exposure led to an incredible relationship with Hot Tools after Terri Taricco, VP of Marketing and HOT Advisor, saw my work and reached out to me. I’m thrilled to say that I’m now the Artistic Director for Hot Tools, which involves creating images for ads and marketing materials, doing technicals and much more.”