The owners of Model Haus are holding workshops to prepare first-time contestants who want to compete in beauty pageants. The workshops will cover walking etiquette, makeup, hairstyling and other pageant tips.
Owners Mackynlie Conklin (Miss Permian Basin 2019 and 2021) and Gladys Ornelas (Miss West Texas 2021), according to a report by CBS7, aim to inspire participants by sharing their knowledge of the pageant industry.
“Pageants can become very intimidating if you don’t have the right person to teach you all this stuff, so that’s why we’re here,” Ornelas said. “It is very fun to make these classes.”
Interviews, standard portions of pageants, can be intimidating. The workshops help the women know what to talk about and what to expect while competing in a pageant.
“That’s what we do,” Ornelas said.
The fee to take one class is $40, while the entire workshop costs $60. It is available to those age 13 and older.
“We didn’t want to limit ourselves to only a certain age group because that’s not what pageantry is about,” Conklin said. “We basically just wanted to create the pageant workshop to allow anybody who’s thinking about going into a pageant the opportunity to really see what it takes.”
The idea isn't as much about winning a pageant as it is to build confidence and self-esteem.
“That’s the biggest thing with Model Haus is that we want to uplift women,” Conklin said, adding, “We see potential in every single person, no matter their size, no matter their height, their skin color, whatever it may be. We want to uplift them and show them that they are beautiful no matter what.”