Samuel Cole Salon | Raleigh NC

January 18, 2009 (Raleigh, NC) – Jack and Joelle Ray, the husband and wife team that created Samuel Cole Salon in North Raleigh, sharpened their professional edge with the latest techniques, skills, business acumen, and tips at the 2009 Redken Symposium at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

For three days the Rays, together with other salon professionals from all over the world, were taught and inspired by renowned educators in the industry. Jack attended the Stylist based classes on the latest hair trends, creative color techniques, and on design and finishing. Classes included “Custom Color” with David Stanko – identifying yourself as a successful colorist and getting in touch with new and different clients; “Curl Crazy” with Jill Leitz & Danny Felstead – bringing out the best in a variety of curl textures (60% of the world’s population has curly hair); “The Best Blondes” with Tisha Hall & Jayson Morgan – understanding how to create beautiful, suitable blondes on all levels of hair and skin tones. “I love to learn anything new to bring back to my extensive clientele. It is important to me to stay inspired, that way I am always in a position to give the best to my clients, said Jack Ray.

Joelle attended the business acumen classes. These classes included “Brand It!” with industry leaders, Rodney Cutler & Patrick Mcivor – finding your salon’s signature brand; “Reinventing Space” with the author of this very popular book by the same title, Peter Millard – the “do’s” and “don’ts” of salon layouts and décor; “Bold Initiatives” with Peter Mahoney & Michael Cole – how to better prepare your salon to face this unstable economy. “I was completely impressed with the amazing ideas, inspiration, knowledge and motivation that was presented. Our association with Redken gives us access to unbelievable quality education”, said Joelle Ray.

The trip to Las Vegas featured more than business and inspiration. Joelle surprised Jack by whisking him away in a white limo to renew their vows in true Las Vegas style. Elvis himself presided over the ceremony that was held at the Graceland Chapel. “Aren’t you supposed to get married when you go to Vegas? I thought it was a law or something”, quipped Jack Ray.

December 10, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) – Samuel Cole Salon recently welcomed two educators from Redken, a global leader in professional hair care products and services, who presented day-long, in-salon classes for the styling teams of the North Raleigh salon.

Redken’s Amy Hill and Sandra Hurd presented the Redken Color Symposium to acquaint the stylists with the company’s newest color formulations, applications and techniques.

They introduced Redken’s new “Colorfusion,” “Shimmer One,” and “Shades EQ” color palettes that celebrate autumn-inspired hues: rich browns, golden mochas, coppers and cinnamon. And they used actual, existing color formulations from the salons’ clients to demonstrate how the stylists could tweak and enhance those formulations then share them with their clients to create fresh, new looks.

“We take the time each year to look at our clients’ color formulations and to offer them something new and exciting,” said Joelle Ray, who co-owns the salon with her husband, master stylist Jack Ray. “They appreciate the fact that we’re always learning and always looking for ways to enhance the look of their hair.”

The Redken educators also conducted a “Clipper Class” for Samuel Cole Salon stylists, demonstrating innovative barber techniques for men’s styling and for women who wear their hair very short.

“It’s important that we continually expand our versatility for all our clients, including the men,” Ray noted.

The Redken classes were part of the Rays’ ongoing education and training for all of their stylists so that they continue to offer fashion-forward, state-of-the-art hair care and styling.

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.