January 16, 2010 (RALEIGH) – Jack and Joelle Ray, owners of Samuel Cole Salon, hosted their 3rd Annual Holiday Awards Celebration. The red-carpet event took place at the Marriott City Center downtown. The Rays celebrated their teams’ success with an evening of food, fun, and recognition.

Jack Ray toasted the past years’ many impressive accomplishments: twenty four trips to New York City for advanced training, participation in fourteen fashion shows and photo shoots, Raleigh Fashion Week, winning The Social Magazine award for Stylists of the Year, Official Salons for The Carolina Music Awards Show, Pink Fest sponsor, featured in international style magazines, recognized as one of top three salons in Metro Magazine’s Bravo Awards, recognition as one of the Top 200 salon’s in North America by Salon Today Magazine, placing in the top ten of every Citysearch salon category, holding over 200 hours of in-salon education, hosted the filming and hair and makeup for two reality TV pilots, and held the Cut’s for Pups fundraiser benefiting Second Chance Pet Adoptions.

The Rays recognized this year’s winners for their top performance. Some of the awards for the night included Client Educator of the Year, Stylist of the Year, Runner Up Client Educator of the Year, Runner Up Stylist of the Year, and the Associate of the Year. The Rays also recognized the dedication and excellence of their Guest Services team and thanked their management team for outstanding performance and commitment.

Joelle Ray along with stylist, Sara Beard, hosted the popular award’s night segment – The “Bob’ies” – which featured a good natured tribute to each team member.

“I look forward to organizing and coordinating this event each year. It is amazing to see both salons gathered in one place having such a wonderful time and celebrating their success, both individually and as a team,” said Joelle.

December 2009 (RALEIGH) – Samuel Cole Salon located in North Raleigh captured top five honors in the categories of “Best Salon”, “Best Color”, “Best Blow Out”, “Best Highlights”, “Best Hair Straightening”, “Best Hair Cut”, “Best Make Up Artist”, and “Best Waxing” in Citysearch’s “Best in the Triangle” competition for 2009. The annual event lets consumers decide who’s the best by voting online. When the votes were tallied, Samuel Cole Salon emerged in the top five in all salon categories once again.

“It is very gratifying to be selected in this peoples’ choice forum. We strive daily to continuously improve and pamper out guests. Our team works so well together. They make sure every client receives quality service and an excellent salon experience. We are proud of our team’s ability to meet high technical standards and customer service goals,” said Joelle Ray, co-owner of Samuel Cole Salon with her husband and master stylist, Jack Ray.

December 3, 2009 (Durham, NC) – Samuel Cole Salon stylists readied models’ hair and makeup for a fashion showcase of Rachel Week’s School House brand collegiate apparel at The Streets of Southpoint. The hair was styled in very loose waves and braids, focusing on the natural texture of each model’s hair, but giving it some extra ‘oomph’ and shine. Make up reflected a fresh and light feel utilizing bronzers, lip gloss, and mascara. Weeks wanted to capture the look of the ‘everyday college student’.

Weeks is a graduate of Duke University and Fulbright Scholarship recipient who designs hip and stylish collegiate apparel. She is more than just a designer. She is dedicated to ethically producing her line of clothing. So much so, that she opened up a “living wage” factory in Sri Lanka.

“When our salons were contacted by Rachel to do this show, we were thrilled to be working with her again. She is one of many designers who we have established an on-going working relationship with through our mutual involvement in Raleigh Fashion Week and Strut ’09,” commented Joelle Ray, co-owner of Samuel Cole Salon with her husband and master stylist, Jack Ray.

November 22, 2009 (RALEIGH, NC) – Samuel Cole Salon, one of Raleigh’s most fashion forward hair salons, has just announced that they will be one of the first destinations in North Carolina to carry Oribe Hair Care. As winners of Salon Today’s “Salon Of The Year” award, Samuel Cole is committed to offering the highest quality, highest performance lines on the market. Jack and Joelle Ray, owners of Samuel Cole, say “The Oribe line fits perfectly with our brand – we are both obsessed with our commitment to quality and excellence and providing the best for our customers.” From Oribe’s perspective “Samuel Cole is phenomenal. They represent everything I like – glamour, elegance and great styling.”

Oribe Hair Care crafts exclusive, artisanal blends of the finest hair formulations for the glamorous and hair-obsessed. Built upon a rich heritage of hairstyling, fashion and artistry, this truly luxe collection was created for taste driven individuals who know that personal style, perfectly expressed and paired with excellence is the ultimate luxury.

Developed by Oribe Canales, one of the fashion’s most influential hairdressers, who has styled the tresses of societies’ who’s who, including Jennifer Lopez, Debra Messing, Drew Barrymore, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Cameron Diaz, Giselle Bundchen, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista – to name a few, the eponymous product line re-defines luxury in hair care. Combining over 30 years of Oribe’s own experience custom blending products to create the most recognized and glamorous looks, as well as his styling heritage at the top of both the editorial and salon worlds, the line delivers the highest performance products, beautiful in function and form alike.

The shampoos and conditioners start at the highest levels of performance and are arguably the best on the market. The line blends unsurpassed natural actives with the highest performance treatment technology, providing a balance between the best from nature and the best from science. The result is a collection of shampoos, conditioners and masques specifically tailored to the hair needs of the most glamorous – and a regimen that truly delivers on the concept of hair care.

The styling products focus on the demands of the most discerning; top hairstylists and their clients. Using the finest skin care ingredients and the latest advancements in hold, shine, luster and volume, these products lend a sophistication to styling that has yet to exist. This focused line of styling tools brings beautiful looks and finishes while simultaneously repairing, strengthening, defrizzing and smoothing. These are the products of the hair obsessed.

Oribe’s range delivers truly original products: gels that condition, oils that hold, sprays that don’t flake or clump, skincare-grade shampoos that prep hair for styling as well as the environment – all lightly scented with specially commissioned French perfumes. Beautiful in function and form alike – this is line is for taste driven individuals who know that personal style, perfectly expressed, is the ultimate luxury.

About Oribe
Oribe (pronounced OR-bay) is a distinguished and renowned celebrity hairstylist, and has been lauded as one of the top hairdressers of all time. Oribe’s combination of session, celebrity and salon work spans over three decades, and he has defined the notion of fashion over the course of a career of unprecedented longevity and scope.

His collaborators include countless photographers, like Bill King, who introduced him to the fashion editor Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele. There was the meticulous Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, who shot Cindy Crawford for American Vogue with hair that Oribe teased to infinity; and others like Richard Avedon, Patrick Demarchelier, Annie Leibovitz, Herb Ritts, Francesco Scavullo, Horst, Craig McDean and Steven Klein. Oribe has worked with creative directors like Fabien Baron and Keesha Keeble; make-up artists like François Nars, Pat McGrath, Kevyn Aucoin and Stephane Marais; and fashion designers like Gianni Versace, a mentor who inspired Oribe’s tattoos, and Karl Lagerfeld, who took the rock and roll hairstylist under his wing. And then there are the models, celebrities and icons – from Beverly Johnson, the original supermodel, to Christy Turlington who Oribe appears with in an iconic Vogue spread with, to the always radiant Heidi Klum and Naomi Campbell. In fact, it was Diana Ross who showed Oribe how to really secure a wig. And of course, one can’t leave out Jennifer Lopez who Oribe has worked with since her first album cover.

All told, Oribe has contributed to just about every major magazine and worked on just about every major fashion show. In the last year alone his editorial and campaign work has been seen on the covers and pages of Vogue, Vanity Fair, Elle, Allure, W, V and Pop. When he is not on set, Oribe is working out of his South Beach salon.

November 6, 2009 (RALEIGH, NC) – Samuel Cole Salon were on-hand to prepare 23 models for the “Glitter and Gloves” fashion show held at Solas on Glenwood South. This Austin Jade charity fashion show was created by designer Jade Murray to raise funds for two organizations that are dear to her, the American Cancer Society and the Duke Patient Support Program. Murray explains, “Cancer affects all of our lives, either directly or indirectly. It affected my family. My grandfather battled lung cancer for quite a while. It was devastating to watch such a strong person go through months of chemo. We always celebrated our birthdays together. He passed away on my 13th birthday. I have always wanted to do something special in his memory. I put together “Glitter and Gloves” to raise money for these two charities that do so much to help families affected by cancer”.

“With the brilliance and creativity of Samuel Cole Salon our models’ hair and makeup looked absolutely stunning – channeling an old Hollywood glamour look. Samuel Cole Salon stylists are the only team that I trust to do not only my own hair and makeup, but especially my models,” added Murray.

“We love the opportunity to work with Jade. Her fashions are so versatile and beautiful. She has a big heart and is always a pleasure to collaborate with. This particular event was impossible to resist getting involved in because of the extraordinary charities that would benefit from it,” commented a Samuel Cole stylist.

The event raised $3,000 for the charities.