First Quarter 2014

Hey guys. So it has been a minute since I blogged and therefore, I wanted to catch you up on my first quarter 2014 happenings!

Lets start at the beginning.
January was an amazing month. I had the amazing honor and priviledge to style alongside the great Johnny Wright (personal hair stylist to our FLOTUS) for the launch of new addition to the Amla line by Soft Sheen Carson. This was great network event hosted by the fabulous Tracee Ellis Ross.
Last year I met an amazing artist while working for Latinista Fashion Week. Demi is a seasoned hair/mu professional with a heart of gold! She hired me to assist her with hair for SWV appearance on the Bethenny Show. What a great experience that was. (S/O to Coko, my new boo!)
There are just a handful of authentic and down to earth celebrity stylist left and Jamal Edmonds happens to be one. I was afforded the pleasure of assisting him on a major shoot in his career and took great pride in doing so. During this shoot I was able to meet and chat with MU guru Renny Vasquez and just feel the energy from two artist that sleep, eat, and breath the industry! I also begin my journey to becoming an industry professional Makeup Artist!!! I wanted to get the basics down before investing hundreds and thousands of dollars only to be confused….lol. So I researched, I studied artist on IG, and of course I took to youtube for basics such as foundation, highlighting and contouring, applying lashes and blending principles. I got the hang of it in a matter of a few weeks and shocked myself with the ease of it.

February was a slow month for me in regards to industry projects. I did have another opportunity to work on the style team for Soft Sheen Carson for the launch of Dark and Lovely Au Naturale addition. This event was hosted by Marsha Ambrosius and catered by Chef Roble’…..amazing!! I was able to step out of my comfort zone and grow as an artist. This event was strictly natural styling, which is sort of new for me. In the past, the extent of my work on natural clients has been silk pressing the hair. At this event I was able to create multiple styles using the new Anti-Breakage line of products and of course, I rocked it!!
Lastly, I was able to enjoy seeing my work in a few magazine publications which is always a rewarding feeling.

March was an exciting month. To start, I was offered a position on the styling team of Soft Sheen Carson (instead of an as needed basis, I would actually be a team member) and I gladly accepted!!! I continued perfecting my makeup skills and was invited to shoot with a major photographer as hair and makeup artist.  This experience was so awesome and the images look great!

My main gigs (The O Experience NYC Salon and Chicago, the Musical) are still going strong and building weekly so I am very thankful for that. I am looking forward to an amazing second quarter with my birthday and 1year anniversary of my being a NYC resident artist!!

Remember to stay focused and live out your dreams. You CAN do it!!!

Broadway, a dream come true!!

Have you ever whispered something to yourself and then started to dream about it…..and then it happens? That is how I felt last week when my whisper became reality!!

Two years ago, I was afforded the opportunity to work on the taping of The Rickey Smiley Show in Atlanta. While taping I became friends with Ms. Roz Ryan (known for her role as Amelia, one of the sisters on the 80s TV show Amen!). Ms. Ryan was and is a wealth of industry knowledge and shared stories of Broadway performances and almost instantly I said, ” I want to work there”!

Shortly, after my move to NYC, I reconnected with Ms. Ryan who set up a meeting with the Head of Hair Styling for the Broadway musical Chicago (which happens to be the longest running show on Broadway and Ms. Ryan received an award this past October for the longest running actress to play the role of Mama Morton!). After meeting the Head, I was offered a swing position in the department and my dream became reality.

My first show was Friday, December 19, 2013 for the evening show. I was nervous and anxious at the same time. It was my job to style for the some of the leading roles including Mama Morton and Mary Sunshine, so I was to make very sure that their lace fronts were just as fabulous as their performances.

I arrive backstage and begin laying all of the tools needed to style and secure the wigs, pieces and lace fronts. I check the listing sheet and strategically plan for the evening. From dressing rooms upstairs to actual applications in my styling area, I had a plan that was going to make my evening run smoothly and impressively.

The curtains rise and as I watch the TV monitors in back, I am so proud of my work on stage and even more proud to be the first Black Hair Stylist* to hold this position!

What an amazing experience with many more to take place. So I say to all that have a dream, vision or aspiration…keep moving forward with that in mind. You can achieve it, you can make it happen. Believe in yourself, know your craft, keep a good character and know that your turn will come.

*Disclaimer: other actresses have brought in their own stylist but not another has been employed by the show to style all wigs)

Latinista Fashion Week

Latinista Fashion Week is showing for the Latin Designers held twice a year in several major cities in the US. This weeks showing was held at Solo Event Space in the fabulous Wall Street District. 

Latinista Fashion Week was an amazing experience for me as a hair stylist with a vision of heading Fashion Shows. As I arrived at the venue, I could feel the excitement and the celebration . The Latin community know how to celebrate, I must say!

I am one that always shows up early for projects. This allows time for set up, meet and greet as well as a moment to relax and take it all in. Well, this event was no different and in doing so, I was asked to Key the event due to the other Key pulling out at the last moment. At first, I will admit, I was reluctant to say Yes, mainly out of shyness and fear. Yet, I walked away and began to pray for calmness, peace and boldness and ultimately I agreed to the position. 

I sat with each designer to discuss their collection and what look they had envisioned for their runway show. We confirmed the looks and it was time to get to work. I had a team of 6 stylist, including myself. The designers had 12 models each, 5 of which walked in all three collections. The looks we created were the classic polished Chignon, a sleek sexy wrapped ponytail and pulled back waistline braid.

As the Key Hair Stylist, it was my job to interview with publications, bloggers and news anchors. I was asked about the looks on the runway as well as the current trends of the industry. The question of the night seemed to be, “what will be the trend for Spring 2014?” Needless to say, I was nervous boots, but at peace and made it do what it do.

At the end of the show, I was extremely pleased when the designers thanked me for my skills, time, leadership and professionalism. And the ultimate compliment came by way of asking for my business card and standard rate for projects. 

Special thank you to Dee & Co, Latina Magazine, Iman Cosmetics, Tequila Semental, Fashion One Media, Edwin De’Angelo, Shantall Lacayo, Cenia Paredes