Fall 2011 Fashion Inspirations - Viktor & Rolf
Ali Casanova for Ladies of Metal | Ed Luna | Shear Terror Hair | 2010
Cut & Updo (mixture of real and synthetic hair)
Interview from Bella Morte Magazine Issue #4. March 2011.
Who is the face behind Shear Terror Hair Designs and where are you based out of?
My name is Travis Kelley, hair stylist and entrepreneur of Shear Terror Hair Designs. I’m actually not based out of anywhere at the moment. I’m relatively nomadic, so I’ve been operating on the road for awhile.
What is Shear Terror Hair Designs?
Shear Terror is a freelance session styling company that was started in late 2007 as a means for creative expression and conducting business from a very DIY level. The company is operated solely by me at the moment, but I hope to someday expand and turn it into something bigger and more legitimate. Right now I am just working on building the brand and marketing the name so people are familiar with it when that day comes.
You graduated cosmetology school in the Spring of 2007 and have been doing hair ever since. What got you into doing hair for photo shoots?
I did my first photo shoot with a model friend of mine and photographer Scott Smallin a few short months after graduating cosmetology school in summer of 2007. That pretty much did it for me. I was already interested in the avant-garde aspects of hair when I was attending school, so I knew this was the direction I wanted to go. I’ve only worked in salons as a hair stylist for maybe 9 to 10 months out of the 3 ½ years I have been doing hair. A lot of what I know I have had to teach myself, but I want to make a career out of this, so I’ve just been going for it through trial and error and soaking up as much knowledge as I can along the way.
Your styles range from avant-garde to commercial. Is there a favorite type of style you like to do?
I love doing all of it, but it really just depends on the nature of the shoot. I base a lot of what I’m going to do off of wardrobe or thematic concepts so that it incorporates into the overall look instead of just trying to do whatever I want. Even if a concept was my idea, photo shoots are about a creative balance, so I strive to compliment the work of everyone involved to bring about the best possible production.
Your hairstyles are very bold and intricate. Where do you get your inspiration from?
I think one of the nicest compliments I was ever given was: “What I like most about your work is that you can see your sense of humor in it.” It’s definitely true and I was very humbled someone could see that. As serious as I can be about my work, I like to have fun with it. I draw inspiration from so many random facets of life, from inside jokes to simply just challenging myself to pull off things that may seem impossible, that I think it’s just the act of creation and what the whole process involves that really inspires me.
You are working on an ongoing project known as the “Blood Sweat and Shears Tour.” Tell us a little about that:
The Blood, Sweat & Shears Tour is really just that: it’s about taking life head on no matter what it takes, through blood, sweat and…well, you get my drift. This tour project started out of necessity, really. I’m not the type to sit around and wait for things to happen, and since I bounce around so much with living arrangements anyways, it has just made sense to keep myself on the road for awhile. It keeps the work fresh and relevant in people’s eyes too. I created Shear Terror to fuel the passion for what I do, so I’m just keeping true to that. It’s been quite an adventure thus far. I’ve worked with some amazing people, both talented and like-minded, and I’m watching some opportunities open up. I’m basically just going to keep traveling until I find a place where my work and my heart belong. Just paying my dues, I guess.
In the past 3 ½ years that you have been doing hair you have become well-known in the alternative community. What are your future plans for Shear Terror Hair Designs?
Honestly, I don’t even know if I’m that well-known or not. I don’t really look at it that way. I try not to pay attention to the social politics because that’s not what this is about for me. I’d rather my work just do the talking. It keeps it pure. As far as future plans though, there will be a lot of interesting changes in 2011, but I don’t want to say anything quite yet. Just keep an eye out!
Photo Credits -
All Hair by Travis Kelley / Shear Terror Hair Designs
MUA: Theresa Marie Cosmetic Artistry
Models: Ashley Elizabeth (Page 42), Leslie-Marie Santa (Page 43), Shannon McKee (Page 44), Kait Schoeb (Page 45)
© 2011 Chris Gooden
Interview in Harlow Magazine Issue #2. August 2010.
Who is behind Shear Terror Hair Designs?
At the moment, Shear Terror is run solely by me, Travis Kelley. As much as I wouldn’t mind just going to a shoot and simply doing hair, I created this company with goals in mind. Being both a hair stylist and an entrepreneur, there are so many other factors I don’t think a lot of people know about that I have to keep on top of: Advertising, networking, setting up shoots and organizing them, maintaining artistic direction, assisting in wardrobe selections, submitting work to publications, even helping less experienced models with posing in order to produce the best results…there is so much foot work that goes into getting the company off the ground and maintaining quality that it’s sometimes difficult to manage it all. But I am completely committed and devoted to it. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Although Shear Terror is primarily based around my own personal work, as the company continues to grow, I would love to expand someday and see Shear Terror become a team of exceptional and diverse stylists. It wouldn’t even bother me if they were better at doing hair than what I am capable of doing. Shear Terror Hair Designs isn’t about me. I created it not only as an outlet for artistic expression, but as a business that others can relate to and be inspired by as well.
How did you start doing hair?
After years of my passion being within music, I sort of lost what I loved about it after getting more involved and seeing the reality of the music industry. Around the same time that was happening, I had been working in salons for awhile as a second job, doing everything from salon coordination to management. Through that, I kept hearing a lot of stylists and other people in the industry tell me I should really look into doing hair because of my creative endeavors, so I decided maybe I should listen to everyone because they might be seeing something I wasn’t. I checked it out and enrolled in cosmetology school and ended up loving it and all the artistic things you can do and achieve. The hair industry is constantly changing and there is always going to be something new to learn, so I think that was another factor for what really drew me into it.
What do you think your biggest challenge is as a stylist?
I’ve had difficulty finding common ground within the salon atmosphere. Being able to express yourself creatively as a hair stylist is relatively limited within salons because, let’s face it: the general public doesn’t want something crazy or outrageous done to their hair. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I love everything that goes into doing hair and creating something beautiful and au naturel with it, but still, there are boundaries that limit the things one is able to do. Session styling is so open and the things you can do are endless. There is so much more support from other artists within the session styling community too. As with anything in life, though, it’s all about trying to find a good balance. I would become excessively bored if I was stuck doing just one or the other, so I strive to find the best in both worlds.
You are so versatile. You do big, avant-garde hair so well, yet you are capable of the clean beautiful work a lot of stylists lack. Do you prefer one or the other?
Oh wow, thank you! I appreciate that! I definitely prefer creating more in an avant-garde fashion. From brainstorming concepts to constructing the hair pieces to seeing everything come together and brought to life in photos, all of it is just an invigorating experience. It’s almost hard to put into words, really. It’s just something that has to be felt to fully understand how expressive and exciting the creative process can be.
Which is more difficult for you?
I’m so inclined to going all out with my hair work that it’s hard to tone it down and keep things simple. That has always been one of my biggest challenges. I think it’s like that for any creative person though. Imagine telling a painter that they had to limit what they put into a painting. What would that painting turn out to be without the artist being able to deliver to their full potential? Sometimes, that’s exactly how I feel. But no matter what, it’s a service industry, and you have to keep your clientele’s best interests in mind. Although people come to me for what I offer with my work, it’s not about me; it’s about them. I think some hair stylists lose track of that.
Are you interested in doing makeup as well?
Although there is a lot more money to be made for hair stylists that also do makeup, it’s never really sparked my interest. I couldn’t force myself into doing something I’m not passionate about just because of money. As well, I enjoy collaborating with makeup artists, because it adds an exciting collaborative element to the whole process. Being a straight male, I honestly wouldn’t have a clue what to do with makeup, so I just leave it up to others who have the experience and desire to create within that field.
What are your goals as a hair artist?
On a personal level, I want to continue on a path of becoming a well-rounded stylist. It’s extremely important to me to be able to do a little bit of everything, even if I excel more in some areas than I do in others. I would never want someone to ask me to do something with their hair and have to tell them “Well, I don’t know how to do that.” That’s just laziness. So I just push myself constantly, even if some things can be really frustrating while I am trying to learn them. But I hope that in years to come, I can look back and be proud of the fact that I never limited myself.
For Shear Terror Hair Designs, though, the end result of where I would like to see this business go is to turn it into an actual shop. It’s going to take a lot of hard work, but that has been my plan from the very beginning. It’s why I market the name the way I do. No matter how long it might take, I am determined to make that a reality. I have invested so much of myself into this that giving up isn’t an option anymore.
Any advice for new stylists?
Knowledge and passion are the two most vital components to being successful in the hair industry. I have only been doing hair on a professional level for 3 ½ years, and a lot of what I know has been self-taught. I still have a lot to learn, and I always will, so I strive to gain as much knowledge and experience as I can. By fueling that with an immense passion and desire to hone my skills in as many areas as I can, the sky’s the limit. So just keep in mind that you should always push yourself to be the best you can be and never settle on what you know or what you’re good at, because there is always going to be room for improvement.
As well, always remain humble about your talents. There is so much negativity and egotistical behavior running rampant in this field, as well as in many other artistic areas, that it really lessens the value of people’s work. I’m not afraid to admit that even I started off a bit cocky, but I realized very quickly that one cannot take advantage of the gifts they are given. You have to do it with heart and soul, or you shouldn’t do it at all.
Photo Credit -
Hair: Travis Kelley / Shear Terror Hair Designs
MUA: Josie DiCarlo / Red Letter Girl
Model: Brianna McLaughlin
© 2010 Kencredible
Very First Interview in Giuseppina Magazine Issue #2. August 2010.
NOTE: Being my first interview, I went a little overboard in discussion so this ended up being very long. Also, please keep in mind that this was done in 2010. Some things mentioned in this interview are no longer current (i.e. not a resident of Ohio anymore) or, unfortunately, never happened (an official website and the “Shear Terror” grindhouse series were both supposed to be released that year but were not). Regardless, it’s still a good introduction to the Shear Terror brand. Enjoy!
Shear Terror Hair Designs isn’t necessarily a salon. Tell us about your company and how it came about:
Shear Terror Hair Designs is a session styling company that specializes in avant-garde, high fashion and hair sculpting that covers a wide array of genres in the modeling industry. It officially launched in the latter part of 2007. The name Shear Terror itself is not a name I refer to myself as, but simply the name for my company and the work I produce (there has always been a bit of confusion with that). Although, at the moment, the company is primarily based around my own personal work as a hair stylist for photo shoots, I have plans to eventually expand it to other areas. As well, there are some exciting things coming up soon!
Before the end of the year, a grindhouse film entitled “Shear Terror” will be released online (there is actually a trailer for the film circulating on YouTube at the moment…look up “Shear Terror: The Official Trailer”). The film itself was produced by Robot Sanctuary Productions with some collaborative help from Particle 9 Productions, and we’re all really looking forward to its release since it has been in production for 2 years now. Originally, the idea for this was that I wanted to do a 3 to 5 minute promotional video, something kind of horror-themed, since I’m a big fan of horror movies and always thought the name Shear Terror sounded like an old, cheesy slasher flick. When things started coming together, though, the project ended up snowballing into a short feature film. It’s relatively low-budget and there were only 3 of us actually working on it, but I’m really proud of the end product. It holds true to the core film genre, and that’s what we really set out to achieve.
As well, an official Shear Terror Hair Designs website is in the works. My cohorts in Wellcan Media, an emerging multimedia company based out of Columbus, Ohio (they have done work for such revered clients as Aveda, Charles Penzone, The Black Eyed Peas, Chimaira, etc.), are assisting me in giving Shear Terror a complete overhaul. A new logo, design aesthetic, merchandise and a ton of content will be going into it. It’s definitely heading into a more commercially appealing direction. I’m really amped about it too because I feel this new direction will really step up the professionalism and understanding of what the company is all about.
As far was how it got started, the inception of the company really just came from the need to cultivate a means for expression on a personal level. The hair industry itself is kind of stuck in its old ways. Furthermore, even before attending cosmetology school, most of my experiences with salons and other hair stylists have been tumultuous. Being a straight male hair stylist who is tattooed and listens to death metal isn’t exactly a common thing in the industry. I’ve been taught things wrong on purpose, ridiculed for no apparent reason, and have had to withstand some egos that have been entirely uncalled for. However, I didn’t want to see something I am so passionate about falter because of other’s negativity, so I created Shear Terror to give myself an outlet so that I could continue to do hair and have a sense of creative freedom without boundaries. I’ve been very fortunate that it has caught on like it has. Some of the things I have heard from others about how I have inspired them or helped them gain a perspective on their own career paths is so utterly humbling and just…it’s really beyond words. To be able to touch others in some way is truly an incredible feeling.
With such artistic precision and foresight with only a few years experience in the industry, where do you see yourself in the near future?
Since I have only been doing hair professionally for about 3 ½ years, growth is extremely important to me, be it on a personal level, in my career or for my business. A lot of what I am capable of doing now has been self-taught, since I haven’t worked in a salon for 2 years, simply gaining knowledge as I have gone along from trial and error and experimentation. I think it’s just taken a lot heart and pushing myself to accomplish things, really. Even from the very beginning of my career, I have always set challenging but obtainable goals for myself to achieve. I continually raise my standards a bit higher each year, making the things I want to accomplish a little more difficult. By giving myself something to always work towards, it allows me to remain passionate and dedicated to my craft.
I would really love to see the company expand in the near future. Through the short period of time I have been doing this, I have met some absolutely amazing and incredibly talented artists that share in the same passion that I do. It has really surprised me to see so many people who share that mutual connection and realizing there is a support group out there, because like I’ve said, it’s not a common occurrence in the hair industry. The idea to have this be a team of stylists really excites me because it would be great to have others involved and along for the ride. Shear Terror, as a business, has never been about me. It’s been about connecting with others in an artistic manner, inspiring people to create their own paths, and delivering something fresh and new to the industry.
In the long run, though, my ultimate goal is to turn Shear Terror Hair Designs into an actual Salon/Tattoo Shop; maybe even a chain of shops in select major cities. One never knows what the future holds, but it’s an integral part of why I market the name and the company the way I do now. When that day comes, I hope that people will be familiar with the work and will come to expect quality craftsmanship, attention to detail, and above all, a company that they can relate to from the ground up.
Your work is comparable to artistry coming out of L.A. and N.Y. How does
this fit into your hometown of Columbus, Ohio?
I just recently moved back to my hometown in Ohio after being in Florida for the past 8 years. Things down there were just a bit of struggle, and because Florida itself isn’t surrounded by a lot of key areas that offer a vast network to the hair community, traveling anywhere else to make things happen was a little difficult. I have been able to do a lot more traveling since Ohio is a bit more centralized to bigger cities in other areas, though. If I want to go to New York, for instance, all I have to do is contact my network, set up a few gigs, and then just jump on a plane or hop on a bus and get myself out there quickly.
As far as my work fitting into what’s going on in Ohio, in all honesty, it doesn’t. Although there is some great local talent that I absolutely love collaborating with here, I consider my move back as a halfway point. Nothing personal to anyone, but I only came back to get some things in order, to see family I haven’t seen in awhile, and to jump back into the salon atmosphere since I feel I can’t continue to grow without being around it every day. I’m working at a salon right now that was rated one of the Top 200 in the U.S. and the place thus far has been such a rewarding experience. It’s great too because I’m going through an intense amount of education and training, which is vital to any hair stylists work. When it comes right down to it, however, I just don’t plan on staying here forever. I’m very nomadic and get bored with being in one place for too long pretty easily. Instead of looking at it negatively, though, I just use it as motivation to really focus on becoming a well-rounded stylist and then move away once and for all. As far as where I want to go, I’m definitely looking at heading out west. I’ve always wanted to reside in California, so we’ll see what happens!
What avenue in your life brought you to where you are in your career?
Ironically enough, being a hair stylist was never something I thought I would consider doing. I was always into music and thought that was the path I was meant to take in life. But things definitely change.
When I was living in Florida, a few of my friends were local hairstylists, and one of them informed me of a job opening for a reception position at the salon they worked at. Since I was looking for a steady second job at the time, I checked it out. I worked at a few salons from that point, doing everything from salon coordination to assisting. I eventually landed a job as a manager and promotional director at a friend’s salon she had recently opened, and really took that under my wing. Although things with the salon didn’t go as planned, I learned a lot from that experience, having devised a 30-page business plan for investors, set forth new ideas for promotional material, and I even single-handedly put together, promoted, and presented a hair and fashion show for the salon at one of the area’s local, posh night clubs.
During all of that time on the business side of the salon industry, so many of my peers, employers, and others in the field had raved on and on that I would really be great at doing hair because of my endless creative pursuits. After doing many things with music (show promoter, my own failed bands), and going on a nationwide tour with a band as their merch guy that ended on a sour note, I started to reevaluate my career ambitions. Looking back at how so many people told me I should do hair, I decided to listen to everyone else for once and enrolled in cosmetology school, figuring maybe they were seeing something in me I wasn’t seeing.
Hair school was far from easy. Not the work itself, nor the learning, but the things that were going on in my life at that time. The fact that I made it through school was an incredible feat in itself. Long story short, my Grandmother passed away out of nowhere when I began; a close friend of mine overdosed and went into a coma, coming out alive but will remain like a 5 year old for the rest of her life; my Grandfather passed away shortly before I graduated; and I was in a car accident two weeks before I was supposed to graduate, pushing my graduation back several months. However, I refused to give up. I don’t know what it was that just clicked with me, but things started making sense.
I’ve learned that you have to have passion for what you do, and with dedication, a positive outlook, and determination, anything is possible, as cliché as it may sound. I love doing hair now. Something I never saw myself doing has ended up becoming such a part of me that I don’t know what I would do without it.
Photo Credits -
All Hair by Travis Kelley / Shear Terror Hair Designs
(Page 37 & 38)
MUA: Josie DiCarlo / Red Letter Girl
Model: Brianna McLaughlin
© 2010 Kencredible
(Page 39)
MUA: Marcy Miller
Model: Nikiski Noir
© 2010 Blast Em Photography
(Page 40)
Model: Megan Massacre
© 2010 J. Isobel De Lisle
The ugliest part of the beauty industry is the industry itself. It’s taught people to cover up their insecurities instead of overcoming them. We hold a responsibility to our clients to show them that they are beautiful from the start. If you don’t value your customers, you’re just moving products.
“
| — | Shear Terror Hair Philosophy |
Unused “Circus Tent” hair sculpture from this year that I never did anything with. Look closely, and you’ll see there were also small lights on the inside of it too.
Behind The Scenes | Amaya Solace | EPO | Shear Terror Hair | 2009
This photo was taken during the first time I had ever attempted hair sculpting.
Miraculously, all of this held together pretty well, even though all I used to secure it were bobby pins and hair pins. I see so many flaws with this now, but at the time, it was an ambitious challenge for me (and the model, with it being so heavy). If I had a huge disco ball laying around, I would probably make an attempt to recreate this piece again.
Do you sell pre-made hair pieces / bits ( shapes, disks, etc ) on etsy or anywhere else for those who may not be able to afford your services or do not live in your area?
AnonymousGood question! I do not have an Etsy or “official” website up yet (Etsy I may consider doing and a website will be in the works as soon as I have the means to do so), but I am still able to make pieces and ship them out regardless. I also make them to order rather than premaking them, so that people can get custom, quality work. The prices can vary depending on what someone is wanting, but I’ve made sure it’s all within a decent, affordable price range.
If it’s something you (or anyone reading this) would like to discuss or place an order, please contact me at ShearTerror@gmail.com. Thank you!
i thought this morning you should try contacting some movie studios, or prop stylists and such. i feel like your work would be such a hit in the movie industry. x
AnonymousThat’s an incredible compliment! I wish I knew who this was so I could thank you personally.
But yes, I would love that! There are several films that have influenced some of the hair styles I’ve done, so it would be quite an experience to go that route. Might be something I could look into one day if the opportunity presents itself. Thanks again!
