For the past six months, Matrix's six Spread the Love winners—Courtney Guess of Evergreen, CO; Ashley Hanson of Spencer, IA; Kayla McCormack of Livonia, MI; Joseph (Jo) Pickering of Itasca, IL; Sam Ritter of Shreveport, LA; and LaKeisha Williams of Dallas—have been traveling around the country to more than 70 U.S. cities and towns to learn from fellow stylists, share their passion and spread their love for the salon industry. Last month, I had the pleasure of joining the recent cosmetology grads as they wrapped up their experience with a very special event—an intimate day spent at Matrix Artistic Designer Nicholas French's West Hampton, NY, house. The day provided the winners (and a few of us lucky press representatives) with the opportunity to learn about the careers of French and his renowned hairdresser father, Freddie French of French of London. French shared his impressive archive of hundreds of items documenting his father's career, including story boards, Vogue magazines covers, photos, press books and product sachets. Following a delicious lunch on French's pool deck, the Spread the Love winners styled mannequins with a Back to the Future theme based on what they'd learned earlier in the day, and the event concluded with a diploma presentation and poolside Champagne toast. I hope you'll enjoy these pictures from the inspirational event.