Samuel Cole Salon, Author at Samuel Cole Salon

Building The Brand Called You – R + Co and V76 President, Reuben Carranza

Owner, Jack Ray and Reuben Carranza

Reuben Carranza, President of Luxury Brand Partners brands, R + Co and V76, recently visited Samuel Cole Salon. Reuben left his role as CEO of The Wella Professional Division of Proctor and Gamble to join the corporation LBP, which is revolutionizing the luxury beauty market.

Reuben’s talk focused on helping stylist identify their career “sweet spot”. He emphasized the need for each individual stylist to find what is important to them and identify what their ‘brand” means. It’s very important to be able to take a step back to evaluate their work and also to have a sponsor or mentor evaluate them as well. Someone on the outside can find the blind spots they might not be able to see from within. It’s about connecting with their clients on another level. A professional who is consistently giving a great performance will see it reflected in their work.

Samuel Cole Salon and Reuben

Reuben’s talk on branding yourself revolved around the importance of evaluating your career based on performance, image and exposure. Your performance, should be outstanding and consistent in terms of your technical skill. Image showcases the mental impression you make with others. Exposure focused on getting your name out there to fuel your career success with social media being a means to document your work then posting it for others to see your creativity.

Being a stylist we look to grow creatively but sometimes we need to look at it differently at a business perspective to grow in our careers.” Stylist Natalie Bowers

Samuel Cole’s Master Stylist, Michael Knight: Men’s Grooming Hands On Workshop

Master Stylist, Michael Knight shared his men’s grooming knowledge and expertise with fellow stylists at Samuel Cole Salon. The class focused on the details that stylists should consider in order to cater to well groomed male client. His presentation explained how to create a cut, shape and style that best fit the face shape, hair texture, lifestyle and personality to make it a custom experience for male clients. He encouraged stylists to consider multiple tools and push beyond just clipper use. Knight’s presentation consisted of sharing men’s style trends throughout time featuring icons like Elvis, James Dean, and Bob Dylan which demonstrated how classic styles continue to return with a modern interpertation.

Michael Knight also shared information from the V76 Men’s Grooming Workshop he attended in New York City. The workshop, was led by V76 creator, Vaughn Acord and V76 educators, Barry Hughes and Jason Hunt. The hands-on class focused on the complete salon visit for men, from cutting and styling to general grooming. The educators demonstrated several different looks, combining old-school barbering with up-to-date salon techniques.

Models’ by stylists Dustin and KatieM

Michael has been doing hair for over 30 years. He brought his talents to Raleigh, NC five years ago, when he moved from Jacksonville, Florida. He prides himself on conducting a complete and thorough consultation for each and every one of his clients. He believes by truly listening, he is able to craft a signature, customized look based on his clients distinct style. He loves being able to blend his passion, creativity, and expertise in order to curate an individual look.

It was a great experience to have one of our own to teach this class. Michael knows our personal skill set and was able to really zero in on what each individual could gain from this class. This has been one of the best classes I have had the pleasure to be apart of.” Stylist Chelsea LePage

Samuel Cole Master Stylists Attend Luxury Brand Partner’s New Miami Studios

Alley, Nikki, Ronnie Stam, and Carolyn at Miami Studio’s

Master Stylists Carolyn Nord, Nikki Kepley, Cara Harrison and Alley Biehl traveled to Luxury Brand Partners newest venture, Miami Studios. Luxury Brand Partners is the parent company of high-end product lines; Oribe, R + Co, V76, and Smith and Cult. The stylists attended The Textured Wrap class taught by brilliant and creative stylist, Ronnie Stam who serves as Oribe’s Global Artistic Director.

The master level class consisted of sculpting the hair without the use of pins. The “Sculpted Tease” was a creative challenge and provided an extraordinary experience.

Ronnie’s early career began by spending much of his time in his fathers well respected salon in Amsterdam. Early on, Ronnie was introduced to a fellow Dutchman and hair legend Christiaan, who became his mentor.

Ronnie was Christiaan’s first assistant in Tokyo, Paris, Milan and New York over a period of more than 10 years. During that time, Ronnie opened a very successful Amsterdam salon, splitting his time between Amsterdam and Paris.

In pursuit of the next chapter in his career, Ronnie relocated to New York City where he worked with top models from Cindy Crawford to Naomi Campbell to Kate Moss. He soon became the go to for celebrities and musicians such as Carlos Santana, Rob Thomas and Duran Duran, Uma Thurman, Lauren Bacall and Lauren Hutton. Ronnie Stam spent several years creating classic rock and roll looks for the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith as well as traveling on tour as skills for their tours and videos.

After speaking with the girls after the trip, they were overly impressed with the new Miami Studios. They felt for once they were the clients. The staff was very accommodating and catered to them like they were at home. The facility was beyond their expectations. We all are looking forward to many more classes at The Miami Studios.

Ronnie was so inspirational and pushed us creatively and technically. The Miami Studios gave us a world class experience. They were amazing hosts we really got the VIP treatment and can’t wait to return for more education.” Stylist Carolyn Nord

Alejandro Jimenez Brings On The LOB

Editorial Stylist, Alejandro Jimenez brought his talents to Samuel Cole Salon to showcase the “haircut” that works on everyone. The long bob (LOB) is a versatile cut because it is long enough to be pulled into a ponytail or chignon. There is still enough length to create soft updo’s. This class featured advanced straight razor techniques which Jimenez encourage the stylists to use to create an unstructured and textured cut rooted in a classic shape.
Alejandro has worked NY, Paris and London Fashion Weeks, as well as Victoria Secret Fashion Shows. He has also styled countless celebrities and worked on various editorial and commercial shoots including Vogue, Elle, W and Ferria campaign for L’Oreal. Alejandro has spent years training and collaborating with some of the best hairdressers in the world including Garren, Max Pinnell, Italo Gregorio, Ward and Laurent Philipon. Most recently, Alejandro worked as International Educator for Bumble and bumble and has trained thousands of hairdressers around the world.

It was very inspiring to watch and learn different ways to use a straight razor. I can be intimidating to use a tool that can create so many different looks. It really helped us to become more comfortable using such a versatile tool!” said Stylist Libby Bink

V76 Educator and Men’s Grooming Expert Jesse Taylor Shares his Secrets to Delivering Dapper

Jesse Taylor, V76 Educator and Celebrity Stylist, recently visited Samuel Cole Salon for an in-depth Men’s Grooming demonstration. The class focused on cutting and styling’s techniques, as well as V76 products, created specifically to meet the needs of a discerning man.

V76 by Vaughn celebrates the tradition of men’s grooming with an American sensibility. The sophisticated collection offers must-have classics updated for the modern man—and does so with an effortless, uncomplicated approach.

With a strong education background featuring Bumble and Bumble and American Crew, Jesse’s personalized approach to cutting has made him a go-to stylist for celebrities such as Adam Levine, Chris Pine, Ian Somerhalder, Kellan Lutz, Gordon Ramsey and Tom Seldon. His blend of theories provide a structured foundation for haircuts that are customized to each client. Samuel Cole Salon stylists learned Jesse’s insider tips of how he works with his celebrity male clientele.

Jesse’s approach, personality and shear talent was inspirational. His committment to men’s grooming was amazing to witness and I am excited to bring his brand of tailoring to my male clients”, said Senior Stylist, Tiffanie Spellenberg.