Sola Sessions Recap
Let’s talk about what happened at Sola Sessions Reimagined in Denver last month! You guys were probably wondering what that was all about, and I’ll be honest, I was, too! When I was chosen as one of the 2021 Faces of Sola, I didn’t know what to expect, but they blew me away at every turn!
Just to catch you all up, I was nominated this summer to be one of the Faces of Sola. I really had no idea what it was all about, but I DID know it’s a huge honor even to be nominated! I filled out a super detailed application not really expecting anything, but Sola chose my application out of 17,000 stylists in North America. I am the ONLY Colorado stylist — actually the first stylist from Colorado in awhile! I knew there were going to be some really cool opportunities coming up, but I still wasn’t quite sure what to expect!
For Sola Sessions Reimagined in September, all of the Faces of Sola from across the US and Canada came to Denver. We stayed at the Source Hotel downtown in RiNo. The Source is a gorgeous modern hotel with so many bars and restaurants inside. They were so good to all of us!
On the first night, we met for a welcome dinner at this amazing Mexican restaurant. We all introduced ourselves and enjoyed some cocktails. It was so fun to network and chat with other stylists from all over the continent! We got to meet Jenny & Angela who run the show, and they were super welcoming and made us all feel so comfortable right away.
Monday was our first big day of activities starting with the live stream of Sola Sessions! Usually the Sola Sessions are an in-person hair show with platform artists, marketing experts, and more. This year it was live-streamed, so we had a camera crew capturing our reactions all day! We all really felt like we were on a reality show. Funny enough, I knew the girl who was running the production team, so that made it even more fun!
We got to watch the Sola Sessions from this really cool vacant building that Sola decorated and spruced up for our viewing party. It was so pretty! You guys may have seen my photo on a wall on Instagram which made me feel like a rockstar!
That night, we went to this really neat event space called Realm for storytelling night. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do! We all sat in a circle and took the “hot seat” one at a time to tell our stories while being filmed by the camera crew. It’s SO hard to talk about yourself, right? I kind of blacked out! But honestly, whenever I’m being challenged like that, I know I’m growing and it’s only going to get easier!
The next day, Sola chose two out of four different actives for everyone. You got to do video, a photoshoot, a podcast recording, or Sola Cares. I did video and photoshoot, but I definitely want to do a Sola Cares program in the future! They went to a women’s shelter to cut their hair and love on all the ladies — it was really special!
The photoshoot was super fun, and when you weren’t shooting, there was a confessional. You went into a little room with just you, a camera, and a guy asking more tough questions. Guys, this is the closest I’ll ever get to being on the Bachelor! It was surreal!
I want to give a huge shoutout to Emma from POSH PR® who hooked me up with so many fun pieces from her clothing brand, Evolve. The purple romper she picked for me was such a hit, and I have to be honest . . . being styled by a pro for something like this was such a weight off my mind!
That evening, we went out to a rooftop bar and had the best time making new friends and learning more about each other. We talked a lot about mental health and really pushed each other out of our comfort zones. I think when you live somewhere like Parker or anywhere really, you get into this little bubble of your everyday life. Meeting new people and creating bonds like this was such a special way of getting out of those comfort zones.
One of the most special things was getting to meet Sola’s CEO, Christina. She chatted with us for over an hour to hear our feedback on Sola. It was so cool to have a huge corporation’s CEO listen to us and be so personable and invested in what we had to say. I think we all felt really heard and some cool changes are coming!
Again, I’m so proud and grateful to Sola for choosing me as one of the 2021 Faces of Sola. I cannot wait for the next one! There are a ton of opportunities coming up, and I’m going to take them all!
If you want to know more about Sola or Sola Sessions, just send me a DM! I’m an open book and really excited to share more about this awesome organization.