All Together Now – how team environments can help boost your freelance profile

by Deborah Murtha | Mar 8, 2022 | Self Employment, SELF/STYLED Business, SELF/STYLED SUNDAYS

There’s no need to see yourself as a lone wolf when you work as a freelance hairdresser.

For our SELF/STYLED Sunday event on 3 April, we’ve invited some incredible artists to our Panel Talk at 11.45am, to discuss how they have built successful solo careers by working in team environments. Covering everything from fashion to film, we’ll be talking about how a bit of teamwork can make your solo career dream work.

Fae Hammond

Fae is an Emmy-winning hair and make-up designer for film and TV, whose work you will certainly recognise. She has designed characters and over-arching looks for huge film projects, including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Legend of Tarzan, Rush, Kick-Ass and Stardust. Whether she’s instilling period elements with a twist, or building new characters from the ground up, Fae’s work was a crucial element to the look and feel of each project.

Now retired to the sunny climes of Italy, she’ll be taking us through her experiences, climbing the ranks on major film and TV sets, and how crucial teamwork was to her successful career.

Dionne Smith

There’s not much that Dionne Smith hasn’t turned her hand to. She’s the choice of stylist for huge celebrities including Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock (creating that buzzed-about pregnancy reveal look, no less), Regina King, Venus Williams and Bridgerton’s Golda Rosheuvel. She’s also an educator and mentor, has released her own line of hair tools and Ebony Doll heads for practicing textured hair skills, and she is Cantu’s natural hair expert.

@dionnesmithofficial

@leighannepinnock

Her work has been seen on red carpets, catwalks and front covers -– and she’ll be the first to tell you that to get to this point in her career, teamwork is essential.

@dionnesmithofficial

@dionnesmithofficial

Craig Chapman

Craig’s belief in the importance of teamwork led him to found the Hairdotcom Art Team. The unique art team features hairstylists from across the world, unrestricted by things like brand affiliation, who are led by the core values of well-being and collaboration to deliver the highest standards in their work.

@hairdotcomartteam

@thevoiceUK

@hairdotcomartteam

Initially founded by Craig in 2010, with the aim of offering opportunities for salon-based creatives the chance to step out of the salon and work on one-off jobs, Hairdotcom quickly established itself as the Art Team of choice for huge productions such as The Voice UK, The Emmys, Cannes Film Festival, Broadway, The Brit Awards and more.

Valerie Benavides

Valerie has been Sam McKnight’s right hand woman for years, jetting across the world for fashion shows and shoots with some of the biggest names and brands in the fashion world. She’s known for staying cool, calm and collected, no matter what chaos swirls around her, and for zeroing in on all of the key details to ensure each job flows smoothly.

@hairbysammcknight

@pincurlsandpaint

As anyone who has worked in fashion will tell you, it’s absolutely a team sport. Valerie will be sharing her insight into how her own career has developed while also being a part of the wider #TeamMcKnight.