Williamette Week Story on Phagans' Model Behavior 09 Shoot

We just found out today that there was a story in a local publication about our recent shoot with Phagans'...

You can read a bit of it here -

It feels like America’s Next Top Model in here!” remarked Samantha Borenheim, Director of Admissions for Phagans’ School of Hair Design. And her statement couldn’t have been more accurate. I half-expected Tyra Banks to jump out from behind the white screen and tell me I was eliminated. The room buzzed with activity as five people descended upon one professional model, each armed with hairspray bottles, combs or makeup palates. Once the shirt was rolled and scrunched to the photographer’s liking, the digital photos flashed quickly on a huge television screen along the far wall. The sounds of students talking and instructors introducing themselves fell and it was as though the entire room was waiting in hushed anticipation. Finally, after so much head-shaking that a person with an inner ear problem would have passed out, the model and the camera connected. There was a collective round of “ooh” and “ahh,” followed by a female student yelling, “It’s all lips, hair, and boobs!” Now I’m no expert, but that photo was freakin’ hot.

Only slightly more exciting than the shoot itself was being in the presence of so many passionate people. Dylan Welch, former owner of Toni and Guy, served as the art director for the shoot and was the impetus behind the event. Welch told me about initially approaching Phagans’ president and owner Barbara Climaldi with the idea: “Barb, what would you think about some photos for these walls?” From there, the photo shoot idea blossomed into a way to market the school to the general public and develop some promotional materials for the school’s admissions department to use. “The public doesn’t know we’re here for those services. And there are some really talented kids here!” Welch says of acclimating Portland’s population to the notion of getting their hair and nails done at Phagans. As far as chosen photographer Chad Boutin was concerned, both his appearance (sporting a NY Islanders jersey, jeans, and white sneakers) and his myspace motto (“life ain’t nuthin but bitches and money…”) made him seem much younger than his 40 years. But his portfolio firmly secures his spot in the world of highly experienced and envied photographers, having graced the pages of Vogue at one point. Boutin was joined by photographer Burk Jackson, whose clients include Lucky Magazine and Diesel Footwear. Jackson wasted no time in telling me about the difficulties of finding hair models because usually models don’t want to make any changes to their physical appearance once their comp card has been created. I had no idea what a comp card was, but his expertise was impressive, if not familiar.


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