Eric Wennberg said that he spent half a year preparing and, in keeping with the rules, had completed the hardest part of his task ahead of time.
But the Seattle stylist still added that the toughest feature of the international hair coloring competition in which he recently took part in Paris was the time frame given competitors to prepare their models.
“It was all super quick,” said Wennberg. “They wanted everything to be fast.”
A Bothell native and a member of the Bothell High class of 1997, Wennberg brought home a bronze medal from the Wella International Trend Vision (ITV) 2010 styling competition held in early November.
In what’s touted as the most prestigious hair-coloring competition in the world, Wennberg became only the second American to ever win a medal in the event’s 12-year history.
“Being involved in ITV has really pushed me to grow as an artist and a professional,” said Wennberg, who works at the Coupe Rokei Salon in Seattle.
Wennberg, 31, competed against colorists from 53 countries. He won the right to represent the United States by winning gold at a qualifying competition held in Toronto in October. He got into the Toronto contest by being one of only five contestants picked from approximately 150 entries. Those potential contestants submitted photos of hair-coloring efforts.
“Eric is an amazing talent when it comes to color,” said Rory McGowan, co-owner of Coupe Rokei. While technically McGowan is Wennberg’s boss, she acted as his assistant during the Paris competition.
For the contest, Wennberg said participants had to best represent a trend in hair coloring, picking from among several different possible trends. Wennberg said the trend he chose was blonde hair with pastel colorings.
“It was all about the composition,” Wennberg said of his winning effort. He added that he spent months prior to the Wella contest playing with different colors, or palettes. For the recent competition, Wennberg said he colored model Amanda King’s hair the night before their flight to Paris. Upon arriving overseas, the group had their first night free. The next day was a rehearsal for the competition show and the next day was the show. Wennberg and McGowan were responsible for King’s overall look, including clothes and makeup, not just hair color.
Wennberg spent roughly 10 years as a makeup artist before turning to hair styling four years ago. He joined Coupe Rokei as an apprentice in 2007.
“I wanted to take my creative expression to the next level,” he said.
According to Wennberg, Coupe Rokei puts an emphasis on training and education, something he said he really likes and appreciates. The salon plans a move to a new location next year, as well as becoming even more of an educational operation. Again, Wennberg likes that idea, hoping to move into educating and mentoring other stylists.
“It’s exactly what I wanted, so it’s all working out great,” he said.
