Interview with Pina | Irina "Pina" Pinkusevich | Grooming & Styling

	How to Build Body in the Bevels & Straighten the Top Coat During the Drying Process The drying process is one of the most critical stages if you want a dog 'dripping in coat.'
	Great Ideas on How to Educate Yourself In this lesson, one of the most successful pet stylists out on the circuit, shares her tips on self-directed learning. Irina ‘Pina’ Pinkusevich tells you what study material you have to have to have the correct information on individual breeds. She gives you fabulous ideas on how you can put together your own personal study guide.
	Turning a Poodle into a Kerry Blue Terrier Step-by-Step From the Breed Standard In this lesson, Pina talks about how to apply the standard of the Kerry Blue to a Poodle. She uses the AKC written breed standard as a guide.

How to Build Body in the Bevels & Straighten the Top Coat During the Drying Process

The drying process is one of the most critical stages if you want a dog 'dripping in coat.'

Great Ideas on How to Educate Yourself

In this lesson, one of the most successful pet stylists out on the circuit, shares her tips on self-directed learning. Irina ‘Pina’ Pinkusevich tells you what study material you have to have to have the correct information on individual breeds. She gives you fabulous ideas on how you can put together your own personal study guide.

Turning a Poodle into a Kerry Blue Terrier Step-by-Step From the Breed Standard

In this lesson, Pina talks about how to apply the standard of the Kerry Blue to a Poodle. She uses the AKC written breed standard as a guide.

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Irina (Pina) Pinkusevich has made it to the very top in the pet grooming world. How she got there is fascinating. Pina emigrated with her family from the Soviet Union when she was 19 years old. She had her fair share of challenges adjusting to life in the USA. One of her largest hurdles was mastering the English language. Next, it was earning spending money while she was on scholarship to the university. While she was working at a small salon, the owner got violently ill and could not work. Pina went from bather to groomer with no formal training -- just a full roster of dogs to groom. At one stage she found herself as a single parent. Her immediate family had moved from New York to Florida. She had no one to help her and her infant son. In this interview, Pina shares with our members what led her into dog grooming. She tells you firsthand how she learned and what keeps her motivated today. This is a great life story about overcoming obstacles, doing what you love, avoiding occupational burnout and remaining passionate about your career options.

In this video you will learn:

How Pina got started in the grooming industry
Why she quit grooming after 10 years but then came back
How she developed the skills necessary to become a top stylist
Why a formal education in grooming is so beneficial
What she would fix in the grooming industry if she had a magic wand

Approximate running times: 32 minutes

Make sure you allow the video to pre-load a few minutes prior to viewing for uninterrupted play.

Part 1	Interview with Pina

Biography

Irina "Pina" Pinkusevich

Pina is a National Certified Master Groomer with National Dog Groomers Association of America. She has just starting her apprenticeship to become a national Certifier with NDGAA. Read Full Bio

In 1989, Irina "Pina" Pinkusevich emigrated from the former Soviet Union with her parents. She was just 18 year old. While studying at the New York University, she got a part time job bathing dogs at the local grooming shop. That is how her love affair with grooming dogs began!

Pina worked as a pet groomer in her own shop for 16 years. She also worked at some of the most high-end grooming salons of NYC. After she moved to Miami in 2006, she decided to try something different with the profession she loved so much. When a friend offered to go to one of the grooming shows in Orlando, Florida to compete against each other just for fun, she agreed. Her friend never showed up - but Pina got second in her class with her poodle! She was bitten by the bug!

Pina became close friends with the owners of Kiyara, one of the top miniature poodle kennels in the country. Michel Lamb and Bill Jividen Jr. have bred over 100 champions. With their help, she attended AKC conformation shows and began co-breeding poodles. Poodles became one of her specialties. When she competed with them at grooming competitions, she won almost every time!

Pina was only in the competition pet grooming ring for three years. In that short time, she gathered enough points to become a GroomTeam USA Top 10 Stylist each year. Pina ranked as the #1 groomer in the nation two out of three years, gaining her a prestigious spot on GroomTeam USA traveling team. In 2009, she traveled to the world team championship in Dachau Germany with her team mates. They won the Gold Medal in team competition!

Here are just a few of Pina’s outstanding career highlights. She has won multiple Best In Show and Best All Around Groomer titles across the country. She has also won the American Groomer of the Year at Intergroom. She was nominated for Cardinal Chrystal Award in the category of Groomer of the Year twice. In 2008, Pina was a recipient of the Lynn Carver Award for the most Best All Around Groomer.

Pina has suspended her competition activities in the pet grooming ring -- for now. She has dedicated herself to helping others by teaching. Currently, Pina is an instructor at the Merryfield School of Pet Grooming in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There is a class called The Career Start Tournament hosted each year at the NDGAA grooming show. Pina has trained and mentored her students to win three years in a row! She also travels across the country with award winning stylist, Ann Martin. Together, they teach a two-day Complete Poodle Seminar to pet stylists all over the country.

Pina is a National Certified Master Groomer with National Dog Groomers Association of America. She has just starting her apprenticeship to become a national Certifier with NDGAA.

Presently, Pina resides In Hallandale, Florida with her 9 year old son Stas. She has two dogs; a Toy Poodle named Dilly and a Cocker Spaniel named Lucas.