Spotlight on Our Graduates

Alana - Makeup artist, co-founder of Alper Oils

Maddie - Hair stylist, co-founder of Alper Oils

Can you describe a typical workday?

It really depends on our schedule! If we’re booked on a shoot, we’re up early and are usually on set for 7:30/8am until 5pm. When we aren’t booked on a shoot, we spend our day at the office working on Alper Oils. It’s currently a two-woman show, so we do everything from production, shipping, marketing, etc.

Describe your career path:

Once we graduated school, we spent our days networking and collaborating with other creative people in the fashion industry. We put a lot of time and effort into doing shoots for free to really build up our portfolio. In April 2015, we were scouted by our agent and were signed as a duo. We’ve been with our agent at Teamm Agency ever since. We love what we do, but we both felt that we wanted to expand and do more and that’s when we started to work on Alper Oils.

What is your fondest memory while studying at LaSalle College?

Alana - Playing with all the makeup! I was never a studious person, so it was a joy to be creative every day doing what I love!

Maddie - Being in the masterclass with my sister where we had the chance to create and support each other. This was also the start of our partnership.

What was your favorite subject while studying at LaSalle College? Are you applying this today to your current career? Any anecdotes to share?

Alana - Probably the masterclass. That was a more fashion-oriented semester, and I pursued my career within the fashion industry.

Maddie - When I was doing my hairdressing course, we had real clients come in every Friday to get their hair done. It really prepared me for client interactions. We had to focus a lot on our conversational skills and that has really helped me on the job.

What was your general feeling and first impressions when you started out at LaSalle College?

Alana - I was super excited! I wanted to be a makeup artist since I was 10, so I just felt like I was in the right place.

Maddie - It was amazing to be surrounded by likeminded people who were as passionate and eager to learn as I was!

What surprised you the most when you arrived on the workforce?

Alana - How open people were to collaboration!

Maddie - Working on a set is very different from working on a personal client. You need to be 100% present and ready to jump in whenever a touch up is needed.

What advice would you offer to a student currently enrolled in the same program you took or to your younger self?

Alana - Be open to learning and evolving as an artist. The learning doesn’t stop after school, it just continues. I’m still learning so much after 6 years!

Maddie - Practice makes perfect. Don’t be afraid to try things. Create as much as you can!

What are the qualities necessary to succeed in your field?

You need to really want and be passionate about what you do. The hours are long, and it isn’t easy, so you need to be ready for that. Patience is very important as well.

Who are your role models and why?

A lot of the people we look up to are the senior artists within our agency. It’s so inspiring to see how hard they work and it’s pushing us to be better artists!

Anything you would like to add that would be inspiring to our next generation:

Work hard and push yourself. It’s important to feel a little uncomfortable at times in order to grow!

Social media page links:

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/alperoils
• Instagram: @alpersisters @alperoils
• Company page: www.alperoils.com