Meet Edward Kutana of Kutana Grooming and Committed2Create

Today we’d like to introduce you to Edward Kutana.

Edward, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in Los Angeles and got my first taste of passion for hair at the age of 11 when I was asked to cut my younger brothers hair. My first love was basketball. I traveled to the Philippines to pursue that but quickly realized my heart was in the arts and came back home. I started cosmetology school and thats when my journey began. I started in my first barbershop in 2008. I worked freelance on set through building connections. The level of creativity inspired me to push further. I would go to classes and take as much education as possible. I have a strong belief in mentorship so I started seeking leadership.

Through that uplift it started expanding my knowledge and understanding of what makes me special in the industry. I was now working behind the chair and on set learning from masters such as Neeko Abriol and Salvatore Lauretta. I am very much a technical stylist in my form of cutting hair but respect visual learning considering how visual our industry really is. I now have expanded my career into education giving back the mentorship that proved successful for me. I believe passion + knowledge is the formula for success and taking away ego and giving back to the arts will only elevate this industry and push the youth. My career has brought me so many blessings and the best of all is meeting my partner Sarah Shears and together we created our education duo “Committed2Create”, which has allowed us to cover all spectrums of the industry from color placement to men’s hair replacement all while conveying the most important message to me; Spread love and never give up.

Our education platform, “Committed2Create” is dedicated to mastering yourself first and then your craft. Im very old school in the way I think that everything is earned and nothing is given. We want to help those in our industry and all walks of life remember that to create something that is lasting and meaningful takes time and care. The world is moving faster and faster everyday and people are focused on moving so quickly that they miss lessons. It’s important to be present in the journey not just the end goal. I like to call it failing forward. Ive since then traveled all across the United States including overseas to Paris and Russia to educate, work and experience. I do this for my personal growth and to inspire fellow creatives that we are all capable of more than we can dream of.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Has anyone’s life run smoothly? We can not learn from nonchallenging events. Isn’t that what growth is about? I believe in facing my challenges head-on. A defining moment for me was letting go of financial stability (jobs that had nothing to do with my passion) and risking that comfort for the bigger picture. I realized if I shifted my effort from day to day success and moved it towards building my end goal I could never be unhappy. While I was pursuing my basketball career the most important things I took with me were self-discipline, complete faith in myself and how to make a plan and execute it. Of course there will always be challenges, being on set taught me a lot about being ready for anything, whether it’s having less time to work, or tools breaking down or adjusting to clients needs, but I took each of those challenges as a chance to step up and get better. Its been pretty obvious that mental health has been a huge issue in our country and I just want to share if that is someone’s challenge that you can not be able to give your best in this service industry or life in general if you are not right within. I read, meditate and workout to ensure that I am my best so that I can give my best.

Please tell us about Kutana Grooming and Committed2Create.
I have two brands; Kutana Grooming and Committed2Create. Kutana Grooming is marketed towards my work on set. (ex: red carpet, commercial campaigns, editorial and film). On set, I specialize more on the men’s side. Creative styling to airbrushed makeup. Very importantly I work with all hair types and both men and women. Committed2Create is my education platform whether being at trade shows, schools or private classes. This platform my partner and I created really came from the intentions of wanting to touch peoples lives beyond the hair. We speak from business mentorship to hands-on color and cutting techniques. Each class is created specifically for the purpose of those who we are serving. When I am not educating I am behind the chair. My speciality is short hair. My clientele is an equal amount of men to women but majority in shorter hairstyles. Im known for my ability as a hybrid stylist, having a strong foundation of classic and modern barbering work with matching ability in my scissor work as a stylist. What sets me apart is the same thing that sets all of us apart. There is only one me. My clients would probably say it’s my ability to listen and communicate that gives each one a custom haircut and style that goes with their lifestyle.

What were you like growing up?
I grew up in a family built on tradition. With having Filipino immigrants as parents, you are expected to make safe decisions in your life and career. Work in the medical industry, Marry and have a family. I think I probably took my parents on a scary ride when my two passions were basketball and hair. From dropping out of medical school and surprising my family by going to the Philippines for basketball, I definitely didn’t have the support I would have wanted for my craft. I was always stubborn growing up, labeled a misfit at school, a reputation that carried on until my adult life. My parents tried to keep us in a bubble growing up and I wanted to burst out and find an identity of my own and that’s where my journey really began.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected], [email protected]
• Instagram: EdwardKutana

Image Credit:
Tanima Mehrotra, Ryan Wong, Igor Dave Danilchenko, Eli Mendoza, Ohre Kilpatrick, Delphine-George Bongco, Dennis Leupold, Ryan Jay

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