Samuel Cole Salon | Raleigh NC

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.

April 22, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) – When the models came out to play during “Meet the Models,” two Raleigh events to help promote STRUT ’08, they offered more than a preview of the haute couture expected on the runway on Saturday, May 3, in North Hills. They also offered an up-close look at the hair design and make-up artistry of the award-winning stylists at Samuel Cole Salon, the official salon for STRUT ’08.

To promote the show — which will feature national fashion designers with Raleigh roots, as well as local designers and boutiques, music and dance performances — STRUT ’08 models appeared in two Raleigh nightclubs. On Friday, April 18, they joined the party at Buckhead Saloon in downtown Raleigh. On Friday, April 25, they were “strutting” their stuff at Oliver Twist in North Raleigh (8111 Creedmoor Road) from 10 p.m. to midnight.

The salons’ stylists were going for a “club chic” look for these two events, according to Joelle and Jack Ray, owners and master stylists of Samuel Cole Salon.

“We worked with each model to develop strong texture, volume and movement for his or her individual hair type,” said Joelle, whose expertise in hair and make-up has been featured on Modern Salon Media’s “FirstChair.com” and “BehindTheChair.com” websites. “The look we were after for these night-on-the-town events was ‘ready to party’ — fun, wild, and sexy.”

To achieve that look, the stylists used Bumble & bumble “Spray de Mode” hair spray to “maximize texture yet leave a touchable finish,” she said. They also used B&b Hair Power, an aerosole styling powder, for volume and fullness. The powder extends the life of a blow-dry style by absorbing excess oil and providing a dry, matte texture, “and it provides an amazing amount of fullness and volume,” Joelle said. “It’s like back-coming in a can.”

Samuel Cole Salon are Bumble & bumble network salons. Samuel Cole Salon has been featured in Salon Today, American Salon, Estetica, and Metro Magazine. For the past three years, the salon has received “Best Salon” and “Best Salon for Color” accolades from Citysearch, and the “Metro Bravo” award for Best Salon in the region from Metro.

April 09, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) – Jack and Joelle Ray, the husband-and-wife team behind Samuel Cole Salon in North Raleigh, recently served as judges to help select the 2008 “Salons of the Year” winners, a national salon décor competition sponsored by Salon Today magazine.

The Rays were asked to help judge this year’s winners after Samuel Cole Salon — remodeled and enlarged last year — received the magazine’s 2007 First Runner Up honor, placing second only to the grand-prize winner, Frederic Fekkai’s new salon in New York City.

The “Salons of the Year” competition focuses on new and newly remodeled salons. The magazine’s panel of editors and art directors evaluate all the entries and narrow the field down to 20 salons.

The judges then view seven to 10 photos of each remaining entry and score them in six décor categories: (1) use of color, (2) lighting, (3) flooring, (4) efficient use of space, (5) consistency of design, and (6) overall aesthetics. The salon with the highest score is the grand-prize winner and will be featured on Salon Today’s June cover. The next highest score is first runner-up. The second, third and fourth runners-up follow the same progression. The remaining salons are designated “Salons of Distinction.”

“Judging was lots of fun as well and it was an honor to be asked participate,” said Joelle Ray. “The process was more difficult than we thought it would be because there were many unique, interesting, and innovative designs to choose from.”

All of the winning salons will be published in the June edition. Based in Lincolnshire, Illinois, and published by Vance Publishing, Salon Today is a leading business magazine for fine salon and spa owners. Its sister publications include Modern Salon, Process, and Renew magazines.

March 26, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) – Embracing their role as the official salons for the STRUT ’08, a haute couture and entertainment event coming to Raleigh May 3, Samuel Cole Salon recently created hair and make-up designs for a group of models for a photography spread on the show that will appear in Social The Magazine in April.

On March 16, the 12 of the show’s 35 models gathered at Samuel Cole Salon in North Raleigh, where eight stylists set about creating “glamorous, night-on-the-town” hair and make-up to complement a collection of upscale-boutique fashions, according to Joelle Ray who co-owns the two salons with her husband, master stylist Jack Ray. The fashions were provided by bebe, NV Clothes for Men, Verses Jeans and UniquitiesMix.

“The look for the shoot was ‘trendy club scene,’ Ray said. “It was a fun day, and I’m always impressed by how well our team of stylists work together.”

Photographer Terrance Jones created some of the images for the two-page spread at Samuel Cole Salon. Then the models traveled to Mura, a restaurant in North Hills and a STRUT sponsor, for more shots. The salons’ stylists were on hand for any necessary touch-ups on location.

STRUT ’08 will be held at North Hills on May 3 to benefit Interact, a Wake County organization that serves victims of domestic violence and abuse. The show will feature six national fashion designers with Raleigh “roots,” as well as local designers and boutiques, music and dance performances. The designers include Miranda Laughlin, Elizabeth Yarborough, Holly Aiken, Guy Marshall and Amy Stephenson. The event will also feature fabrics and textiles by Chuck Stewart of “Tumbling Colors.”