EST. 1973 DALLAS NEW YORK HOUSTON Growing up on a dusty road 20 miles north of Abilene, Texas, making over her dolls and creating her first makeover center out of a detached garage was the beginning of something larger than young Christi could imagine. At a young age her only source of fashion and beauty was gathered from the pages of Seventeen magazine. Close to her Bible, it was the second best book in her mind. Her role model in Seventeen was Colleen Corby, a very popular model in the 60s. “I wondered how she had such beautiful dark hair and camera-ready makeup,” says Christi. Christi dreamed of having that same poise, grace and beauty. Nothing spurred her interest. She was simply born curious about beauty. CHRISTI’S STORY Christi’s soda stand Growing up on the farm Grand Opening Christi’s first business After graduating from high school, Christi decided to pursue her fashion and beauty dreams. Against her parents’ wishes, she loaded up her things in a small U-Haul and moved to Dallas. Determined to make it on her own, she applied for a school loan and enrolled in Wade’s Fashion Merchandising College at the Dallas Apparel Mart. Her parents were always supportive, even if they disagreed, and told her with enough perseverance and determination she could do anything. She left home with an ingrained set of morals, a “west Texas” work ethic, and a heart to help the world. Graduation from Anson High School Christi discovered her true mentor in Susan Wade, founder of Wade College. Miss Wade took Christi under her wing after giving her an extreme makeover. “She assured me I could model and she believed in me. I shall never forget that Miss Wade told me to get some hot pants and white go-go boots to go on all of my “go-see” modeling jobs. I remember dreading that call home to tell my mom that I needed some hot pants and go-go boots. She thought I was a “fallen” woman at best and now ... go-go boots,” says Christi. Modeling gave Christi an opportunity to put into effect the knowledge she had dreamed of gaining, as a young girl turning the pages of Seventeen magazine. With the experience of a few modeling jobs behind her, Christi went back to Anson to visit her family and to make over her girlfriends after church. She couldn’t wait to share what she had learned. “I can’t tell you how many girls I made over in west Texas. I would even cut their hair at no charge. I just loved to Christi’s modeling career see people feel good about themselves and gain confidence”, says Christi. CHRISTI HARRIS COMPANIES, INC. Corporate Headquarters | 3210 Belt Line Road · Suite 136 | Dallas, Texas 75234 800.346.4599 | www.christiharris.com EST. 1973 DALLAS NEW YORK HOUSTON After her modeling career, Christi applied at the John Robert Powers Modeling School to teach. She quickly became the Executive Director, enabling her to spread her passion for helping women look their best and finally ... getting paid for it. One day the owner asked Christi to update the curriculum for the makeup class. This was an easy task for Christi since she had eagerly absorbed every thing she continued... CHRISTI’S STORY could learn while modeling. After the makeup class curriculum was favorably received, she was asked to write the curriculum for the skin care class. Since Christi knew virtually nothing about skin care, this project wasn’t easy. It required extensive research on what causes oily and dry skin and how to control problem skin. After consulting medical and biology books, Christi finished a very detailed curriculum of exactly what the students needed ... the basics of how the skin functions, not advertising propaganda based on any certain product or “potion in a lotion”. With classes starting soon she was At 20, Executive Director at John Roberts Powers Dallas given a budget to purchase skin care products for classroom usage. After going from one cosmetic counter to another in store after store, she realized no one made skin care products to work with the way the skin actually functions. She couldn’t find anything to back up her research. Quickly she realized that the cosmetic industry is based mostly on marketing gimmicks, not actual skin biology. It was then that Christi knew she would not sacrifice her integrity to teach the students one thing and use products that were useless. She asked herself, if skin works one way and we are all born with normal skin, what happens to the skin to make it oily, dry or out of balance? A little bit of knowledge was all she needed to begin her quest for beauty in a bottle. When she discovered a chemist lived in her neighborhood, she left a note on his door. He called her back and they later became fast friends. Intrigued by her dilemma, he voluntarily created some skin care samples, based on her research. Christi asked her students to try the skin care and they received amazing results. Soon after Christi, at the very young age of 21, founded Christi Harris Cosmetics. She was on her way to fulfilling her dreams. In 1977, she left JRP to begin her own Christi Harris Beauty Clinic in her hometown area of Abilene, Texas. She knew the start up cost for a school would be too expensive in Dallas, so she traveled back and forth every other weekend, conducting classes at the Abilene Civic Center. Her Beauty Clinic was a complete finishing school for all ages where subjects, such as Visual Poise, Voice and Diction, Personality, Social Graces, Wardrobe, Makeup, Skincare, and Exercise were taught ... all curriculums written and directed by Christi. Christi’s students ranged in ages from 11 to 65 and traveled to Abilene from all over west Texas. The fee, a mere $650.00 for a 20 week, 40 hour course, changed the lives of over 100 individuals. This revenue, along with a $5,000 loan from her parents, allowed her to further build her cosmetic company. She added professional makeup and brushes to her already developed skin treatment products; and she did what she knew how to do ... teach women how to be beautiful and confident. Through her educational background of empowering women to learn to be their own stylist, makeup artist and beauty expert, she Christi’s Beauty Clinic began to build the Christi Harris brand. Christi’s Beauty Clinic Graduation Fashion Show CHRISTI HARRIS COMPANIES, INC. Corporate Headquarters | 3210 Belt Line Road · Suite 136 | Dallas, Texas 75234 800.346.4599 | www.christiharris.com EST. 1973 DALLAS NEW YORK HOUSTON Christi’s first Direct Sales opportunity At the time Direct Sales seemed the best marketing strategy, and meeting in Abilene, TX who better to peddle products than her 100 students who were perfectly coiffed, poised and beautiful. The company quickly grew into 17 states and Canada. However, continued... CHRISTI’S STORY Christi was frustrated with this one-dimensional way of marketing, and it was also becoming more and more difficult to maintain the quality of her representative’s work. To facilitate a more in-depth training program, she opened a 10,000 square foot training center in Dallas in Christi’s first Makeover Center opened in 1983 Christi’s first Direct Sales 1983, where her reps could Convention in Dallas, TX travel and receive updated training. They were then qualified to share the knowledge with their clients. After the initial opening of the training center, an employee suggested Christi open the center to the public on certain days of the week to create more revenue. She opened it as the Christi Harris Makeover Center. This elaborate facility became a beauty playground for women and teens. Makeover Center lounge area Her maiden advertisement, for the then $25.00 makeover lesson placed in the Dallas Morning News, drew more than 450 appointments in its first week. In the following weeks, as the flood of women who wanted Christi’s instructional makeovers continued to rise, the retail business insured. Expanding to include a full-service hair salon, spa and optical boutique. Private rooms for consultations from wardrobe to fitness were added and to take service to an even higher level, a beverage and bar area was added for those clients who wanted to linger and further enjoy the Christi Harris experience. With personalized instructional workbooks in tow, women left the center with the confidence and knowledge necessary to recreate their new look at home every day. Harris continually perfected the lessons through the years, encouraging women to take ownership of their own beauty through her makeover and self-improvement centers and her national mail order division. Her simple conviction that women were frustrated with the skincare status quo—simply being “told” what potions and lotions they needed for their skin type was no longer enough. Christi built her skin treatment on the premise of giving skin what it needs to self-correct and normalize, eliminating varying treatments for oily or dry skin. Further, with an innate understanding of women’s psyche, Christi knew every women wanted to be her own makeup artist, replicating the look professionals were able to achieve to be their most beautiful, not just on special occasions, but every day. It was this niche Christi Harris intended to fill. Working with women of all ages, young Christi learned most women owned a drawer full of cosmetics, yet utilized only a fraction of them regularly … not knowing how to use those products to her best advantage.