August 25, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) – After Joelle and Jack Ray, the owners of the award-winning Samuel Cole Salon in North Raleigh, spent time this month at the Redken headquarters in New York City and the Goldwell HQ in Baltimore, Maryland, they knew exactly where the trendiest of hair styling and coloring options is headed.

It’s all about collision.

“It’s about putting concepts together that technically shouldn’t or wouldn’t be together, to create a sense of clashing,” Joelle said. “In coloring, warm tones clash with cool tones. Texturally, sleek hair features textured, pieced ends, or smooth hair is combined with curls.”

The Rays spent three days at Redken’s on Fifth Avenue where they explored the latest offerings in the company’s Trend Collection. They learned new color placement and styling techniques that, combined with new Redken products, create the trendy collision look.

Then they headed to Baltimore where they spent three more days at Goldwell, one of the hair industries premiere sources for research, development and manufacturing of coloring products.

“We attended a preview of the latest collection from one of Goldwell’s educators, John Simpson,” Joelle said. Simpson is a veteran member of Goldwell’s North American Guest Artist Team and won North American Hair Colorist of the Year judged by the North American Hair Styling Awards (NAHA).

“And again, the emphasis was on collision – of tone, style and texture,” Joelle said.

The Rays make it a practice to visit the leaders in the hair styling industry “to see what’s out there,” Joelle said. “ We want to be able to offer our clients in both of our salons the best possible products and techniques available. So we go to the sources and come back energized.”

Earlier this summer, Jack Ray and a Samuel Cole Salon stylist participated in a two-day International Colors Seminar presented by Wella, one of the leading international beauty suppliers, in New York.

August 18, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) – Joelle Ray, the driving force behind the award-winning Samuel Cole Salon in North Raleigh, is featured this month in the Raleigh version of Skirt! Magazine.

Ray, the mother of two sons (Sam, 15, and Cole, 12) and a master stylist herself, co-owns the salons with her husband, Jack. She is featured in the magazine’s “24/7” section, which spotlights women who are “well known in the community for some positive reason,” according to Skirt/Raleigh editor Faith Dwight.

“I chose Joelle this month because she’s a business-owner who is not only concerned about the bottom line but with the well-being of her employees. I also love that she works with her husband, and that her family is her first priority. I think she’s a woman who’s got her head on straight and, for that reason, I chose her to be a role model for Skirt! readers: You can be a successful career woman and a woman who puts her family first.”

According to Joelle Ray, she didn’t choose her career. “It chose me! I had four sisters and enjoyed doing their hair. When I went to have my hair done, I always stayed afterwards to ask my stylist questions. So when I was about 19, my hairdresser said, ‘Joelle, why don’t you go to hair school?’ I signed up the next day because I saw a career path that for me had all the right appeal. I could own my own business, which would give me the flexibility for a family, I would be doing something that would help others feel good, and I could become a mentor to young stylists.”

Ray’s love for the mentoring aspect began when she followed her mother to work as a teenager.

“My Mom worked in a nursing home,” she explained. “I often went with her and witnessed the love and joy she brought to her job because she was making people feel better. I realized that I also wanted a career centered on helping people. As a stylist and business owner, I not only help my clients by improving their appearance, I’m often a shoulder to cry on or just someone to listen. And I help young stylists become successful by training and mentoring them. It has been a privilege and immensely gratifying to have so many positive relationships with so many people. Now I’m considering becoming a consultant to help other salon owners improve their businesses.”

As Skirt’s editor pointed out, Joelle Ray somehow manages to keep family and career in balance. How does she do that?

“To create balance, you must be aware of your life’s ‘big picture,’ “ she said. “I keep work and family life balanced by making sure I’m spending my time the way I need to right now. I think about what I can never get back at another time. The answer is always my boys’ growing-up years. I can always make more money, take a vacation, start a new venture, but they will never be children again. That makes my choices simple and easy. I don’t want to miss their childhood years. They need me now, not when they’re adults. And I’m blessed with the best life partner — my husband. We share every aspect of our lives, from cooking, laundry and homework to running our businesses.”

Having spent time with Ray, Dwight also knew that she could fulfill another requirement for the section. “The 24/7 woman should be witty and have a good sense of humor,” she said. Women in the section are asked to answer a list of questions that “are more interesting if the answers are funny.” When Ray was asked to name her favorite body party, she responded with: “It’s on my husband.” What would make the world a better place? “If we ate dessert first.”

Skirt! was launched 1994 as a monthly magazine for women in the Charleston and Columbia areas of South Carolina. Since then, it has expanded to include print editions in nearly 20 other cities, including Raleigh. For more information, visit www.skirt.com.

July 8, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) Jack Ray and a leading stylist at Samuel Cole Salon in Raleigh, recently returned from New York City where they participated in a two-day International Colors Seminar presented by Wella, one of the leading international beauty suppliers.

The seminar, held at The Wella Studio in Rockefeller Center, offered hairdressers the opportunity to continue to hone European color techniques, “which are typically the more advanced color techniques,” said the stylist. “We have many savvy clients in our salon who expect sophisticated, advanced color techniques not typically offered in most salons.”

One of those techniques is baliage, or hair painting, she said. Baliage is a freestyle technique for creating natural, hand-painted highlights. It was first introduced in France where le balayage means “strands of color.” The effect is generally softer than the results from a standard aluminum foil technique because the highlights are spread about more sparsely. It’s also easier to maintain this type of coloring since the roots will blend in with the rest of the client’s hair as they grow out.

According to Jack Ray, Samuel Cole Salon’s co-owner with his wife, Joelle, the best part about the seminar was the inspiration it provided. “It’s very refreshing and invigorating to learn new techniques and just to be in The Studio surrounded by so much talent.”

The stylist said she and Ray will definitely introduce the new technique to their clients. “It offers an excellent way to change up a bit yet still maintain a very natural look,” she said.

The stylist that attended this seminar was one of only four members of both the “fashion” and “technique” junior-level teams who competed this spring in Hair World Hairdressing Championship held recently in Chicago, IL. Her “fashion” team placed fourth in the world. She competed in Paris and Argentina before the World Championship.

June 5, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) Estetica, a high-gloss magazine featuring the latest hair fashion trends, product innovations, celebrity interviews and industry news from around the world, recently cast its global spotlight on Samuel Cole Salon in Raleigh.

The salon’s remodeling in January 2007 and subsequent First Runner Up award in Salon Today magazine’s décor competition caught the attention of the Italian version of Estetica (www.estetica.it). In the article, entitled “Urban Oasis,” Estetica describes the salon as “an oasis of sleek, modern design and beautiful natural touches.” It points out the “rich tones….polished onxy reception counter…tawny (and ultra-environmentally friendly) bamboo flooring…faux copper wall [and] custom-designed, curvilinear styling area [where] 21 styling stations are marked by their clean, fluid lines.” It praises the “bespoke espresso-colored wood cabinetry and handcrafted, stainless steel color bar,” and sums up the over-all ambiance as “chic, modern sophistication.”

Samuel Cole Salon is owned by Jack and Joelle Ray, who worked closely with interior designers Clark Hipolito and Michael Perry and architect Tom Ammon to create the interior, which has also been featured in American Salon and Raleigh’s Metro Magazine.

Mino Pissimiglia founded Estetica in Italy in 1946. The magazine was successfully launched in Japan in 1958, followed by Peru, Latin America and The Middle East in 1962 – 1963. The launch of the first Italian-English International edition appeared in 1977. Today, Estetica is published in 23 editions and distributed in 80 countries with a global circulation of over 170,000.

May 27, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) Samuel Cole Salon recently created hair and make-up designs for fashion spreads in both Midtown and Living in Style magazines.

Midtown, a bimonthly publication primarily serving the North Hills area of Raleigh, features an article in its May edition on maternity fashion. Two actual moms-to-be served as models.

To complement the trendy and stylish maternity ensembles provided by Cravings boutique, salon co-owner Jack Ray and selected stylists decided to use as inspiration the healthy glow mother’s-to-be naturally possess. The makeup featured soft rosy palettes with a dewy finish. The hair was styled to accentuate soft, feminine yet polished silhouettes.

For Living In Style, a glossy magazine distributed on the newsstand and within the Raleigh News & Observer, the theme was “garden party.” To complement an array of summertime fashions perfectly suited to such an al fresco occasion, the salons’ co-owner Joelle Ray and few other stylists worked on the shoot.

“It was great fun to do hair and makeup for a garden party,” Joelle Ray said. “The clothes and the beautiful setting were great inspirations for us. We wanted the makeup to have a decidedly festive feel, so we used everything from jewel tones and corals to sun-kissed bronzes and summer pinks. For the hair, we kept it formal yet fun. Worn up or down, sleek, polished, sophistication was our aspiration.”

The Living In Style spread will be included in the June 14th edition and available on newsstands.

Lisa Marie Ferrell and Paige Crowther, personal stylists and co-owners of Polished of Raleigh, coordinated the clothes and accessories for both fashion features

Samuel Cole Salon recently served as the official salons for STRUT ’08, a fashion, music and dance extravaganza held in Raleigh in early May. Samuel Cole Salon has been featured in Salon Today, American Salon, and Estetica, an Italian style magazine. It has also been one of the Top Ten Hair Salons Citysearch’s Best of the Triangle readers’ poll for several years. In 2006, it received Metro magazine’s “Metro Bravo” award for Best Salon in the Triangle.