personal Up close and

Since December, this year’s F.A.M.E Team members [Kim Rance, Ross Taylor, Ben Moth, Olive Tucker] have seen their lives turned upside down. From being recognised by some of their biggest icons to workshops with the likes of Angelo Seminara, it’s fair to say 2010 has already been quite a year. Jo Charlton

The Fellowship Academy of Merit and Excellence Team is known for its exclusivity, so the auditions must have been hard? Ben Moth, from Brooks & Brooks, London Getting on the team was dragged out. You had to be nominated and then you had to submit a picture of your work before they get back to you to tell you whether you’ve made it to the final 24. In the first round you have to recreate the hair from the picture, then in the second round you can do a cut of your choice. The judges are walking around and staring at your work, it’s quite daunting. Kim Rance, from Clipso, Watford Yeah, you’re trying to cut and they’re looking at you with a clipboard! Plus Ross upset me; he kept borrowing my shine spray! He was walking around like ‘alright darling, can I borrow your spray?’ Ross Taylor, from Falltricks, Romford We obviously didn’t know who the team was then but I just spoke to everyone… and used their spray. Kim I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I felt nervous so I just had to keep quiet.

Had you ever gone for it before? Ross I tried for it three years ago and when I didn’t get in, I just thought, ‘what am I going to do next?’ Olive Tucker, from House of Colour, Dublin This was my second year of trying. Last year they gave me my placing and I was sixth, just after Ben. It was heartbreaking but then this year I was like ‘I’m getting in that team’, and when I heard Ben’s name called I thought I must have got it.

When I heard my name I jumped on the table. Kim At the luncheon in December Olive said to me, ‘wouldn’t it be amazing if we both got in the team?’ and I was thinking ‘yeah’, but I didn’t really think I’d get through. Then when they called out the team, they called Ben, then my name, and all I could think was ‘Olive might be right’ – then when she was called I screamed!

So how does it feel to be a member of such a prestigious team? Olive It’s been a rollercoaster – just getting higher and higher, meeting different icons every week and thinking ‘wow, you’re working with this person and that person’. Kim I work next to my boss [Terry Calvert of Clipso] in the salon and he says my work’s getting much better and can see new ideas coming through. Ross Clients love it. Olive Clients ask all about it so I say, ‘we’ll do the London look now’; they think it’s unbelievable that someone doing their hair has cut hair at London Fashion Week.

You’ve said you’ve seen each other practically every single week since January, but do you get to socialise together much? Olive If I fly over from Ireland, it’s like 5am, so by the time the event’s over I’m really tired, especially when some people [Kim] are asking me to go to Soho! >>

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